Gideon van Meijeren

Gideon Frederik Cornelis van Meijeren (born 27 May 1988) is a Dutch civil servant and politician, who has been representing Forum for Democracy (FVD) in the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. He also holds a seat in the States of South Holland and was elected to the municipal council of The Hague in 2022. He previously worked as a legislative adviser for the government. Van Meijeren has been a critic of the government's policy to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, and his statements on the issue in the House have stirred multiple controversies.

In this Dutch name, the surname is Van Meijeren, not Meijeren.
Gideon van Meijeren
Van Meijeren (2021)
Member of the House of Representatives
Assumed office
31 March 2021
Member of the States of South Holland
Assumed office
28 March 2019[1]
Member of the municipal council of The Hague
Assumed office
30 March 2022
Personal details
Born
Gideon Frederik Cornelis van Meijeren[2]

(1988-05-27) 27 May 1988
Doetinchem, Netherlands
NationalityDutch
Political partyForum for Democracy
Alma materRadboud University
OccupationCivil servant

Early life and career

Van Meijeren was born and raised in the Achterhoek city of Doetinchem, where he attended the secondary school Ulenhofcollege between 2000 and 2006 at havo level.[3][4] He then studied law at the Juridische Hogeschool in Tilburg, receiving his propedeuse in 2007, and followed a short officer training at the Royal Military Academy in Breda until 2008.[3] Van Meijeren worked for 3.5 years as an IT employee for the Royal Netherlands Army.[3][5]

He returned to college studying law in the years 2011–15 at Radboud University Nijmegen, and subsequently found a job as a legislative adviser at the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.[3][6] He filled that same position starting in 2017 at the legislative office of the House of Representatives.[3]

Forum for Democracy

Van Meijeren started working as a legal assistant of Forum for Democracy's House caucus in November 2018.[7] He was elected to the States of South Holland as FVD's fifth candidate in the 2019 provincial elections, and he became the party's spokesperson for climate and reactive nitrogen in that legislative chamber.[4][8] He was also placed eighth on the party list in the European Parliament election two months later.[9] In the provincial council, Van Meijeren unsuccessfully called for a referendum about the construction of wind turbines and solar farms, saying that South Holland's plans were anti-democratic.[10] He also participated in a July 2020 Farmers Defense Force protest near the RIVM's headquarters in Bilthoven against a measure to limit reactive nitrogen emissions, which would affect farmers.[6]

Following a November 2020 article by Het Parool about extremist thoughts of members of the FVD's youth wing, five out of the seven provincial councilors in the States of South Holland left the party. Van Meijeren continued to be a member of Forum for Democracy and became the leader of the South Holland caucus.[11][12] A few months later, Elsevier Weekblad reported that Van Meijeren had replied "Hell no" in a WhatsApp group chat, after party leader Thierry Baudet had asked "Would you want your sister to come home with a negro?"[13] Van Meijeren explained that it was an inside joke in a discussion about institutional racism, saying that his ex-girlfriend is Antillean and that his sister is married to a person of color.[14]

House of Representatives

He joined the Forum for Democracy's board as secretary in January 2021 and was its sixth candidate in the 2021 general election.[15][16][17] During the campaign, he said that he wanted to introduce a bill prohibiting censorship by social media companies and that he wanted the mayorship to be an elected office.[18] He also told that he feared immigration, as it would make the Netherlands unrecognizable and would ruin the welfare state.[14]

He was elected to the House of Representatives with 602 preference votes, was installed on 31 March, and became FVD's spokesperson for justice, security, immigration, agriculture, nature, and the interior.[7][19][5] Van Meijeren is part of the contact group Belgium, and he is on the parliamentary Committees for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality; for the Interior; and for Justice and Security.[3] He decided to keep his seat in the States of South Holland but stepped down as caucus leader.[1] While a House member, he told in an interview that he did not consider the Netherlands to be a democracy anymore, arguing that decisions are made in back rooms and that they cannot be changed by the parliament.[20] He also criticized lockdowns and measures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands, saying that its implementers will be prosecuted and locked up for taking away freedoms, and he was an opponent of the Dutch vaccination program against the disease.[21][22]

