Marcel de Graaff
Marcel de Graaff MEP | |
---|---|
Member of the European Parliament | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 1 February 2020 | |
In office 1 July 2014 – 1 July 2019 | |
Constituency | Netherlands |
Chair of Europe of Nations and Freedom | |
In office 15 June 2015 – 1 July 2019 Serving with Marine Le Pen, Nicolas Bay | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Parliamentary leader of the Party for Freedom in the European Parliament | |
In office 1 July 2014 – 1 July 2019 | |
Preceded by | Lucas Hartong[1] |
Parliamentary Leader of the Party for Freedom in the Senate | |
In office 25 September 2012 – 10 June 2014 | |
Preceded by | Machiel de Graaf |
Succeeded by | Marjolein 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 7 April 1962 Rotterdam, Netherlands |
Political party | ![]() Forum for Democracy ![]() Identity and Democracy |
Alma mater | Radboud 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[]
- ^ "Marcel de Graaff PVV-lijsttrekker Europees Parlement" (in Dutch), Nu.nl, 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "Drs. M.J.R.L. (Marcel) de Graaff" (in Dutch), Parlement & Politiek. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ a b "Drs. M.J.R.L. de Graaff (PVV)". Senate of the Netherlands. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ Opgave van de financiële belangen van de leden (in Dutch), European Parliament. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
- ^ "De Graaff PVV-lijsttrekker in Europa" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ Julie Levy-Abegnoli, "Far right MEPs form EU parliamentary group", The Parliament Magazine, 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
- ^ Peter Teffer, "Dutch MEP to lose €1,530 in Le Pen voting penalty", EUobserver, 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Marcel de GRAAFF 9th parliamentary term". European Parliament. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020.
- ^ "Far-right Dutch MEP ditches Geert Wilders' party over its vaccination stance". www.politico.eu. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ 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
- 1962 births
- Dutch educators
- Dutch management consultants
- Dutch Roman Catholics
- Living people
- Members of the Senate (Netherlands)
- MEPs for the Netherlands 2014–2019
- MEPs for the Netherlands 2019–2024
- Party for Freedom MEPs
- Party for Freedom politicians
- Politicians from Rotterdam
- Radboud University Nijmegen alumni