Marcel de Graaff

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In this Dutch name, the surname is de Graaff, not Graaff.
Marcel de Graaff
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 February 2020
In office
1 July 2014 – 1 July 2019
ConstituencyNetherlands
Chair of Europe of Nations and Freedom
In office
15 June 2015 – 1 July 2019
Serving with Marine Le Pen, Nicolas Bay
Preceded byPosition established
Parliamentary leader of the Party for Freedom in the European Parliament
In office
1 July 2014 – 1 July 2019
Preceded byLucas Hartong[1]
Parliamentary Leader of the Party for Freedom in the Senate
In office
25 September 2012 – 10 June 2014
Preceded byMachiel de Graaf
Succeeded byMarjolein Faber
Member of the Senate of the Netherlands
In office
7 June 2011 – 1 July 2014
Personal details
Born
M.J.R.L. de Graaff

(1962-04-07) 7 April 1962 (age 59)
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Political party Netherlands
Forum for Democracy
 European Union
Identity and Democracy
Alma materRadboud University Nijmegen

M. J. R. L. ‘Marcel’ de Graaff (Dutch: [ˈmɑrsɛl də ɣraːf]; born 7 April 1962) is a Dutch politician. He has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Netherlands since February 2020, and previously served between 2014 and 2019. He represented the Party for Freedom and was co-president of the Europe of Nations and Freedom. De Graaff was a member of the Senate of the Netherlands for the Party for Freedom from 2011 to 2014.

Early life and career[]

Marcel de Graaff was born on 7 April 1962 in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.[2] De Graaff studied theology at the Radboud University Nijmegen between 1981 and 1988.[3]

De Graaff worked as a consultant for IT & Operations from 1 August 1989.[3] He was a religion teacher at a secondary school in Rotterdam from 1 January 2010 until 1 July 2010.[2] He also was a manager for KPN telecommunications company.[4]

Political career[]

De Graaff was a member of the Senate of the Netherlands representing the Party for Freedom from 7 June 2011 until 1 July 2014. He was parliamentary group leader of the Party for Freedom in the Senate from 25 September 2012 until 10 June 2014.[2]

De Graaff was the top candidate of the Party for Freedom for the 2014 European Parliament elections.[5] He became Member of the European Parliament for the Netherlands per 1 July 2014. He has also become the parliamentary group leader of the Party for Freedom in the European Parliament since the beginning of his term as an MEP.[2]

In 2015, far-right MEPs founded the Europe of Nations and Freedom group. Marine Le Pen and De Graaff have been its first co-presidents since 15 June 2015.[6] On 28 October 2015, De Graaff voted multiple times for Le Pen in her absence, which is against the European Parliament's rules. Parliament president Martin Schulz withheld € 1,530 in allowances as a punitive measure.[7]

De Graaff was the Party for Freedom leader for the 2019 European Parliament election.[8] The party did not obtain any seats in the election.[9] His term in the European Parliament ended on 1 July 2019.[2] In February 2020 it was announced that because of Brexit the Party for Freedom would obtain a seat in the European Parliament, which was assigned to De Graaff.[10] He was appointed per 1 February 2020.[11]

In 2022, he defected to Thierry Baudet's Forum for Democracy party after expressing support for the FvD's more hardline stance against the COVID-19 vaccine and criticising the PVV's pro-vaccine policies.[12]

Personal life[]

De Graaff is a Roman Catholic and lives in Rotterdam.[2] He is married to fellow Party for Freedom politician Gabriëlle Popken.[13]

References[]

  1. ^ "Marcel de Graaff PVV-lijsttrekker Europees Parlement" (in Dutch), Nu.nl, 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Drs. M.J.R.L. (Marcel) de Graaff" (in Dutch), Parlement & Politiek. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Drs. M.J.R.L. de Graaff (PVV)". Senate of the Netherlands. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  4. ^ Opgave van de financiële belangen van de leden (in Dutch), European Parliament. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  5. ^ "De Graaff PVV-lijsttrekker in Europa" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  6. ^ Julie Levy-Abegnoli, "Far right MEPs form EU parliamentary group", The Parliament Magazine, 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  7. ^ Peter Teffer, "Dutch MEP to lose €1,530 in Le Pen voting penalty", EUobserver, 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Marcel de Graaff opnieuw lijsttrekker PVV bij verkiezingen Europees Parlement" (in Dutch). Europa.nu. 25 March 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020.
  9. ^ "PVV en SP likken wonden na mislopen Europese zetels" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Drie 'brexitzetels' Europees Parlement gaan naar PVV, VVD en ex-lid Forum" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 6 February 2020. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Marcel de GRAAFF 9th parliamentary term". European Parliament. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Far-right Dutch MEP ditches Geert Wilders' party over its vaccination stance". www.politico.eu. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  13. ^ Flour Bouma (28 August 2020). "PVV-Kamerlid Gabriëlle Popken verlaat Tweede Kamer" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020.

External links[]

  • Marcel de Graaff at the website of the European Parliament
  • (in Dutch) Marcel de Graaff at the website of the European Parliament delegation of the Party for Freedom
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