Hilbrand Nawijn

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Hilbrand Pier Anne Nawijn (born 8 August 1948, Kampen) is a Dutch politician, Member of the Dutch Parliament, and until June 22, 2005, a member of Lijst Pim Fortuyn.

After graduating Emelwerda College in Emmeloord Nawijn studied law at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. After 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 Lijst Pim Fortuyn Nawijn earned a place on the list. Despite the assassination of Fortuyn days before the election the LPF emerged with a successful result thus bringing Nawijn into the Dutch Lower House. 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 a short time 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 Tweede Kamer.

Despite still being a member of the LPF, Nawijn often butted heads within the party. In January of 2005 he left the totally fragmented LPF with the eventual goal of founding his own political party. He also maintains good relations with the increasingly powerful Flemish party Vlaams Belang.[1] Together with another ex-LPF politician, Gerard van As, Nawijn will enter the 2006 Dutch elections with the party Partij voor Nederland (Party for the Netherlands).

Gerard van As, a LPF party leader, left the LPF and joined Nawijn's faction, on August 16, 2006.[2]