Hans Janmaat

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Hans Janmaat 1983 as a member of the Centrumpartij

Johannes Gerardus Hendrikus (Hans) Janmaat (born November 3, 1934 in Nes aan de Amstel , Netherlands, † June 9, 2002 in The Hague ) was a Dutch politician. The founder of the Centrum Democrats became known for his hostile attitude towards immigrants and Muslims. From 1982 to 1986 and from 1989 to 1998 he sat in parliament (second chamber), that is until a short time before the successes of right-wing populist Pim Fortuyn, who was murdered in 2002 .

Janmaat met with strong rejection from the other parliamentary parties. In 1986 he was the victim of a radical left-wing attack in which his partner lost a leg.

Life

Hans Janmaat was the son of a representative and was raised Catholic. After a pre-examination in aircraft construction in Delft, he was director of a small furniture factory, after which he studied political science at the University of Amsterdam. From 1972 to 1984 he worked as a social studies teacher in secondary schools. His last job as a teacher was ended by a court ruling.

Janmaat was married to Evi Hock from 1966 to 1979. In 1996 he married his secretary and partner Wil Schuurman.

Political career

In 1972 Janmaat joined the Katholieke Volkspartij and in 1979 the Democratisch Socialisten '70 , a right-wing split from the Social Democrats, for one year . From 1980 to 1984 he was a member of the Centrumpartij , since 1984 of the Centrum Democrats, which he founded .

In May 1984 during a speech in the Second Chamber

Janmaat became the seventh member of the Centrumpartij after reading a magazine report about the far-right and anti-immigrant party. In May 1980 he became party secretary and in February 1981 chairman. In 1982 he was the only member of his party to enter parliament.

On October 15, 1984, the Centrumpartij expelled Janmaat, so that he continued as an independent chamber member. On November 7, he founded his own party, the Centrum Democrats, geared towards him . In 1986 he was not re-elected to the Second Chamber. In 1989, however, he managed to move back in. In 1994 there were three seats for the CD, although the party had previously won only 78 seats nationwide in the local elections.

In 1998 the Centrum Democrats left the Chamber. Janmaat claimed the voice computers had been tampered with. The public prosecutor saw no reason to start an investigation. The fact that Frits Bolkestein from the right-wing liberal VVD occupied more and more right-wing issues may have led to the loss of voters.

On March 29, 1986, the worst case of political violence in the Netherlands between 1945 and the assassination of Pim Fortuyn in 2002 occurred . The Centrum Democrats were attacked by radical left-wing demonstrators at a meeting in a hotel in Kedichem . Their smoke bombs caused the hotel to burn down. Several Centrum Democrats were injured, Janmaat's partner Wil Schuurman so badly that her leg had to be amputated.

Viewpoints and charisma

Hans Janmaat on February 8, 1984 during an election advertisement

Hans Janmaat was openly anti-immigrant and xenophobic. He wanted to abolish the multicultural society and went public with slogans like full is full and your own people first . In his opinion, it was mainly Turks and Moroccans who endangered Dutch culture. He also argued economically against immigration. Janmaat told Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin that someone of Jewish origin should not hold high positions. Janmaat saw himself in the political center.

Janmaat was convicted of discrimination several times between 1995 and 1997. His attempt to take these judgments before the European Court of Justice ended in his death. The Amsterdam political scientist Meindest Fennema said in 2006 that because of Janmaat's statements about the multicultural society, nobody would be condemned anymore, they had become common property.

Janmaat was not just an object of hate on the left; his clumsy social demeanor made him an often parodied joke. In 1999, after leaving active politics, he was asked about his experiences on a television program ( Het zwarte schaap , with Inge Diepman) and confronted with old opponents. The loud Janmaat looked extremely confused.

He was completely isolated in parliament, and his former friend Peter Lankhorst from GroenLinks also avoided him. On his death, the chairman of the chamber read a short text wishing the relatives Kraft to live on with the memories of the deceased. Most of the chamber members were absent.

Web links

Commons : Hans Janmaat  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

supporting documents

  1. VPRO: Extreemrechts in Nederland , accessed on October 1, 2010.
  2. Trouw: Met excuses aan Janmaat , call 1 October of 2010.