Pim van Strien

In this Dutch name, the surname is Van Strien, not Strien.

Pim van Strien
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 March 2021
Personal details
Born	Pim Johannes Thomas van Strien [1] (1977-04-29) 29 April 1977 (age 47) Tilburg, Netherlands
Political party	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
Children	2
Alma mater	Maastricht University
Occupation	Press officer political staffer politician

Pim Johannes Thomas van Strien (born 29 April 1977) is a Dutch politician of the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who has served as a member of the House of Representatives since 2021. He previously worked as a press officer for the VVD and Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.

Early life and career

Van Strien was born in 1977 in the North Brabant city of Tilburg. ^[2] He attended Concord College in the English county of Shropshire in the years 1993–95 before studying international law at Maastricht University. ^{[3] [4]} Van Strien was a member of the student association Circumflex and its debating society Ambiorix, and he interned at the United Nations as part of the staff of Secretary-General Kofi Annan. ^{[4] [5]}

He worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and took a job at the VVD in 2006, initially serving as a political adviser and later as a press officer. ^{[5] [6]} Van Strien became chief spokesperson for Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp (VVD) in 2014 after having served as one of his spokespeople for one year. Starting in 2018, he led the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy's communication strategy and external affairs department. ^{[4] [5]}

Van Strien was the VVD's 31st candidate in the 2021 general election and was elected to the House of Representatives with 463 preference votes. ^[7] He was sworn in on 31 March. ^[1] Van Strien's specialties in the House are the knowledge economy, industrial policy, economic innovation, media, and culture, and he is on the Committees for Art; for Digital Affairs; for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy; for Education, Culture and Science; for Finance; and for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (vice chair). He is also on the House's contact groups Germany, United Kingdom, and United States and on its delegation to the Benelux Parliament. ^{[2] [8]} In June 2021, when during the COVID-19 pandemic infections with the coronavirus were declining in the Netherlands, Van Strien called on the government to grant more permits for festivals and other cultural activities to support the struggling cultural sector. ^[9] He also pled for the framing of an accord to improve the Dutch business climate. Van Strien had criticized a bill that would require companies to adhere to corporate social responsibility principles for this reason. ^[10]

He lost his bid for re-election in November 2023, bringing an end to this membership of the House. After the VVD joined the Schoof cabinet in July 2024, Van Strien initiated a petition with fellow party members in which they criticized the party's cooperation with the right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV), calling themselves "De Liberale VVD" (The liberal VVD). ^[11] He later criticized the cabinet's intended use of emergency powers to declare an asylum crisis, arguing that it could undermine core principles of the democratic rule of law. ^[12]

Personal life

While a House of Representatives member, Van Strien moved from the Amsterdam borough of Westerpark to Haarlem. He has a girlfriend and two sons, who were born in 2017 and 2020. ^{[2] [13] [14]}

Electoral history

Electoral history of Pim van Strien

Year	Body	Party		Pos.	Votes	Result		Ref.
						Party seats	Individual
2021	House of Representatives		People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	31	463	34	Won	[15]
2023	House of Representatives		People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	34	853	24	Lost	[16]

References

1. "P.J.T. (Pim) van Strien". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 September 2022.
2. "Pim van Strien". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal . 31 March 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
3. "First Member of Parliament from Concord!!!". Concord College (Press release). 27 March 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
4. Kools, Femke (25 February 2021). "From Maastricht to The Hague". Maastricht University (Press release). Retrieved 3 October 2021.
5. "Wie is Pim" [Who is Pim?]. Pim van Strien (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 October 2021.
6. Koops, Ruben; Meijs, Floor (18 March 2021). "Twaalf Amsterdammers maken entree in Tweede Kamer" [Twelve Amsterdam residents enter House of Representatives]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 October 2021.
7. "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021 Proces-verbaal" [Results general election 17 March 2021 Report](PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. p. 14 and 157. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
8. "Pim van Strien". VVD (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 October 2021.
9. "'Sneller meer vergunningen voor festivals en kermissen'" ['More quickly more permits for festivals and fairs']. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 14 June 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
10. Visser, Peter (16 February 2023). "VVD'er Pim van Strien wil vestigingsklimaatakkoord: 'Moeten banen en boterham behouden'" [VVD member Pim van Strien wants business climate accord: 'We should keep jobs and livelihoods']. WNL (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 April 2023.
11. De Koning, Petra (10 July 2024). "VVD'ers beginnen petitie over samenwerking met de PVV: 'Politiek die niet bij ons past'" [VVD members start a petition about cooperation with the PVV: 'Politics that do not align with us']. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 July 2024.
12. "Waar staat de VVD in de discussie over een noodwet voor asiel: 'Koninklijke route' of 'afspraak is afspraak'?" [Which stance does the VVD have in the debate on the use of emergency powers for asylum: 'Royal route' or 'agreements should hold'?]. NRC (in Dutch). 17 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.{{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
13. "Pim van Strien (43, VVD)". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 13 March 2021. p. 16.
14. "Mijn wijk" [My neighborhood]. Pim van Strien (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 March 2022.
15. "Proces-verbaal verkiezingsuitslag Tweede Kamer 2021" [Report of the election results House of Representatives 2021](PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
16. "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. 15–16. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

External links

• Campaign website (in Dutch)