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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
In office
1 February 2020 – 15 July 2024
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 (age 62)
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Political partyForum for Democracy (2022–present)
Other political
affiliations		Party for Freedom (2011–2022)
Alma materRadboud University Nijmegen

M.J.R.L. "Marcel" de Graaff (Dutch: [mɑrˈsɛl də ˈɣraːf]; born 7 April 1962) is a Dutch politician. He was a member of the Senate of the Netherlands for the Party for Freedom (PVV) from 2011 to 2014. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Netherlands in the periods 2014–2019 and 2020–2024. He was co-president of the Europe of Nations and Freedom, and he switched party affiliation to Forum for Democracy in his second term.

Early life and career

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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

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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]

Forum for Democracy

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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] He was suspended from Identity and Democracy later that year, and he decided to leave the group on 22 October due to their differing stances towards Russia. He became a Non-Inscrit member of European Parliament.[13]

De Graaff 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.[14][15] He had also been one of 13 MEPs who voted against condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[16] Nederlands Dagblad noted that De Graaff copied President Vladimir Putin's rhetoric in defense of the war. In a March 2024 debate in the European Parliament, he lauded Russia's sheltering of Ukrainians, and he claimed without evidence that Ukraine had been responsible for bombing hundreds of thousands of children and for supplying children for pedophile rings and organ trade.[17] The home and office of one of De Graaff's assistants was raided in May 2024 by Belgian and French authorities, respectively, in an investigation into Russian interference in European politics. The Czech government had discovered earlier that MEPs had received payments for repeating Russian talking points through the online publication Voice of Europe.[18]

De Graaff was planning to run for another term in the June 2024 European Parliament election in Belgium's Dutch-speaking electoral college. However, the Flanders chapter of Forum for Democracy, which had been founded in January 2024, did not manage to collect the required 5,000 signatures to participate.[19] De Graaff's second term ended on 15 July 2024.[11]

Personal life

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De Graaff is a Roman Catholic and lives in Rotterdam.[2] He is married to fellow politician Gabriëlle Popken.[20]

Electoral history

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Electoral history of Marcel de Graaff
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2012 House of Representatives Party for Freedom 48 157 15 Lost [21]
2014 European Parliament Party for Freedom 1 4 Won
2019 European Parliament Party for Freedom 1 Lost
2023 Senate Forum for Democracy 13 Lost
2023 House of Representatives Forum for Democracy 45 71 3 Lost [22]

References

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  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. ^ a b "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. ^ "Wayback Machine has not archived that URL". Twitter. Retrieved 14 November 2022.[dead link‍]
  14. ^ "European Parliament condemns growing repression of Catholic Church in Nicaragua, calls for release of bishop".
  15. ^ "Nicaragua, in particular the arrest of the bishop Rolando Álvarez" (PDF).
  16. ^ "Politie doorzoekt kantoor medewerker van FVD-Europarlementariër De Graaff" [Police searches office assistant FVD MEP De Graaff]. NU.nl (in Dutch). 29 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  17. ^ Ubbels, Ruurd (4 April 2024). "FVD'er Marcel de Graaff is zo pro-Poetin, dat zelfs zijn geestverwanten hem wantrouwen" [FVD member Marcel de Graaff is so pro-Putin that even his ideological peers distrust him]. Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  18. ^ Derix, Steven; Heck, Wilmer (29 May 2024). "Huiszoeking bij medewerker FVD'er Marcel de Graaff rond onderzoek Russische beïnvloeding" [House search at assistant FVD member Marcel de Graaff as part of Russian interference investigation]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Vlaamse FvD niet verkiesbaar in Europees Parlement" [Flemish FVD not on the ballot in European Parliament election]. NOS (in Dutch). 13 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2012" [Results 2012 general election] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 17 September 2012. pp. 62–63. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2023 d.d. 4 december 2023" [Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives on 4 December 2023] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 4 December 2023. pp. 45–104, 213. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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