Barry Madlener

Barry Madlener
Madlener in 2017
Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management
Incumbent
Assumed office
2 July 2024
Prime MinisterDick Schoof
Preceded byMark Harbers
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
20 September 2012 – 2 July 2024
Succeeded byFolkert Thiadens
In office
30 November 2006 – 14 July 2009
Leader of the Party for Freedom
in the European Parliament
In office
14 July 2009 – 19 September 2012
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byLaurence Stassen
Member of the European Parliament
In office
14 July 2009 – 19 September 2012
ConstituencyNetherlands
Personal details
Born (1969-01-06) January 6, 1969 (age 55)
Leiden, Netherlands
Political partyParty for Freedom
Other political
affiliations		Livable Rotterdam
Children1
ResidenceRockanje
OccupationPolitician
Estate agent

Barry Madlener (born 6 January 1969) is a Dutch politician, who has served as Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management in the Schoof cabinet since July 2024. A member of the Party for Freedom (PVV), he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2006. He became the PVV's leader in the European Parliament following the 2009 election. Madlener resigned from that position to again serve in the House of Representatives from the 2012 general election until 2024.

Biography

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

During his youth, Madlener lived in the south seaside village of Oostvoorne with his parents and older sister. He later moved to Rotterdam for his studies. After graduating from high school he became a real estate agent and spent a number of years selling commercial real estate. On 14 March 2002 he was inaugurated as a member of the municipal council of Rotterdam for Livable Rotterdam, a position he held until 2007.[1] Together with Kay van der Linde he was also involved in establishing the Livable Netherlands political party.

Livable Rotterdam

[edit]

At the 2002 municipal election, Madlener was listed eleventh on the Livable Rotterdam list, the local party whose leader Pim Fortuyn was assassinated later that year. Madlener was considered a confidant of Fortuyn. The party won 17 seats in these historical elections on 6 March 2002. As a municipal councillor Madlener was infrastructure spokesman. In that function he was an outspoken supporter of the construction of a campus at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. He was also in favour of prohibiting municipal civil servants wearing a veil. He put forward two proposals: a proposal to prohibit carrying religious symbols for all civil servants, as well as a second proposal to the same effect for teachers and support staff at schools. He also stated that physical education at Muslim schools should be a mixed gender class.

National and European politics

[edit]

Elected to the House of Representatives in the 2006 general election, he was placed seventh on the Party for Freedom list led by Geert Wilders. It was the first general election in which the party participated.[1] Madlener resigned as a Rotterdam municipal councillor on 1 July 2007. He led the PVV in the 2009 European Parliament election before returning to the House of Representatives following the 2012 election. He became the PVV's spokesperson for infrastructure after the 2017 general election, and his specialty has been housing following the November 2023 election.[2] Over the years, he has advocated merging passenger railway operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen and railway infrastructure management organization ProRail, and he has opposed establishing an international rail connection between Eindhoven and Aachen in Germany.[1]

After the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB formed the Schoof cabinet, Madlener was sworn in as Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management on 2 July 2024.[1][3] Responding to unsafe situations and nuisance caused by electric fatbikes, the VVD and NSC introduced a motion calling on Madlener to set a minimum driving age of 14 and to require helmets. He advised against the motion, arguing that fatbikes are too similar to other electric bikes for separate regulations, but an overwhelming majority of the House voted in favor in September 2024.[4][5]

Personal life

[edit]

Madlener has been a long-time resident of the South Holland village of Rockanje.[6] He met his wife in Brussels, and their son was born in 2013.[7][8]

Electoral history

[edit]
Electoral history of Barry Madlener
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2006 House of Representatives Party for Freedom 7 344 9 Won [9]
2009 European Parliament Party for Freedom 1 382,610 4 Won [10]
2010 House of Representatives Party for Freedom 47[a] 260 24 Lost [11]
2012 House of Representatives Party for Freedom 8 829 15 Won [12]
2017 House of Representatives Party for Freedom 7 987 20 Won [13]
2021 House of Representatives Party for Freedom 10 532 17 Won [14]
2023 House of Representatives Party for Freedom 12 693 37 Won [15]

Notes

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  1. ^ Madlener participated as a lijstduwer.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Barry Madlener werkt al lang samen met Wilders" [Barry Madlener has been working with Wilders for a long time]. NOS (in Dutch). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Tweede Kamerfractie" [House of Representatives group]. Party for Freedom (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Ministers en staatssecretarissen kabinet-Schoof beëdigd" [Ministers and state secretaries of Schoof cabinet sworn in]. NOS (in Dutch). 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Irritatie tussen minister en Kamer over strengere regels fatbikes" [Annoyance between minister and House about stricter fatbike regulations]. NU.nl (in Dutch). 11 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  5. ^ Van Buuren, Yara (24 September 2024). "Tweede Kamer wil leeftijdsgrens en helmplicht voor fatbikes, minister kijkt wat hij kan doen" [House of Representatives wants age limit and helmet requirement for fatbikes, minister will consider his options]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  6. ^ Derix, Steven; Van den Dool, Pim; Stokmans, Derk; Vermeer, Oscar; Klumpenaar, Sjoerd; König, Eppo; Pelgrim, Christiaan; Bouwman, Boris (13 June 2024). "Van diplomaat tot Boer zoekt Vrouw-kandidaat: dit zijn de beoogde ministers van het kabinet-Schoof" [From diplomat to Farmer Wants Wife contender: These are the ministers-designate of the Schoof cabinet]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  7. ^ Is het kabinet nu al aan het wiebelen? [Is the cabinet instable already?]. Rondje Binnenhof (in Dutch). 4 October 2024. Event occurs at 18:11. NOS. Retrieved 5 October 2024 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Righton, Natalie; Holscher, Dana (6 October 2024). "Ook de gewone fietser moet eraan geloven: kabinet wil dat kwart een helm gaat dragen" [Also for the regular cyclist: Cabinet wants a quarter of them to wear a helmet]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  9. ^ "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. 131–132. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  10. ^ Kiesraad (11 June 2009). "Results of elections for members of the European Parliament of 4 June 2009 - News item - Kiesraad". english.kiesraad.nl. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2010" [Results 2010 general election] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 16 June 2010. pp. 32–33. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2012" [Results 2012 general election] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 17 September 2012. pp. 60–61. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2017 (getekend exemplaar)" [Results House of Representatives 2017 (signed example)] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 21 March 2017. pp. 64–65. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  14. ^ "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. 18–19. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  15. ^ "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. 33–34. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management
2024–present 		Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
First
 Parliamentary leader of the Party for Freedom in European Parliament
2009–2012 		Succeeded by
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