Marcel de Graaff

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 (PVV) and was co-president of the Europe of Nations and Freedom. De Graaff was a member of the Senate of the Netherlands for the PVV from 2011 to 2014.

In this Dutch name, the surname is de Graaff, not Graaff.
Marcel de Graaff
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
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
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
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Political party Netherlands
Forum for Democracy
 European Union
Non-Inscrits
Alma materRadboud University Nijmegen

Early life and career

Marcel de Graaff was born on 7 April 1962 in Rotterdam.[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 teacher of religion 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 PVV in the Senate from 25 September 2012 until 10 June 2014.[2]

De Graaff was the top candidate of the PVV 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 PVV 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 PVV 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 PVV 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 (FvD) party after expressing support for its more hardline stance against the COVID-19 vaccine and criticising the PVV's pro-vaccine policies.[12]

On 2 March 2022, he was one of 13 MEPs who voted against condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On 15 September 2022, he was one of 16 MEPs who voted against condemning President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua for human rights violations, in particular the arrest of Bishop Rolando Álvarez. [13][14]

On 22 October 2022, he left Identity and Democracy group and announced his decision to become a Non-Inscrit member of European Parliament due to group's opposition of his stance on Russia.[15] Beforehand, his membership in Identity and Democracy was suspended.

Personal life

De Graaff is a Roman Catholic and lives in Rotterdam.[2] He is married to fellow politician Gabriëlle Popken.[16]

References
  1. "Marcel de Graaff PVV-lijsttrekker Europees Parlement" (in Dutch), Nu.nl, 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  2. "Drs. M.J.R.L. (Marcel) de Graaff" (in Dutch), Parlement & Politiek. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  3. "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. 7 April 1962. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020.
  12. "Far-right Dutch MEP ditches Geert Wilders' party over its vaccination stance". www.politico.eu. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  13. "European Parliament condemns growing repression of Catholic Church in Nicaragua, calls for release of bishop".
  14. "Nicaragua, in particular the arrest of the bishop Rolando Álvarez" (PDF).
  15. "Wayback Machine has not archived that URL". Twitter. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  16. Flour Bouma (28 August 2020). "PVV-Kamerlid Gabriëlle Popken verlaat Tweede Kamer". NRC (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020.
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