Michiel Hoogeveen
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
for the Netherlands
Assumed office
15 April 2021
Preceded byDerk Jan Eppink
Parliamentary groupEuropean Conservatives and Reformists
Member of the States of South Holland
In office
28 March 2019[1] – 19 May 2021[2]
Succeeded byHillebrand de Vries
Personal details
Born
M.P. Hoogeveen[1]

(1989-07-06) 6 July 1989[3]
Leiden, Netherlands
Political party Netherlands:
JA21 (since 2020)
 EU:
European Conservatives and Reformists Party
Other political
affiliations		Forum for Democracy (2016–20)
Alma mater
Occupation

Michiel P. Hoogeveen (born 6 July 1989) is a Dutch politician of the right-wing conservative JA21 party. He started his career in the financial sector and as a freelance North Korea researcher. He became a member of Forum for Democracy (FVD) in 2016 and was elected to the States of South Holland three years later. He left the party in 2020 and subsequently joined JA21, which he has been representing in the European Parliament as part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) since April 2021.

Early life and education

Hoogeveen was born and raised in the South Holland city of Leiden.[4] He attended the secondary school Bonaventura College and went to The Hague University of Applied Sciences, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 2011.[4][5] He then studied political science at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and graduated with a Master of Science degree in 2013 after completing his thesis about inter-Korean economic relations.[5][6]

Early career

Hoogeveen has worked at several banks including KAS Bank and he served as an independent researcher of North Korea at the same time.[7][8][9] He traveled to the country three times between 2014 and 2017.[10]

In a 2016 opinion piece, he called the policies of the West and the United Nations to stop North Korea's nuclear weapons program a failure, saying that the condemnations and sanctions following nuclear tests were not having any effect. He instead called for diplomatic talks with North Korea.[11] A book by Hoogeveen called Het kluizenaarskoninkrijk: Over de opkomst en toekomst van Noord-Korea (The hermit kingdom: about the rise and future of North Korea) was published by Blue Tiger in 2018. He has told that the book was intended to stop the flood of disinformation, and he managed to paint a nuanced picture of North Korea "without glossing over Kim Jong-un's dictatorship" according to one review in Trends magazine.[12] Hoogeveen has also served on the board of Pugwash Netherlands, an organization addressing weapons of mass destruction.[6]

Politics

He joined the right-wing conservative Forum for Democracy (FVD) party in 2016 after having attended a speech by party leader Thierry Baudet.[13] Hoogeveen participated in the March 2019 provincial elections as the party's ninth candidate in South Holland and was elected to the States of South Holland.[14] Two months later, he ran for Member of the European Parliament in the election as FVD's fifth candidate.[13] He left his job as a risk consultant at KPMG to join the campaign.[13][15] In 2019 Hoogeveen, told in an interview on Dutch withdrawal from the European Union, that thinking on a European level is undermining the Dutch identity.[13] He has since clarified his position, stating that he favoured reforming the EU and the Eurozone instead of an immediate withdrawal.[16] He received 9,521 preference votes, but FVD's three seats were not sufficient for Hoogeveen to be elected.[17] After the election, Hoogeveen became a press officer and political adviser of MEPs Derk Jan Eppink, Rob Roos, and Rob Rooken.[15]

A crisis broke out within the party in November 2020 after newspaper Het Parool had written that antisemitic, Nazi, and homophobic thoughts were being held and expressed by members of Forum for Democracy's youth wing.[18] An internal election was subsequently held to determine the future of Thierry Baudet. Hoogeveen called on members to vote him out. After Baudet had received support from a majority of the voters in December, Hoogeveen left the party. He decided to keep his seat, and he was joined by four more States of South Holland members of FVD.[19] He later joined the splinter party JA21 and kept his position as press officer and political adviser, as Eppink, Roos, and Rooken had all joined that party as well.[4]

He was JA21's ninth candidate in the 2021 general election, but he was not elected to the House of Representatives due to the party winning three seats.[4] Hoogeveen personally received 337 preference votes.[20] Derk Jan Eppink had been the third candidate and was thus elected to the House, leaving a vacant seat in the European Parliament for Hoogeveen to fill.[21] He was installed on 15 April as part of the European Conservatives and Reformists political group and left the States of South Holland the following month.[2][22] Hoogeveen became JA21's spokesperson for economic and monetary affairs, international trade, and gender equality, and he is on the following committees and delegations:[9][22]

