Gom van Strien

Gommarus Adrianus "Gom" van Strien (born 10 June 1951) is a Dutch politician, he has been a member of the Senate for the Party for Freedom since 7 June 2011. He has served as deputy parliamentary leader since 25 September 2012. He was named formation scout after the 2023 Dutch general election but resigned within days, after he was linked to a fraud case involving his former employer, Utrecht Holdings.

Early life and career Van Strien was born in Geertruidenberg on 10 June 1951. He studied physics at the Catholic University Nijmegen between 1970 and 1976. He then studied business administration at the University of Twente between 1976 and 1978. Fellow party members called his term in office as unremarkable apart for his sudden departure. In 1999 he left the party after being disillusioned with the change in leadership from Frits Bolkestein to Hans Dijkstal.

In 2009 sent an application letter to Geert Wilders to become a member of the Senate for the Party for Freedom. He has served as deputy parliamentary leader since 25 September 2012.

Formation scout and fraud case After the 2023 Dutch general election he was named formation scout on a proposal of election winner Geert Wilders on 24 November 2023. Wilders called him someone "with not too great a political profile". On the morning of 27 November 2023, the day of his intended start as formation scout, he stated that he would lay down his tasks as formation scout. Van Strien later stated that it was a mistake that he did not inform Wilders of the allegations when he was considered for formation scout. He had discussed the matter with Party for Freedom Senate leader Marjolein Faber and both decided it was best not to bother Wilders with the matter.

His home in Arcen was raided by the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) in May 2024 as part of an investigation into the criminal complaint by Utrecht Holdings. In a civil case against Van Strien's successor as managing director of Utrecht Holdings, a court of appeals concluded in November 2024 that Van Strien and his successor had obtained a stake in a spin-off company of the university, which held shares of two biomedical companies, by hiding their involvement in a separate entity called Hereswint. This entity, jointly owned by Van Strien's wife, his neighbor, a friend, and the wife of his successor, received €2 million in dividends between 2006 and 2018 due to its stake in the spin-off company. Hereswint was established by his neighbor at Van Strien's direction. In reply to the ruling, Van Strien called it disgraceful that his conduct was judged without him being heard.

Personal life Van Strien is married and has three children. He is fond of maritime history and genealogy and wrote a book on his own family's history.

Senate

House of Representatives

Senate

House of Representatives

House of Representatives