Van Meijeren's comments and actions in parliament have sparked several controversies. In May, he violated social distancing rules – in effect due to the COVID-19 pandemic – after the maiden speech of fellow member of parliament Simone Kerseboom, when he congratulated her by kissing and hugging her.[23] When the House's integrity committee received complaints about the incident, Van Meijeren stated that he did not recognize the body's authority.[24] In September, the Speaker of the House interrupted a debate contribution by Van Meijeren, when he drew a comparison between restrictions for people not vaccinated against COVID-19 and events during World War II. This occurred in a debate about violence and threats against journalists, in which Van Meijeren stressed that the mainstream media were spreading fake news and misinformation.[25] Another two months later, after fellow member of parliament Nilüfer Gündoğan had complained about intimidating emails in a debate, Van Meijeren said that he was proud that his supporters were going all out to change her mind about the government's COVID-19 policy.[26] Van Meijeren was deprived of the floor by the Speaker in January 2022 for violating the ban on calls for lawlessness of the House's rules of procedure; he had advocated civil disobedience of COVID-19 restrictions after he had called them criminal and had expressed his distrust of the Dutch legal system. The Speaker had been criticized in the preceding days for not intervening enough.[27] Van Meijeren subsequently argued during a debate about norms that freedom of speech has come under threat in the House of Representatives.[28]

In early 2022, Docsfair released a documentary called Gideon: Op zoek naar de waarheid (Gideon: In search of the truth), in which Van Meijeren investigates COVID-19 vaccinations from a critical point of view. Its premier in Tuschinski Theatre was canceled as cinema chain Pathé found it inappropriate to show a film about him in a place that was founded by a Jew who was killed as part of the Holocaust given earlier comments by Van Meijeren.[29]

The Hague municipal council

Van Meijeren was Forum for Democracy's lead candidate in his hometown of The Hague in the March 2022 municipal elections, leading to his election to the municipal council.[30] He was sworn in on 30 March.[31] He was also the lijstduwer of his party in the same election in Doetinchem, in which his father, Lambert van Meijeren, a former Albert Heijn branch manager, was elected to the council as FVD's lead candidate.[32][33]

Personal life

Van Meijeren moved to The Hague in 2015 after completing his studies in Nijmegen.[3][34] He has a girlfriend called Carola, whom he had met during the campaign for the 2017 general election.[35]

