Hilbrand Nawijn

Hilbrand Pier Anne Nawijn (born August 8, 1948) is a Dutch politician of the Party for the Netherlands (PVN). He was Minister for Integration & Immigration from July 22, 2002 until May 27, 2003 and later a Member of the House of Representatives for the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF).

Nawijn was born in Kampen. He is a descendant of Firmin Navin (born approx 1725), a Huguenot who fled to Holland from France to escape persecution. After graduating Emelwerda College in Emmeloord he studied law at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Following a long career working for the Dutch Ministry of Justice he was elected in 2002 as a member of the Christen-Democratisch Appèl for the city council of Zoetermeer. Nawijn was an early supporter of the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn and in 2002, when Fortuyn founded the Pim Fortuyn List, Nawijn earned a place on the list. Despite the assassination of Fortuyn which happened days before the election, the LPF emerged with a successful result, thus bringing Nawijn into the Dutch House of Representatives. He was appointed Minister for Integration and Immigration in the first Balkenende cabinet.

Due to the instability of the LPF following Fortuyn's assassination, the first Balkenende cabinet lasted briefly, leading to early elections in 2003. Due to Nawijn's controversial conservative positions such as his support of the death penalty, he was placed at the bottom of the LPF's electoral list. This should have made it almost impossible for Nawijn to be reelected, however, the same statements which made him so unpopular to the political establishment won him a following among voters. Thus on election day Nawijn received enough individual votes to once again enter the House of Representatives.

Despite still being a member of the LPF, Nawijn often was at odds with the party. In January 2005, he left the fragmented LPF with the eventual goal of founding his own political party. He also maintained good relations with the increasingly powerful Flemish party Vlaams Belang.[1]. In the Dutch municipal elections of 2006, Nawijn managed, with his own new party, to gather 5 out of 39 seats in his hometown Zoetermeer. [2]. He entered later that year the 2006 Dutch elections with a new party, the Partij voor Nederland (Party for the Netherlands), but obtained no seats.