Paul Cliteur

Last updated

Audio-input-microphone.svg
Paul Cliteur's voice
Recorded June 2015
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Paul Bernard Cliteur (born 6 September 1955) is a Dutch professor of jurisprudence at Leiden University, as well as a politician, philosopher, writer, publicist and columnist. He is known for his conservative perspective, his atheism, his republicanism, and his dislike of Islam. He is a member of De Vrije Gedachte. [1] Since 2015, Cliteur is a member of the Dutch political party Forum voor Democratie, where he is chairman of the advisory board and the party's official think tank. In 2019 he was elected to be parliamentary group leader for Forum voor Democratie in the Dutch Senate. [2]

Contents

Cliteur has also been on the board of several organisations, including supervisor of the Telders Foundation (think tank of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy), and from 1993 until 1995 chair of the Humanist League (Humanistisch Verbond). [3]

Lawyer and philosopher

Cliteur studied law and philosophy, and graduated on 22 March 1989 with his dissertation Conservatisme en cultuurrecht ("Conservatism and cultural law", published in 2005 under the title Natuurrecht, Cultuurrecht, Conservatisme, "Natural law, Cultural law, Conservatism"). From 1995 until 2002, he was Professor of Philosophy at Delft University. He is Professor of Jurisprudence at Leiden University, where he delivered his maiden speech on 28 May 2004 on "The neutral state, particular education and multiculturalism". His activities mainly include law, cultural history, philosophy and ethics.

Columnist and publicist

Cliteur is mainly known for his opining works, in which he expresses his political views. He served as a columnist for, amongst others, Trouw , and had a spoken column in the TV show Buitenhof . In these, he first and foremost expresses his liberal opinions, his own vision of multiculturism, and also advocates for animal rights.

In March 2004, Cliteur told Het Parool in an interview that he felt he was being limited in freely expressing his opinions on Islam after others branded him a "racist" and "stigmatiser". This was partly due to an AIVD report, which argued criticism of Islam is counterproductive for the social integration of Muslims. Cliteur felt it necessary to moderate the tone of his spoken columns for Buitenhof. After being criticised for taking this position, he decided to terminate his contributions to Buitenhof completely, because he regarded himself to be no longer credible. [4]

An overview of his philosophy is described in Dirk Verhofstadt in gesprek met Paul Cliteur. Een zoektocht naar harmonie (2012), an in-depth interview between Dirk Verhofstadt and Paul Cliteur on Enlightenment values such as the freedom of speech, separation of church and state, the right to self-determination and the equality of every human being.

Political career

Cliteur is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the right-wing party populist party Forum for Democracy, and he was a mentor for the party's leader, Thierry Baudet, whose doctoral dissertation he directed, [5] a dissertation seen as the ideological source for the "anti-immigration, anti-European Union party" Baudet founded later. [6] Cliteur has been connected to the party since 2015, and in 2019 was elected to the Dutch Senate. [5] In 2020, after the discovery of racist text messages circulating within party groups, he stood down as Senate group leader but remained a member of the FvD. [7]

Paul Cliteur
Paul Cliteur-1.jpg
Cliteur at the Debate Night of Arminius, 2014
Member of the Senate
In office
11 June 2019 –25 November 2020
Personal details
Born
Paul Bernard Cliteur

(1955-09-06) 6 September 1955 (age 68)
Political party Forum for Democracy
TitleProfessor emeritus of Jurisprudence at Leiden University
Spouse Carla Zoethout
Academic background
Alma mater Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (MA)
University of Amsterdam (LLM)
Leiden University (PhD)
Thesis Conservatisme en Cultuurrecht. Over de fundering van recht in rechtsbeginselen  (1989)
Doctoral advisor Herman van Gunsteren
Electoral history of Paul Cliteur
YearBodyPartyPos.VotesResultRef.
Party seatsIndividual
2004 European Parliament Party for the Animals 120Lost
2006 House of Representatives Party for the Animals21/22 [lower-alpha 1] 4702Lost [8]
2014 European ParliamentParty for the Animals251Lost
2015 Provincial Council of North Holland Party for the Animals326Lost
2015 Senate Party for the Animals92Lost
2017 House of Representatives Forum for Democracy 306272Lost [9]
2018 Amsterdam Municipal Council Forum for Democracy162003Lost
2019 Provincial Council of North HollandForum for Democracy191,6279Lost
2019 Provincial Council of Utrecht Forum for Democracy136Lost
2019 SenateForum for Democracy212Won
2023 House of RepresentativesForum for Democracy493193Lost [10]

