René Claassen
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René A.B. Claassen (born 13 July 1971) is a Dutch politician representing the
Party for Freedom The Party for Freedom ( , PVV) is a right-wing populist, far-right political party in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders is the founder, party leader, and sole registered member of the party. Founded in 2006 as the successor to Wilders' one-ma ...
(PVV). He was a member of the
Provincial Council of Limburg The Provincial Council of Limburg (), also called Limburgs Parlement, are the provincial council for the Dutch province of Limburg. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 47 seats are distributed every four years in provincial elect ...
starting in 2019, and he has served as a member of the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
since the
2023 Dutch general election Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2023 to elect the members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of Representatives. The elections had been expected to be held in 2025, but a snap election was ca ...
.


Early life and healthcare career

Claassen was born in
Heerlen Heerlen (; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the f ...
's Zuyderland Hospital on 13 July 1971. His father was a member of the Labour Party and a senior union leader of
Abvakabo Abvakabo was a trade union representing public sector and postal workers in the Netherlands. The union was founded in 1982, when the General Union of Civil Servants (ABVA) merged with the Catholic Union of Government Personnel (KABO). It affilia ...
. Claassen was raised Catholic, but he has said that he was "cured of Roman Catholicism" after visiting
Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...
at age seventeen, concluding it was a charade. Claassen completed his nursing training in the late 1980s, and he worked as a hospital nurse for over twenty years, successively in a pediatric ward and an
intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...
. He was employed by the Zuyderland Hospital for most of that period. He switched careers in 2008 and became a healthcare educator and manager at the
Zuyd University of Applied Sciences Zuyd University of Applied Sciences () is a University of Applied Sciences with campuses in Heerlen, Sittard and Maastricht in the southeastern Netherlands. The main focus of Zuyd University is on Bachelor programmes, 52 in total, most of the ...
. He also completed a master's degree in applied science at
Maastricht University Maastricht University (abbreviated as UM; ) is a public university, public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands. Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen List of universities in the Netherlands, Dutch universities. In ...
.


Political career

In a 2024 interview, Claassen described that he was inspired by the rise of right-wing politician
Pim Fortuyn Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn (; 19 February 1948 – 6 May 2002), was a Dutch politician, author, civil servant, businessman, sociologist and academic who founded the party Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn or LPF) in ...
. Poverty was rising in Heerlen as a result of the closure of coal mines in the region, and Claassen believe those issues could only be solved by the
political right Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property, ...
. He was elected to the
Provincial Council of Limburg The Provincial Council of Limburg (), also called Limburgs Parlement, are the provincial council for the Dutch province of Limburg. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 47 seats are distributed every four years in provincial elect ...
in March 2019 and to the
municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
of
Landgraaf Landgraaf (; ) is a municipality in southeastern Limburg, Netherlands, forming part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration. ''SnowWorld'' is the largest indoor ski piste in Europe. Population centres * Nieuwenhagen * Schaesberg * Ubach over W ...
in March 2022. He stepped down from both positions in December 2023. During the
2023 Dutch general election Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2023 to elect the members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of Representatives. The elections had been expected to be held in 2025, but a snap election was ca ...
, he was elected to the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
as the PVV's sixth candidate, and he became the party's spokesperson for curative healthcare. When the House was considering to expand a pilot program to legalize the cultivation and supply of cannabis, Claassen instead proposed to put it on hold. His
motion In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an o ...
was not supported by a majority. Claassen introduced two motions in an attempt to prevent the closure of the
emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...
and the
intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...
of the Zuyderland Hospital. Healthcare minister
Fleur Agema Marie-Fleur Agema (; born 16 September 1976) is a Dutch former spatial designer and politician affiliated with the Party for Freedom (PVV). From 2 July 2024 to 3 June 2025, she served as first Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minis ...
(PVV) advised against them, and she was unable to keep the departments open.


House committee memberships

* Committee for Finance * Committee for Health, Welfare and Sport * Committee for European Affairs (vice chair) * Committee for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature


Electoral history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claassen, René Living people 1971 births Party for Freedom politicians Members of the Provincial Council of Limburg Dutch MPs 2023– Municipal councillors in Limburg (Netherlands) Party for Freedom MPs