Theo Hiddema Explained

Theo Hiddema
Term Start1:13 April 2021
Term End1:13 June 2023
Term Start2:23 March 2017
Term End2:24 November 2020
Birth Name:Theo Upt Hiddema
Birth Date:1 April 1944
Nationality:Dutch
Party:FvD (2016–2022)
Faction Frentrop (2022–2023)
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Theo Upt Hiddema (born 1 April 1944) is a Dutch lawyer, media personality and politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2017 to 2020.[1] [2] A member of Forum for Democracy (FvD), he became a member of the Senate in 2021 following the resignation of Nicki Pouw-Verweij.[3] [4]

Early life

Theo Hiddema was born on 1 April 1944 in Holwerd, Friesland.[5]

Law

Hiddema was accepted to the bar on 10 July 1975 in Maastricht. After an internship with Max Moszkowicz in Maastricht, he founded his own practice in 1981. There are currently two offices, one in Amsterdam and one in Maastricht.[5]

Hiddema became known as a lawyer in several famous cases, one against Florentine Rost van Tonningen-Heubel, the widow of a Dutch national-socialist during World War II, and the case against the violent and criminal Venlo Gang.[5]

Politics

In 2016, Hiddema joined Forum for Democracy (FvD, Dutch: Forum voor Democratie),[5] and was officially allocated a spot high on the electoral roll, second only to the founder and leader of the party, Thierry Baudet.[6] Since FvD managed to get enough electoral votes for two seats in the House of Representatives in the 2017 Dutch general election, Hiddema became a member of the House of Representatives.[5] In November 2020 Hiddema resigned as member of parliament due to "personal circumstances", possibly related to controversies within the party during that time. In December 2020, Hiddema expressed his willingness to stand again as a candidate for the party in March.[7] However, just over a week removed from his announcement, he changed his mind and said he wanted to be removed from the list due to the party's populist approach of opposing the government's coronavirus strategy.[8] In April 2021, he became a FvD senator. In March 2022, he defected from the FvD alongside Paul Frentrop in response to the FvD refusing to attend Volodymyr Zelensky's address to the Dutch House of Representatives.[9]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Heer in het verweer . Gentleman of the Defence . . 30 May 2008 . 3 November 2010 . nl-NL . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120311224949/http://www.depers.nl/binnenland/207308/Heer-in-het-verweer.html . 11 March 2012 .
  2. Web site: Hiddema (FvD) verlaat per direct de Tweede Kamer. 2020-11-24. nos.nl. 24 November 2020 . nl.
  3. Web site: Hiddema gaat Eerste Kamer in voor Forum voor Democratie . 8 April 2021 . Volgens NRC wordt hij naar verwachting volgende week dinsdag beëdigd als senator..
  4. Web site: Hiddema (FVD) geïnstalleerd als Eerste Kamerlid. 13 April 2021. Eerstekamer.nl. 21 April 2021. Dutch. Hiddema (FVD) installed as member of the Senate.
  5. "Mr. Th.U. (Theo) Hiddema" (in Dutch), Parlement & Politiek. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  6. Web site: 2020-10-30. Joost Eerdmans hopes for a comeback in the House of Representatives.... 2020-11-02. AlKhaleej Today.
  7. Web site: 2020-12-24. Theo Hiddema ready to return as FVD candidate a month after quitting as MP. 2021-02-01. DutchNews.nl. en-GB.
  8. Web site: 2021-01-05. Theo Hiddema flips again, won't be candidate for 'populist' FvD. 2021-02-01. DutchNews.nl. en-GB.
  9. Web site: Senatoren Hiddema en Frentrop weg bij FvD om niet bijwonen speech Zelenski . 30 March 2022 . . 24 September 2022 . nl . Senators Hidden and Frentrop leave the FVD because the party did not attend Zelensky's speech.