Nico van der Veen

Nicolaas (Nico) van der Veen (18 June 1916 – 20 April 1962) was a Dutch Reformed minister and politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1959 to 1962 for the Pacifist Socialist Party (PSP), serving as the PSP's parliamentary leader during that period.

Early life Nico van der Veen was born on 18 June 1916 in Utrecht to Jippe van der Veen and Grietje Paulina Ensink. His parents separated when he was young, and he would only get to know his father at the age of 23. Van der Veen was raised by his mother and his stepfather, the former secretary of Pieter Jelles Troelstra, both of whom were members of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP).

At the age of 18, Van der Veen joined the SDAP. Van der Veen initially studied electrical engineering at the Delft University of Technology, but after his conversion to Christianity he quit his studies in Delft and subsequently began studying theology at Leiden University to become a minister. He attempted to continue his studies at the University of Groningen but was unsuccessful, and became a religion teacher instead.

At the request of his stepfather, with whom his mother had remarried after the death of her previous husband, the minister Marie Cornelis Van Wijhe, Van der Veen moved to Vught in May 1943 to set up youth work within the church there.