Works

Written in his capacity as a lawyer
Written in his capacity as Socrates Professor
Written in his capacity as a publicist
Lecture on audio cd

Further information

Cliteur lecturing on religious violence (2015). Paul Cliteur lecture.jpg
Cliteur lecturing on religious violence (2015).

Notes

  1. ↑ Cliteur was his party's 21st candidate in electoral districts 2 (Friesland) and 4 (Overijssel) and his party's 22nd candidate in all others.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirk Verhofstadt</span>

Dirk Verhofstadt is a Belgian social liberal (Rawlsian) theorist and younger brother of former Belgian Prime Minister and former ALDE European Parliament Leader Guy Verhofstadt. He has a keen interest in political philosophy, and his philosophical outlook is influenced by Karl Popper, John Stuart Mill, Cesare Beccaria, Thomas Paine, Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Pechtold</span> Dutch politician (born 1965)

Alexander Pechtold is a retired Dutch politician and art historian. He is a member of Democrats 66.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Livestro</span> Dutch columnist and political writer (born 1970)

Joshua Livestro is a Dutch columnist and political writer. He was a former assistant to EU commissioner Frits Bolkestein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond de Roon</span> Dutch politician and prosecutor

Raymond de Roon is a Dutch politician and former prosecutor. As a member of the Party for Freedom he has been an MP since 30 November 2006. He focuses on matters of foreign policy, military operations and the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johan Braeckman</span> Flemish philosopher (born 1965)

Johan Braeckman is a Flemish philosopher. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Ghent and taught at various other institutions e.g. University of Amsterdam. He is editor of the skeptical organisation SKEPP's magazine Wonder en is gheen Wonder. His research, conducted along with a dozen doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, focuses on the philosophical problems associated with the life sciences, in particular the evolutionary theory and neuroscience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Klaver</span> Dutch politician

Jesse Feras Klaver is a Dutch politician serving as a member of the House of Representatives since 2010 and Leader of GroenLinks since 2015. Prior to this, he chaired the youth union of the Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond from 2009 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aukje de Vries</span> Dutch politician

Aukje de Vries is a Dutch politician. As of 10 January 2022, De Vries is State of Secretary for Finance in the fourth Rutte cabinet. As a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy she had been an MP since 8 November 2012. She was also member of the provincial parliament of Friesland from 11 March 2011 until November 2012. Previously she was a member of the municipal council of Leeuwarden from 2002 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thierry Baudet</span> Dutch author and politician (born 1983)

Thierry Henri Philippe Baudet is a Dutch far-right politician, author and self-declared conspiracy theorist. He is the founder and leader of Forum for Democracy (FvD), and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2017. He also serves as the party's parliamentary leader. He is a controversial politician due to his political views, and his use of personal attacks against his opponents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meindert Fennema</span> Dutch political scientist (1946–2023)

Meindert Fennema was a Dutch political scientist and Emeritus Professor of political science, who was attached to the Department of Political Science and the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies of the University of Amsterdam, where he held the chair on Political Theory of Ethnic Relations.

Forum for Democracy is a far-right political party in the Netherlands, founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet and Henk Otten in 2016. The party first participated in elections in the 2017 general election, winning two seats in the House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Dutch provincial elections</span> Dutch provincial elections held in 2019

Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on 20 March 2019. Eligible voters elected the members of the Provincial States in the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. The elections were held on the same day as the 2019 Dutch water boards elections and, in the Caribbean Netherlands, island council elections.

Hugo A. Berkhout is a Dutch currency specialist and politician. He served as a member of the Senate between October 2020 and June 2023. There, he represented the conservative and right-wing populist party Forum for Democracy until he stepped out of the party the following month amidst an internal crisis. He later joined the splinter party JA21.