References
  1. "G.F.C. van Meijeren". Provincie Zuid Holland (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  2. "Verklaring van verhoor van getuige-deskundige" [Statement of questioning of an expert witness] (PDF). BPOC 2020 (in Dutch). 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  3. "Gideon van Meijeren". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  4. "Biografie, onderwijs en loopbaan van Gideon van Meijeren" [Biography, education, and career of Gideon van Meijeren]. Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  5. "Tweede Kamer" [House of Representatives]. FVD (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  6. Mebius, Dion (18 March 2021). "Van Fortuyns chauffeur tot de schrijver van een opzienbarende roman: een bonte stoet getrouwen komt met Baudet de Kamer in" [From Fortuyn's chauffeur to the author of a sensational novel]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  7. "Mr. G.F.C. (Gideon) van Meijeren". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  8. "Uitslag provincie Zuid-Holland provinciale statenverkiezing 2019" [South Holland results 2019 provincial elections] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 25 March 2019. p. 28. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  9. Joosten, Carla (27 March 2019). "De 100 van Thierry Baudet" [Thierry Baudet's 100]. Elsevier Weekblad (in Dutch). Vol. 75, no. 13. p. 10.
  10. Belt, Jan (24 September 2020). "Plannen voor meer zonneparken en windmolens 'leugenachtig', dus wil Forum een referendum" [Plans for more solar farms and wind turbines 'mendacious', so Forum wants a referendum]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  11. Straatsma, Erna (5 December 2020). "Groot deel Statenfractie Forum Zuid-Holland gaat zonder Thierry Baudet verder; twee leden blijven partijleider trouw [update]" [Large part provincial caucus South Holland Forum continues without Thierry Baudet; two members remain loyal to party leader [update]]. Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  12. Haggeman, Henny (23 February 2021). "Achterhoeks stemmen tijdens de verkiezingen? Deze tien Achterhoekers staan op de lijst" [Voting for someone from the Achterhoek in the election? These ten Achterhoek residents are on the party list]. de Gelderlander (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  13. Den Hartog, Tobias (10 February 2021). "Amper vijf weken voor de verkiezingen liggen ook Baudets discipelen onder vuur" [Barely five weeks before the elections, Baudet's followers are also under fire]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  14. Van Meijeren, Gideon (7 March 2021). "Gideon van Meijeren (FVD): "Ik denk dat we de grote verrassing worden"" [Gideon van Meijeren (FVD): "I think we will be the big surprise"]. Den Haag FM (Interview) (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  15. "Partijbestuur" [Party board]. FVD (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  16. "Nevenactiviteiten van Gideon van Meijeren" [Secondary activities of Gideon van Meijeren]. Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  17. Korteweg, Ariejan (27 December 2020). "Baudet handhaaft Freek Jansen op Kamerlijst vol hardliners" [Baudet keeps Freek Jansen on party list filled with hardliners]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  18. Van Meijeren, Gideon (13 March 2021). "Gideon van Meijeren, FvD: 'Ik wil iets doen tegen de censuur op sociale media'" [Gideon van Meijeren, FVD: 'I want to do something to stop censorship on social media']. DHC (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Jeroen van Raalte. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  19. "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021 Proces-verbaal" [Results general election 17 March 2021 Report] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. p. 238. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  20. "Nederland is géén democratie – Erik van der Horst met Gideon van Meijeren" [The Netherlands is no democracy – Erik van der Horst with Gideon van Meijeren]. Café Weltschmerz (in Dutch). 31 July 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  21. Ouhajji, Majda (2 January 2022). "Stoet coronademonstranten na FVD-bijeenkomst weer terug richting Museumplein" [Parade of corona protestors back in the direction of the Museumplein after FVD meeting]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  22. Borst, Thomas (30 November 2021). "FVD-senator onthult te zijn gevaccineerd, tegen Baudets advies in" [FVD senator discloses vaccination, against the advise of Baudet]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  23. Boonman, Vera (19 May 2021). "Zoenende Kamerleden ondanks nadruk op coronaregels in Tweede Kamer" [Kissing MPs despite emphasis on corona rules in House of Representatives]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  24. Sondermeijer, Vincent (11 August 2021). "FVD'ers weigeren voor integriteitscommissie Kamer te verschijnen" [FVD members refuse to appear before the House's integrity committee]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  25. "Commotie in Kamerdebat om beweringen FVD-Kamerlid Van Meijeren" [Commotion in House debate about statements FVD House member Van Meijeren]. Dagblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 9 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  26. Meesterburrie, Arjan (17 November 2021). "Kamervoorzitter wil in gesprek met fracties over bedreigingen in debatten" [Speaker of the House wants to discuss threats in debates with parliamentary groups]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  27. Du Pré, Raoul (20 January 2022). "Kamervoorzitter ontneemt FvD'er Van Meijeren het woord na oproep tot wetteloosheid". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  28. "Tweede Kamer wil dat voorzitter sneller ingrijpt bij bedreiging en intimidatie" [House of Representatives wants speaker to intervene more quickly in case of threats and intimidation]. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 9 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  29. "Tuschinski weigert vertoning documentaire FVD-Kamerlid Gideon van Meijeren" [Tuschinski refuses showing of documentary House member Gideon van Meijeren]. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 12 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  30. "Kamerlid Gideon van Meijeren lijsttrekker Forum voor Democratie in Den Haag" [House member Gideon van Meijeren Forum for Democracy's lead candidate in The Hague]. Omroep West (in Dutch). 2 February 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  31. "KIJK MEE: Installatie van de nieuwe raadsleden in de gemeenteraad" [WATCH: Swearing in of new councilors of the municipal council]. Den Haag FM (in Dutch). 30 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  32. Haggeman, Henny (4 February 2022). "Lambert van Meijeren, vader van Tweede Kamerlid Gideon, lijsttrekker voor FvD in Doetinchem" [Lambert van Meijeren, father of House member Gideon van Meijeren, FVD's lead candidate in Doetinchem]. De Gelderlander (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  33. "Raad en college" [Council and executive]. Gemeente Doetinchem (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  34. Van Meijeren, Gideon (12 March 2022). "Gideon van Meijeren (FVD) in Haagse Invloeden" (Interview) (in Dutch). Den Haag FM. Retrieved 7 April 2022 – via YouTube.
  35. Gideon: Op zoek naar de waarheid [Gideon: in search of the truth] (Motion picture) (in Dutch). Docsfair. Event occurs at 57:36. Retrieved 11 April 2022 – via blckbx.
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