Kees van der Staaij

Cornelis Gerrit "Kees" van der Staaij (born 12 September 1968) is a Dutch politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2023 and Leader of the Reformed Political Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, SGP) between 2010 and 2023. As a parliamentarian, he focused on matters of judiciary, home affairs, Kingdom relations, foreign policy, the European Union, development aid, the defense, public health, welfare, sports, immigration and political asylum. Van der Staaij had been the longest running member of the House of Representatives from 2017 until 2023.

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 (1974–1979) and Geldermalsen (1979–1980) and to a Reformed secondary school in Amersfoort (1980–1986). 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 at the Council of State, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998. In 2010 he became party leader as well as parliamentary leader in both cases succeeding Bas van der Vlies. He led his party as lead candidate in the 2010, 2012 and 2017 general elections.

Van der Staaij is considered one of the most conservative and right-wing political leaders in the Netherlands. He signed the anti-LGBTQI Nashville Statement and supported anti-abortion organisations, making sure such organisations were granted more subsidies. Before the 2012 Dutch general election, when asked whether he agreed with Todd Akin's comments on "legitimate rape" and pregnancy, he said "it is a fact" that women "seldom" become pregnant after being raped. He and his party focus on the importance of faith and community in society and frequently advocate for theocracy.

Van der Staaij again served as lead candidate for the SGP in the 2021 general election. The SGP won 3 out of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives. Van der Staaij announced that he would not seek re-election in November 2023. He succeeded Marja van Bijsterveldt as special envoy for the maritime industry, advising the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, in February 2024, and he returned to the Council of State in June 2024 as a state councilor in its advisory division.