Marjolein Faber | |
|---|---|
 Faber in 2025 | |
| Minister of Asylum and Migration | |
| In office 2 July 2024 – 3 June 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Dick Schoof |
| Preceded by | Office established[a] |
| Succeeded by | David van Weel (acting)[1] |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| Assumed office 12 November 2025 | |
| In office 6 December 2023 – 2 July 2024 | |
| Succeeded by | Nico Uppelschoten |
| Leader of theParty for Freedom in theSenate | |
| In office 10 June 2014 – 6 December 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Marcel de Graaff |
| Succeeded by | Alexander van Hattem |
| Member of theSenate | |
| In office 7 June 2011 – 6 December 2023 | |
| Member of theProvincial Council of Gelderland | |
| In office 10 March 2011 – 20 December 2023 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marjolein Hillegonda Monica van de Klashorst (1960-06-16)16 June 1960 (age 65) Amersfoort, Netherlands |
| Political party | PVV (since 2009) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Corderius College |
| Occupation | Nuclear laboratory technician Technology specialist Politician |
Marjolein Hillegonda Monica Faber-van de Klashorst (born 16 June 1960) is a Dutch politician for the right-wing populistParty for Freedom (PVV), who served asMinister of Asylum and Migration in theSchoof cabinet from 2 July 2024 to 3 June 2025.[2] Previously, she was a member of theProvincial Council of Gelderland (2011–2023), of theSenate (2011–2023), and of theHouse of Representatives (2023–2024).[3]
Faber was raised inAmersfoort as the daughter of a butcher, and she attended secondary school atMAVO andHAVO levels. She started working as a laboratory technician at the Amersfoort Lichtenberg hospital in 1978, and she was simultaneously educated innuclear medicine inUtrecht until 1984.[4][5] She switched her career to theIT sector in 1986, and she worked as asoftware engineer and IT specialist at various companies.[4]
In 2009, she joined the PVV and applied for the Dutch general election of 2010. She was 32nd on the candidate list and was not elected.[6]
Faber became a member of theProvincial Council of Gelderland for the Party for Freedom on 10 March 2011. She joined theSenate later that year, and she served as the PVV'sparliamentary leader in the body starting on 10 June 2014, replacingMarcel de Graaff.[7] Describing herself to newspaperDe Gelderlander, Faber said she has "hardline stances without nuance, such as prohibiting theQuran, closing all mosques, and getting rid ofIslam". She also referred to her colleagues in the provincial council as fake representatives for allegedly not listening to the will of the people. She was deprived of the floor in the Senate after making the same accusation. She elaborated that she believed fellow senators were failing to protect the Netherlands, claiming theDutch population was being replaced by an Islamic population.[4]
In 2015, reports came out that Faber had paid her son's company for maintaining the PVVGelderland website with funds of the party'sparliamentary group. It was later discovered that Faber's son had also created the website for the PVV parliamentary group in the Senate.[8] She had earlier uncovered irregularities in the travel expenses ofCo Verdaas, which led to his resignation from thesecond Rutte cabinet.[5] In 2017, Faber – together with PVV membersWilders andMarkuszower – protested against the appointment ofPvdA memberAhmed Marcouch as mayor ofArnhem, with a large banner displaying the text "No Arnhemmistan! We are losing our country!".[8]
During the campaign for2019 provincial elections, she argued fortax relief, and expressed her opposition tomulticulturalism.[9] In response to a stabbing incident inGroningen that same year, she claimed the perpetrator had a North-African skin colour. Despite the three victims stating the perpetrator was white, Faber stuck to her original claim.[10] She complained about Dutch funding for theUnited Nations in a 2020 debate, and she said that organization was engaged inantisemitism, terrorism, andomvolking. Prime MinisterMark Rutte subsequently noted the latter term originated inNazi ideology.[11] She was once again deprived of the floor in the Senate when she called thefourth Rutte cabinet afifth column because of its immigration policy.[4]
In 2017, Faber became a member of theNATO Parliamentary Assembly on behalf of the Senate. She continued this as member of the House of Representative until she became minister in July 2024.
Faber was elected to theHouse of Representativesin November 2023, and she became the PVV's spokesperson for criminal law andhuman trafficking.[12] This ended her memberships of the Senate and the Provincial Council of Gelderland.[13] She advocated solving a shortage of prison cells by implementing austerity measures in the prison regime, and she opined that thePublic Prosecution Service was demanding too lenient sentences.[11] In the House of Representatives, Faber was a member of five standing committees: Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Justice and Security, Kingdom Relations, and Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.