Robert Jan P. Baljeu is a Dutch politician, who served as a temporary member of the Senate and as a member of the States of North Holland between 2019 and 2023. After he was expelled from the right-wing populist party Forum for Democracy (FvD) shortly after his election, he became a member of the splinter party Group Otten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruben Brekelmans</span> Dutch politician (born 1986)

Ruben Pieter Brekelmans is a Dutch politician who has served as a member of the House of Representatives since 2021 on behalf of the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He previously worked as a political assistant and civil servant at a few government ministries. As a parliamentarian, he focuses his work on foreign affairs and migration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pepijn van Houwelingen</span> Member of the Dutch House of Representatives

Pepijn van Houwelingen is a Dutch politician, who has been serving as a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. He is a member of the conservative populist party Forum for Democracy (FvD). Van Houwelingen holds a doctorate and has worked for the Netherlands Institute for Social Research for a decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freek Jansen</span> Dutch politician

Frederik Jan Harm "Freek" Jansen is a Dutch politician of the right-wing populist party Forum for Democracy (FvD). He serves as a member of the House of Representatives and was the chair of the FvD's youth wing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simone Kerseboom</span> Dutch politician (born 1984)

Simone Kerseboom is a Dutch politician of the conservative populist party Forum for Democracy (FvD). She has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election, and she served on the States of Limburg in the years 2019–2023. Kerseboom lived in South Africa for about twenty years and holds a doctorate from Rhodes University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gideon van Meijeren</span> Member of the Dutch House of Representatives

Gideon Frederik Cornelis van Meijeren is a Dutch civil servant and politician, who has been representing Forum for Democracy (FVD) in the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. He also held a seat in the States of South Holland and was elected to the municipal council of The Hague in 2022. He previously worked as a legislative adviser for the government. His opposition to the government's policy to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and his statements regarding democracy – including speculation about an overthrow of the government – have drawn stark criticism from political leaders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daan de Neef</span> Dutch politician

Daniël "Daan" de Neef is a Dutch speechwriter and former politician. A member of the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), De Neef was a political staffer of the VVD and owned a speech consultancy. He held a seat in the Breda municipal council starting in 2018 and was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2021 general election. De Neef stepped down the following year and switched to the Party for the Animals (PvdD) shortly after.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Westerveld</span> Dutch politician (born 1981)

Elisabeth Marij "Lisa" Westerveld is a Dutch politician serving as a member of GroenLinks in the House of Representatives of the Netherlands since 2017. Between 2014 and 2017 she was a member of the municipality council of Nijmegen.

References

  1. ↑ Frank van Zijl (26 March 2004). "Kan ik dit wel zeggen?". de Volkskrant. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  2. ↑ Paul Cliteur unaniem gekozen tot fractievoorzitter FVD in de Eerste Kamer, forumvoordemocratie.nl, 4 June 2019
  3. ↑ "Rechtsgeleerde en filosoof". Wie is Paul Cliteur?. Leiden University. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Rob Trip (28 March 2004). "Buitenhof (2003–2004)". Buitenhof . NPO 1 . Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  5. 1 2 Winterman, Peter (24 November 2020). "Leegloop bij Forum voor Democratie: ook Paul Cliteur stapt op". Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  6. ↑ Morgan, John (28 March 2019). "Dutch election victor's university attack has roots in PhD thesis". Times Higher Education . Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "Crisisdagen bij Forum voor Democratie, wat er tot nu toe gebeurde". 26 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "Proces-verbaal zitting Kiesraad uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2006" [Records meeting Duch Electoral Council results 2006 general election](PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 27 November 2006. pp. 117–128, 129. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2017 (getekend exemplaar)" [Results House of Representatives 2017 (signed example)](PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 21 March 2017. pp. 152–153. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2023 d.d. 4 december 2023" [Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives on 4 December 2023](PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 4 December 2023. pp. 47–104, 213. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "Buitenhof - Paul Cliteur". www.carotta.de.
  12. ↑ Anton van Hooff (December 2002). "Atheïstisch bijgeloof". Skepter 15(4). Stichting Skepsis. (including a 4 November 2007 addendum)
  13. ↑ Paul Cliteur – Modern zelotisme (in: “De Vrijdenker”, June 2008)

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Paul Cliteur at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.