Hilbrand Nawijn | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Nawijn in 2012 | |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 30 January 2003 – 30 November 2006 | |
| Minister for Integration and Asylum Affairs | |
| In office 22 July 2002 – 27 May 2003 | |
| Prime Minister | Jan Peter Balkenende |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Rita Verdonk |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hilbrand Pier Anne Nawijn (1948-08-08)8 August 1948 (age 76) Kampen,Netherlands |
| Political party | Lijst Hilbrand Nawijn (since 2006) |
| Other political affiliations | Party for the Netherlands (2006–2008) Independent (2004–2006) Pim Fortuyn List (2002–2004) Christian Democratic Appeal (1980–2002) Anti-Revolutionary Party (before 1980) |
| Residence(s) | Zoetermeer,Netherlands |
| Alma mater | University of Groningen (Bachelor of Laws,Master of Laws) |
| Occupation | Politician ·Civil servant ·Jurist ·Lawyer ·Management consultant ·Corporate director |
Hilbrand Pier Anne Nawijn (born 8 August 1948) is a Dutch lawyer and politician of the local political party Lijst Hilbrand Nawijn (LHN) inZoetermeer.[1]
From 2002 to 2004, he served as aMember of theHouse of Representatives for thePim Fortuyn List party and from 2006 for theParty for the Netherlands. Nawijn wasMinister for Integration and Asylum Affairs in the first cabinet ofJan Peter Balkenende.
Nawijn was born inKampen. The son of aburgemeester (mayor), he is a descendant of FirminNavin, a FrenchHuguenot who had fled to Holland in 1696[2] to escape persecution. After graduating Emelwerda College inEmmeloord he studied law at theRijksuniversiteit Groningen. He then worked for the Dutch Ministry of Justice and was a legal assistant at the main department of Constitutional and Criminal Law. He later founded his own legal firmNawijn lawyers in Zoetermeer.[3]
Following a long career working for theDutch Ministry of Justice he was elected in 2002 as a member of theChristen-Democratisch Appèl for themunicipal council ofZoetermeer. Nawijn was an early supporter of the openlygay, populist Dutch politicianPim Fortuyn[4][5] and in 2002, when Fortuyn founded thePim Fortuyn List, Nawijn earned a place on the list. Despite theassassination of Fortuyn by ananimal rights activist,[6] which happened days before the election, the LPF emerged with a successful result, thus bringing Nawijn into the DutchHouse of Representatives. He was appointed Minister for Integration and Immigration in thefirst Balkenende cabinet.[7]
Due to the instability of the LPF following Fortuyn's assassination, the first Balkenende cabinet lasted briefly, leading to early elections in 2003. Due to Nawijn's controversialconservative positions such as his support of thedeath penalty, which horrified many people in the Netherlands and was opposed by the LPF,[8] he was placed at the bottom of the LPF's electoral list. This should have made it almost impossible for Nawijn to be reelected, however, the same statements which made him so unpopular to the political establishment won him a following among voters. On election day Nawijn received enough individual votes to once again enter the House of Representatives.[9] Nawijn also voiced support for the reunification ofFlanders and the Netherlands.[10][11]
Despite still being a member of the LPF, Nawijn often was at odds with the party. In January 2005, he left the fragmented LPF with the goal of founding his own political party which conceptually would lean closer towards the ideas of thefar-rightFlemish partyVlaams Belang.[12][13] Together with one of the leaders of Vlaams Belang,Filip Dewinter, in June 2005 he announced the founding of athink tank during a controversial meeting with Dewinter in the former house of murdered politician Pim Fortuyn. Marten Fortuyn, Pim Fortuyn's brother, called this action provocative, and"I had expected otherwise from Nawijn." The influential Dutch magazineElsevier wrote: "According to (the LPF member of parliament)João Varela (politician), it was widely known that Pim Fortuyn wanted nothing to do with Dewinter, whose partyVlaams Blok (resurrected as Vlaams Belang) had the previous year been forbidden due to racism."[14][15]
In theDutch municipal elections of 2006, Nawijn managed, with his own new party, to gather 5 out of 39 seats in his hometownZoetermeer.[16] Later that year he entered the2006 Dutch election with a new party, thePartij voor Nederland (Party for the Netherlands), but obtained no seats. During his campaign, Nawijn voiced his support for acceptingCIAblack sites into the Netherlands in an interview in October 2006 in the Dutch newspaperSpits.[17]
In early 2007, Nawijn participated in the Dutch version ofSo You Wanna Be a Popstar?, broadcast by the Dutch commercial TV channelSBS6, granting him fulfilment of one of his dreams. He stated that"Now that I have left national politics, I can do such things. An additional advantage is that it will keep me a bit 'in the picture'".[18] As a result of his performances at the talent contest, which were met with public ridicule,[19] Nawijn signed up for a five-year contract as a singer.[20][21] His first single came out in May 2007,Hey Jumpen, in thejumpstyle genre, and reached #45 in the DutchSingle Top 100 charts.[22][23]
In February 2008 he returned to his original career in law.[24]
Since 2010, Nawijn has served as a councilor for his local political partyLijst Hilbrand Nawijn in Zoetermeer.
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| Civic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Director–General of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service 1988–1994 | Unknown |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Office established | Minister for Integration and Asylum Affairs 2002–2003 | Succeeded by |
