Kees van der Staaij
Cornelis Gerrit "Kees" van der Staaij is a Dutch politician serving as a member of the House of Representatives since 1998 and Leader of the Reformed Political Party since 2010. As a parliamentarian, he focuses on matters of judiciary, home affairs, Kingdom relations, foreign policy, the European Union, development aid, the Dutch defense, public health, welfare, sports, immigration and political asylum.Early life
Van der Staaij was born in Vlaardingen, a city in the province of South Holland. His father was a civil servant in the municipality Maartensdijk.
He went to two Reformed primary schools in Vlaardingen and Geldermalsen and to a Reformed secondary school in Amersfoort. He studied law at Leiden University, specialising in constitutional and administrative law.Politics
Van der Staaij was attracted to politics and became a member of the Reformed Political Party in 1986.
After several jobs in the Council of State of the Netherlands, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998. In 2010 he has become party leader as well as Parliamentary leader in both cases succeeding Bas van der Vlies. He was leading his party in the general elections in 2010 and 2012.
He is known for his conservative outlook on societal matters. He signed the anti-LGBTQI Nashville Statement and supported anti-abortion organisations, making sure such organisations were granted more subsidies.
