Harm Wiersma (born 13 May 1953 in Leeuwarden, Dutch Frisia) is a Dutch draughts player and former politician. He is a six-time world champion in draughts and former MP.
Harm Wiersma (born 13 May 1953 in Leeuwarden, Dutch Frisia) is a Dutch draughts player and former politician. He is a six-time world champion in draughts and former MP.
In draughts he won his first Dutch championship in 1972, but had been known in the field since age 14. His first world champion title took place in 1976 and his last occurred in 1984. He continued to be important in the game and won the European championship in 1999. He has also written on draughts.
His political career was short and troubled. He was strongly impressed with Pim Fortuyn and in a 2003 interview compared him to Desiderius Erasmus. [1] Hence he became one of 26 members of the Pim Fortuyn List elected in 2002 with his main concern being Eastern Europe and sports. Harm Wiersma has worked with Eastern European companies. His son Joeri Wiersma who studied Governmentmanagement at the Thorbecke Academy worked as his personal assistant and is named after the film doctor Yuri Zhivago written by Boris Pasternak. Later he married a Russian wife and had two daughters. However he left the House of Representatives in the following year, 2003, due to difficulties in his municipality. (See LPF article for other difficulties that might have played a role) This exit, combined with his being a draughts player, has led to the pun that he is a "Dutch politician with a checkered past."
Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn, was a Dutch politician, author, civil servant, businessman, sociologist and academic who founded the party Pim Fortuyn List in 2002.
The Pim Fortuyn List was a political party in the Netherlands named after its eponymous founder Pim Fortuyn, a former university professor and political columnist. The party was considered populist, right-wing populist and nationalist as well as adhering to its own distinct ideology of Fortuynism according to some commentators.
The first Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Netherlands government from 22 July 2002 until 27 May 2003. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the nationalistic Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) and the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) after the election of 2002. The cabinet was a right-wing coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Jan Peter Balkenende serving as Prime Minister. Prominent economist Eduard Bomhoff served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, while prominent Liberal politician Johan Remkes served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.
Volkert van der Graaf is a Dutch convicted murderer who assassinated politician Pim Fortuyn, the leader of the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) party, on 6 May 2002. Van der Graaf shot Fortuyn outside a radio studio in Hilversum shortly after Fortuyn gave an interview during the political campaign for the Dutch general election of 2002. An environmental and animal rights activist, van der Graaf stated at his trial that he killed Fortuyn to stop him from exploiting Muslims as "scapegoats" and targeting "the vulnerable sections of society" in seeking political power. Graaf was arrested shortly after shooting Fortuyn, who died immediately. In court, van der Graaf testified that he had become alarmed that Fortuyn was using Muslims and immigrants as scapegoats in a campaign to seek political power. He thought the politician endangered society with his controversial statements. His trial started on 27 March 2003. He was convicted on 15 April 2003 and sentenced to 18 years in prison. The trial generated large interest from the Dutch public, especially from supporters of Fortuyn. Some Fortuyn supporters and political commentators argued that the political left and the media had created a climate that had enabled Graaf's actions through demonising Fortuyn. After his conviction, Graaf appealed for the reduction of the sentence to 16 years, but on 18 July 2003, the appeals court upheld the previous sentence. He was released on parole in May 2014 after serving 12 years, two-thirds of his sentence, according to Dutch practice. His parole ultimately expired on 30 April 2020, giving release from the remaining restrictions.
General elections were held in the Netherlands on 15 May 2002. The elections were amongst the most dramatic in Dutch history, not just in terms of the electoral results, as they were completely overshadowed by the assassination of leader Pim Fortuyn only nine days before election day.
This article lists some of the events that took place in the Netherlands in 2002.
Hilbrand Pier Anne Nawijn is a Dutch lawyer and politician of the local political party Lijst Hilbrand Nawijn (LHN) in Zoetermeer.
Mathieu "Mat" Herben is a Dutch journalist, civil servant and retired politician of the dissolved Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) party and served as leader of the LPF 2003 to 2006.
Olaf Frederik Stuger is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the Netherlands. He represents the Party for Freedom, part of the Europe of Nations and Freedom.
Fortuynism is the political ideology of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn. Observers variously saw him as a political protest targeting the alleged elitism and bureaucratic style of the Dutch purple coalitions, as offering "openness, directness and clearness", populism or simply as charisma. Another school holds Fortuynism as a distinct ideology, with an alternative vision of society. Some argued that Fortuynism was not just one ideology, but contained liberalism, populism and nationalism.
Alexander Baljakin is a Dutch draughts player born in the Russian city of Arkhangelsk. He is also a writer of books about draughts.
Khee Liang Phoa is a Dutch former politician, who served as undersecretary for emancipation and family affairs in the first Balkenende cabinet from September 2002 to May 2003.
Marie-Fleur "Fleur" Agema is a Dutch politician and former spatial designer. As a member of the Party for Freedom she has been an MP since 30 November 2006. She focuses on matters of caregiving.
Guntis Valneris is a Latvian draughts player. He was the 1994 World champion in international draughts, a two-time European champion, two-time World champion in fast draughts, three-time Junior World champion (1984–1986), and multiple-time Latvian national champion.
Vadim Aleksandrovich Virny is a German International draughts player, an International Grandmaster. He was a European champion, World vice-champion and two-times World team champion in International draughts in the 1980s.
Pim Fortuyn, a Dutch politician, was assassinated by Volkert van der Graaf in Hilversum, North Holland on 6 May 2002, nine days before the general election of 2002, in which he was leading the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF).
De puinhopen van acht jaar Paars is a political non-fiction book released by the Dutch political commentator and aspiring lawmaker Pim Fortuyn in 2002, two months prior to his assassination. In the book, Fortuyn sharply criticizes the then ruling "Purple" coalition government and its direct predecessor on nearly all areas of their policies.
Henricus Adrianus Josephus "Hans" Smolders is a Dutch politician, former professional ice hockey player and entrepreneur.
João Varela is a Dutch journalist and former politician who served as an MP in the House of Representatives for the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) from 2002 to 2006. He was the LPF's number two candidate during the 2002 general election and was elected in first place after the assassination of the LFP's leader Pim Fortuyn.
André Peperkoorn is a Dutch military general, counter-terrorism official and former politician.
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