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Theo Hiddema

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Theo Hiddema
Hiddema in 2020
Senator of the Netherlands
In office
13 April 2021 – 13 June 2023
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
23 March 2017 – 24 November 2020
Personal details
Born
Theo Upt Hiddema

(1944-04-01) 1 April 1944 (age 80)
Holwerd, Netherlands
Political partyFvD (2016–2022)
Faction Frentrop (2022–2023)
ResidenceMaastricht

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

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

Law

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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

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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.[2] 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.[4] 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]

References

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  1. ^ "Heer in het verweer" [Gentleman of the Defence]. De Pers (in Dutch). 30 May 2008. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Hiddema (FvD) verlaat per direct de Tweede Kamer". nos.nl (in Dutch). 24 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  3. ^ "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. ^ a b "Hiddema (FVD) geïnstalleerd als Eerste Kamerlid" [Hiddema (FVD) installed as member of the Senate]. Eerstekamer.nl (in Dutch). 13 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Mr. Th.U. (Theo) Hiddema" (in Dutch), Parlement & Politiek. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Joost Eerdmans hopes for a comeback in the House of Representatives..." AlKhaleej Today. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  7. ^ "Theo Hiddema ready to return as FVD candidate a month after quitting as MP". DutchNews.nl. 2020-12-24. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  8. ^ "Theo Hiddema flips again, won't be candidate for 'populist' FvD". DutchNews.nl. 2021-01-05. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  9. ^ "Senatoren Hiddema en Frentrop weg bij FvD om niet bijwonen speech Zelenski" [Senators Hidden and Frentrop leave the FVD because the party did not attend Zelensky's speech] (in Dutch). De Telegraaf. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
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