Faber was nominated in June 2024 to serve as Minister of Asylum and Migration in the newSchoof cabinet, leadinga new ministry.[11] Her selection was affirmed following crisis talks between thecoalition parties afterVVD leaderDilan Yeşilgöz had raised Faber's past controversial statements and tone.[14][15] Faber apologized in confirmation hearings for her earlier usage of the wordomvolking, while repeating her worries about demographic trends in the Netherlands.[16] The cabinet was sworn in on 2 July 2024.[17] The coalition parties called their migration policy the most stringent and extensive in history.[18]
Thecoalition agreement included plans to issue a "well-substantiated"statutory instrument to suspend certain provisions of the Aliens Act and to introduce an Asylum Crisis Act without delay, thereby declaring an asylum crisis.[19] Faber announced her intent in early September 2024 to do the former byroyal decree, bypassing parliamentary consultation. Opposition parties criticized the proposed usage of emergency powers, and documents of theMinistries of Justice and Security andof the Interior and Kingdom Relations, requested by the House of Representatives, showed that civil servants had advised against it, contending that the situation was unlikely to meet the threshold for exceptional circumstances.[20][21] Minister of the Interior and Kingdom RelationsJudith Uitermark (NSC) emphasized the need for a proper legal rationale.[22] Coalition parties VVD and NSC urged Faber to prepare an expedited law in parallel, and the Senate, where opposition parties held a majority, passed amotion requesting the same, while calling the current approach undesirable.[23][24] While Prime MinisterDick Schoof facilitated negotiations about asylum measures between the PVV and NSC, Faber continued to work on a well-substantiated reasoning for the use of emergency powers. She declared that her finished reasoning had become part of the negotiations, but she retracted her statement the same day after it was denied by coalition parties. In late October 2024, an agreement on asylum measures was reached among coalition parties under Schoof's leadership that excluded the use of emergency powers.[25] TheCouncil of Ministers approved three bills of Faber in December 2024: the Asylum Emergency Measures Act, a bill re-establishing the two-tier asylum system, and the Return and Detention of Aliens Act.[26]
In a September 2024 letter to theEuropean Commission, she requested anopt-out for the Netherlands from European asylum and migration legislation in case of a treaty amendment. Such an exception can only be granted by theEuropean Council, and the Commission responded that no treaty amendments were pending.[27][28] Hungary later joined the Netherlands in requesting an opt-out.[29] Additionally, Faber implemented the coalition agreement's provision to discontinue national funding for shelter facilities for rejected asylum seekers.[30] In October 2024, following a working visit toDenmark, she proposed installing signs at asylum centers to emphasize the government's intent for their return. The House of Representatives rejected her plans through a motion that was supported by coalition party NSC.[31]
Faber is married and has two children.[4]
 |
| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2010 | House of Representatives | Party for Freedom | 32 | 327 | 24 | Lost | [32] | |
| 2015 | Senate | 1 | 2,083[b] | 9 | Won | [33] | ||
| 2019 | Senate | 1 | 22[c] | 5 | Won | [34] | ||
| 2021 | House of Representatives | 18 | 1,057 | 17 | Lost | [35] | ||
| 2023 | Senate | 1 | Won | |||||
| 2023 | House of Representatives | 7 | 4,390 | 37 | Won | [36] | ||
| 2025 | House of Representatives | 9 | 9,813 | 26 | Won | [37] | ||
Minister David van Weel (Justitie en Veiligheid, VVD) neemt vooralsnog de taken over van Marjolein Faber (Asiel) en staatssecretaris Ingrid Coenradie (Justitie en Veiligheid).
Media related toMarjolein Faber at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office established | Minister of Asylum and Migration 2024–2025 | Succeeded by |
Senate 11 June 2019 – 13 June 2023 | ||
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD – 12) |  | |
| Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA – 9) | ||
| GroenLinks (GL – 8) | ||
| Democrats 66 (D66 – 7) | ||
| Labour Party (PvdA – 6) | ||
| Party for Freedom (PVV – 5) | ||
| Socialist Party (SP – 4) | ||
| Christian Union (CU – 3) | ||
| Party for the Animals (PvdD – 3) | ||
| 50PLUS (50+ – 2) | ||
| Reformed Political Party (SGP – 2) | ||
| Forum for Democracy (FVD – 3) | ||
| Independent Senate Group (OSF – 1) | ||
| Nanninga Group (Indep. – 7) | ||
| Otten Group (Indep. – 2) | ||
| Frentrop Group (Indep. – 2) | ||
Bold indicates theparliamentary leader (first mentioned) and thePresident; (Brackets) indicate a temporarily absent member; Italics indicate a temporary member; ‹Guillemets› indicate a member who has left the Senate See also:Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2017–2021 ·2021–2023 | ||
Senate 9 June 2015 – 10 June 2019 | ||
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD: 13) | | |
| Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA: 12) | ||
| Democrats 66 (D66: 10) | ||
| Party for Freedom (PVV: 9) | ||
| Socialist Party (SP: 9) | ||
| Labour Party (PvdA: 8) | ||
| GroenLinks (GL: 4) | ||
| Christian Union (CU: 3) | ||
| Party for the Animals (PvdD: 2) | ||
| Reformed Political Party (SGP: 2) | ||
| 50PLUS (50+: 2) | ||
| Independent Senate Group (OSF: 1) | ||
Bold indicates theparliamentary leader (first mentioned); ‹Guillemets› indicate a member who did not serve the full term | ||