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Derek Holland is a Britishfar-right political figure noted for hisCatholicIntegralism.[1]
Holland was brought up in Huntingdon and was already trying to recruit new members to theNational Front while a student atCambridgeshire College of Art and Technology. He then went toLeicester Polytechnic to study history and to bolster support for the already-established Young National Front Student Organisation.[2] In the May 1979 general election, he contestedCambridge for the NF, receiving 311 votes (0.6%).[3] After his studies Holland became closely associated with thePolitical Soldier wing of the party. One of the party's main writers in a time when their ideology was shifting, he contributed regularly not only to the party journalNationalism Today, but was also co-editor ofRising, a radical nationalist journal that was independent of the NF and drew heavily fromJulius Evola andCorneliu Zelea Codreanu.[4] Holland became one of the leading lights on the Political Soldier wing of the party when his pamphletThe Political Soldier was published in 1984. Along withNick Griffin andPatrick Harrington he became effective joint leader of theOfficial National Front following the resignation ofAndrew Brons from overall leadership in 1984. In 1988, the three travelled toLibya on a fund-raising trip as official representatives of the NF, although in the end they were given only copies ofThe Green Book.[5]
In 1989, Holland broke with Patrick Harrington and joined Michael Fishwick in following Nick Griffin andRoberto Fiore into theInternational Third Position (ITP) after Harrington had contactedThe Jewish Chronicle with regards to opening dialogue.[6] Holland injected his sympathies foranti-Zionist groups, as part of his nationalist philosophy, into the ITP. He supported the ideas ofMuammar Gaddafi andAyatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had previously featured on a cover ofNational Front News.[citation needed]
Holland's last public appearance was at aSwedish nationalist convention in 2002; during this time he lived in theIrish Midlands.[citation needed] Since that time the ITP appears to have gravitated towards theEuropean National Front, and Holland has retired from active involvement in politics.[citation needed]
Holland has received considerable treatment in works onEuropeanextremistnationalism, includingFascism: A History by Roger Eatwell (1997) andBlack Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity byNicholas Goodrick-Clarke (2002). Holland’s writings on the Political Soldier are also featured inFascism: A Reader published byOxford University Press (1995).
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 general election | Cambridge | NF | 311 | 0.6 |