Gert Jan Maarten "Gert-Jan" Segers (born 9 July 1969) is a Dutch politician serving as Leader of the Christian Union since 2015. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2012 and parliamentary leader since 2015.

Early career

A native of Lisse, Segers studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

at Leiden University and obtained a master's degree in Western– Islamic relations and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...

. From 2000 to 2007 he was a

Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...

ary in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. From 2008 to 2012, he was the chairman of the Christian Union think tank Mr. G. Groen van Prinsterer Stichting. He is also a columnist for the Dutch newspaper '' Nederlands Dagblad''; he wrote two books criticising political Islam, as well as two novels.

Politics

Segers entered the House of Representatives following the 2012 general election. In 2015, he succeeded Arie Slob as party leader and parliamentary leader. In the

2017 general election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November ...

, the Christian Union remained stable with five seats. Prime Minister Mark Rutte first turned toward GroenLinks to form his third cabinet, but policy disagreement between the parties prevented participation. Rutte then turned toward the Christian Union, who accepted the offer to govern: two Christian Union members were appointed ( Carola Schouten and Arie Slob).

Private life

Gert-Jan Segers is married and has three children. Theo Segers, the former Mayor of Staphorst and current Mayor of Molenlanden, is his cousin.

References

External links

*
Parlement.com biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Segers, Gert-Jan 1969 births Living people 21st-century Dutch male writers 21st-century Dutch novelists 21st-century Dutch politicians Christian Union (Netherlands) politicians Dutch Calvinist and Reformed Christians Dutch columnists Dutch journalists Dutch male novelists Dutch political scientists Dutch Protestant missionaries Dutch Reformed Church missionaries Johns Hopkins University alumni Leaders of the Christian Union (Netherlands) Leiden University alumni Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) People from Lisse Protestant missionaries in Egypt Reformatory Political Federation politicians 20th-century Dutch people