| Gert-Jan Oplaat | |
| Office: | Member of the Senate |
| Term Start: | 13 June 2023 |
| Office1: | Member of the House of Representatives |
| Term Start1: | 19 May 1998 |
| Term End1: | 23 May 2002 |
| Term Start2: | 26 July 2002 |
| Term End2: | 30 November 2006 |
| Birth Date: | 22 November 1964 |
| Birth Place: | Markelo, Netherlands |
Gert-Jan Oplaat (born 22 November 1964) is a Dutch politician.
After secondary education he became a member of an agricultural family business.[1] In 1994 he protested against the national manure and ammonia policies.[1]
In 1989 he joined the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).[1] Between 1994 and 1998 he was a municipal councillor in Markelo.
He was elected in the 1998 general election.[1] He was his party's spokesman for agriculture.[1] In 2004 he presented a pamphlet arguing for a more right-conservative course, together with Geert Wilders.[1] His place on the candidate list was too low to be re-elected in the 2006 general election.
After leaving parliament he became a consultant, administrator in branche organisations and chairman of the regional chamber of commerce.[1]
Until 2014 he was chairman of the VVD provincial branch in Overijssel.
In 2022 he left the VVD because of discontent about its policies during the nitrogen crisis.[2] After being contacted by multiple parties, he joined the agrarian Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB).[3] Oplaat was placed third on the BBB's candidate list for the 2023 Senate election and was elected, taking office on 13 June 2023.
Oplaat is married. He performs as a cabaretier and singer.[1] He is a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau and a member of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.
| Body | Party | Votes | Result | . | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||||||
| 1998 | House of Representatives | VVD | style=text-align:right | 36 | style=text-align:right | 3,712 | style=text-align:right | 38 | ||||
| 2002 | House of Representatives | VVD | style=text-align:right | 27 | style=text-align:right | 2,672 | style=text-align:right | 24 | ||||
| 2003 | House of Representatives | VVD | style=text-align:right | 23 | style=text-align:right | 3,219 | style=text-align:right | 28 | ||||
| 2006 | House of Representatives | VVD | style=text-align:right | 26 | style=text-align:right | 2,601 | style=text-align:right | 22 | ||||
| 2023 | Senate | BBB | style=text-align:right | 3 | style=text-align:right | style=text-align:right | 16 |