In 2022, during a period of high inflation, Hoogeveen blamed high government spending and monetary policy.[7] He represented the European Parliament in negotiations over reforms of European Long Term Investment Funds, and he became shadow rapporteur on a proposal by the European Commission to introduce a digital euro. Hoogeveen opposed the latter, calling it "a solution looking for a problem". He said it could cause confusion, undermining trust in the financial system, and he raised concerns about a possible bank run.[23][24][25] Besides, Hoogeveen continued to criticize the West's approach towards North Korea; he said denuclearization of North Korea would not be achieved through directly demanding it. He instead proposed to normalize relations such that they would feel safe to lower their defenses.[10]

Personal life

While a Member of the European Parliament, Hoogeveen moved from Leiden to nearby Oegstgeest.[4][16]

References

  1. 1 2 "M.P. Hoogeveen". Provincie Zuid-Holland (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Notulen van Provinciale Staten" [Minutes of the States Provincial] (PDF). Provincie Zuid-Holland (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  3. ↑ "M.P. (Michiel) Hoogeveen". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Molducci, Annalaura (10 March 2021). "Michiel Hoogeveen van JA21: 'Wij zijn het rechtse geluid'" [Michiel Hoogeveen of JA21: 'We are the voice from the right']. Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  5. 1 2 "About". Michiel Hoogeveen. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  6. 1 2 De Jong, Steven (4 May 2018). "Twistgesprek experts over de strategie van Kim Jong-un" [Conversation between disagreeing experts about Kim Jong-un's strategy]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  7. 1 2 Haegens, Koen (13 April 2022). "Het mysterie van de stijgende prijzen" [The mystery of increasing prices]. De Groene Amsterdammer (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "South Korea to announce plan for joint military exercises before April". The Japan Times. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Workshops". GHD Ubbo Emmius Historical Conference. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  10. 1 2 Ko, Dong-hwan (22 September 2022). "[INTERVIEW] 'North Korea won't use nuclear bombs'". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  11. ↑ Hoogeveen, Michiel (13 January 2016). "Toenadering zoeken tot Noord-Korea" [North Korean rapprochement]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Glastra, Binnert Jan (17 May 2019). "Michiel Hoogeveen uit Leiden strijdt voor Forumzetels: 'Zonder de EU stellen we juist meer voor'" [Michiel Hoogeveen from Leiden fights for Forum for Democracy seats: 'We are more without the EU']. Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  13. ↑ "Uitslag provincie Zuid-Holland provinciale statenverkiezing 2019" [Results of the 2019 provincial elections in the province of South Holland]. Kiesraad (in Dutch). 25 March 2019. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  14. 1 2 Bartoloni, Mia (16 April 2021). "Movers and Shakers". The Parliament Magazine. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  15. 1 2 Buitink, Paul (28 June 2022). "Michiel Hoogeveen (JA21) over hervormen van de euro" [Michiel Hoogeveen (JA21) about reforming the euro] (Podcast) (in Dutch). Holland Gold. Event occurs at 1:20 and 26:51. Retrieved 28 July 2022 – via YouTube.
  16. ↑ "Uitslag Europees Parlementsverkiezing 2019" (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 4 June 2019. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  17. ↑ Botje, Harm Ede; Cohen, Mischa (21 November 2020). "Nazifoto's geen bezwaar bij de jongeren van Forum voor Democratie" [Nazi pictures no problem at Forum for Democracy youth]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  18. ↑ Straatsma, Erna (5 December 2020). "Groot deel Statenfractie Forum Zuid-Holland gaat zonder Thierry Baudet verder; twee leden blijven partijleider trouw" [Large part of FVD members of States of South Holland continue without Thierry Baudet; two members remain loyal to party leader]. Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  19. ↑ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021 Proces-verbaal" [Results general election 17 March 2021 Report] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. pp. 151–152. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  20. ↑ "Nieuwe Nederlandse gezichten in Europees Parlement" [New Dutch faces in European Parliament]. Noordhollands Dagblad (in Dutch). ANP. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  21. 1 2 "9th parliamentary term". European Parliament. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  22. ↑ Allenbach-Ammann, János (21 October 2022). "EU agrees on reform of long-term investment funds". Euractiv. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  23. ↑ Allenbach-Ammann, János (5 September 2023). "European Parliament sceptical of Digital Euro". Euractiv. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  24. ↑ Lacroix, Yves (20 July 2023). "Michiel Hoogeveen (JA21): 'Digitale euro mag van tafel'" [Michiel Hoogeveen (JA21): 'Digital euro proposal could be withdrawn']. Brusselse Nieuwe (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 September 2023.
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