Cornelis Gerrit "Kees" van der Staaij (; born 12 September 1968) is a Dutch politician serving as a member of the House of Representatives since 1998 and

Leader of the Reformed Political Party The Leader of the Reformed Political Party is the most senior politician within the Reformed Political Party ( nl, Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, SGP) in the Netherlands. The post is currently held by Kees van der Staaij, who succeeded Bas van ...

(''Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij'', SGP) since 2010. As a parliamentarian, he focuses on matters of judiciary,

home affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, Kingdom relations,

foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

, the European Union, development aid, the

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

, public health, welfare, sports, immigration and political asylum. Since 2017 Van der Staaij has been the longest running current member of the House of Representatives.

Early life

Van der Staaij was born in Vlaardingen, a city in the province of

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

. His father was a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in the municipality Maartensdijk. He went to two

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

primary schools in Vlaardingen (1974–1979) and

Geldermalsen Geldermalsen () is a town and former municipality in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. Town of Geldermalsen The town centre of Geldermalsen contains a two-aisled Gothic church dating from the 15th century, with a Romanesque tower ...

(1979–1980) and to a Reformed

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in Amersfoort (1980–1986). He studied law at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

, specialising in constitutional and administrative law.

Politics

Van der Staaij was attracted to politics and became a member of the Reformed Political Party in 1986. After several jobs at the Council of State, he was elected to the House of Representatives in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. In 2010 he became

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...

as well as parliamentary leader in both cases succeeding Bas van der Vlies. He led his party as '' lijsttrekker'' in the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and 2017 general elections. Van der Staaij is considered one of the most conservative and right-wing political leaders in the Netherlands. He signed the anti-LGBTQI

Nashville Statement The Nashville Statement is an evangelical Christian statement of faith relating to human sexuality and gender roles authored by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) in Nashville, Tennessee. The Statement expresses support for an o ...

and supported

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

organisations, making sure such organisations were granted more subsidies. Before the

2012 Dutch general election Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 12 September 2012 after Prime Minister Mark Rutte handed in his government's resignation to Queen Beatrix on 23 April. The 150 seats of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands were ...

, when asked whether he agreed with Todd Akin's comments on "legitimate rape" and pregnancy, he said "it is a fact" that women "seldom" become pregnant after being raped. He and his party focus on the importance of faith and community in society and frequently advocate for theocracy. Van der Staaij again served as ''lijsttrekker'' or main candidate for the SGP in the 2021 general election. The SGP won 3 out of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives.

Electoral history

References

Parlement.com biography

External links

House of Representatives biography
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Staaij, Kees Van Der 1968 births Living people 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch politicians Dutch Calvinist and Reformed Christians Dutch civil servants Dutch jurists Leaders of the Reformed Political Party Leiden University alumni Male critics of feminism Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) People from Vlaardingen Reformed Political Party politicians