Marianne Thieme | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of theParty for the Animals | |
| In office 28 October 2002 – 9 October 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Esther Ouwehand |
| Leader of theParty for the Animals in theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 30 November 2006 – 9 October 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Esther Ouwehand |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 30 November 2006 – 9 October 2019 | |
| Chairwoman of theParty for the Animals | |
| In office 28 October 2002 – 28 November 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Luuk Folkerts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marianne Louise Thieme (1972-03-06)6 March 1972 (age 53) Ede, Netherlands |
| Political party | Party for the Animals |
| Residence(s) | Maarssen,Netherlands |
| Alma mater | Erasmus University Rotterdam (LLM inadministrative law),University of Wales Trinity Saint David (MA intheology). |
| Occupation | Politician, animal rights activist, author |
| Website | Worldlog |
Marianne Louise Thieme (Dutch pronunciation:[maːriˈjɑnəˈtimə]; born 6 March 1972) is a Dutch politician, author andanimal rights activist. A jurist and theologian by education, she served as theParty for the Animals' political leader from 2002 to 2019 and a member of theHouse of Representatives from 2006 to 2019.
Thieme studied atDuno College inDoorwerth. After that she studied from 1991 to 1992 at theSorbonne in Paris, France. From 1992 she studiedlaw atErasmus University Rotterdam with a specialization inadministrative law. During this time she became avegetarian. Her interest inanimal rights motivated her to start studying law. Thieme graduated in 1997.
From 1998 to 2001 Thieme worked at research agency B&A Group inThe Hague. Between 2001 and 2004 she was policy official at Bont voor Dieren (English: Fur for Animals), a Dutchanti-furanimal welfarefoundation. Until November 2006 she was the general manager of StichtingWakker Dier, a Dutch animal welfare foundation againstindustrial agriculture.
In October 2002 Thieme and other animal protectionists founded theParty for the Animals (Partij voor de Dieren, PvdD). During thegeneral election of 2003 the party gained 47,754 votes (0.5%), but not a seat in theHouse of Representatives which is obtained by 0.67% of the vote.
In February 2004 she was nominated to become the party'slijsttrekker for the2004 European Parliament election. This time the party gained 153,432 votes (3.2%), three times as much as in the 2003 Dutch general election, but the number of votes was not enough to obtain a seat in theEuropean Parliament.
In May 2014 the party got 200,254 votes (4.21%) for the2014 European Parliament election, enough to obtain a seat in theEuropean Parliament. However, it was not with Marianne Thieme aslijsttrekker, butAnja Hazekamp. Marianne Thieme was already elected to the House of the Representatives.
During thegeneral election of 2006 the Party for Animals gained 179,988 votes (1.8%), enough for two seats in the lower house of theStates General of the Netherlands. The party became the world's first party to gain parliamentary seats with an agenda focused primarily on animal rights. Marianne Thieme became an MP alongsideEsther Ouwehand.[1] At thegeneral election of 2010 the party received 122,317 votes (1.3%) and its two MPs were reelected;two years later, with 182,162 votes (1.9%), the PvdD won two seats again. The party ran at thegeneral election of 2017 with Thieme as lijsttrekker for the fifth time. With 335,214 votes (3.2%), it gained five seats.
Thieme always concludes her speeches in Parliament with the phrase "Voorts zijn wij van mening dat er een einde moet komen aan de bio-industrie." ("Furthermore we are of the opinion thatfactory farming has to be ended."), referring toCato the Elder's famous conclusion of his speeches withCarthago delenda est.
On 8 October 2019, Thieme resigned from Parliament and her leadership of the PvdD.[2]Esther Ouwehand replaced Thieme as party leader in the House of Representatives andEva van Esch took her former seat in Parliament.[3]
Thieme became a member of theSeventh-day Adventist Church in 2006 "because [it is] a church with compassion and care for our planet."[1][4] It caused some controversy about its stance that "Adam and Eve were vegetarians"[5]
She has a daughter (Annika, born 2002) and lives inMaarssen. On 6 November 2008, she married Jaap Korteweg, an organic farmer from Langeweg, with whom she had a second daughter (Amélie, born 2012).[6] They divorced in 2017.[7] In 2021 she marriedEwald Engelen,[8] with whom she has been in a relationship since 2018.[9]
In May 2004, Thieme's bookDe eeuw van het dier (The Century of the Animal) was published. Animal rights are the centre point of the text, which draws a line from the end ofslavery throughwomen's liberation toanimal rights.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
