Passion, flair and vision. Those are three words to describe Jesse Klaver. He wants to change the Netherlands and launch the attack on the status quo in The Hague.
Jesse Klaver was born on May 1, 1986 in Roosendaal, Brabant. His mother is from Dutch-Indonesian descent, his father is Moroccan. His mother was 20 when she had him. Jesse grew up without his father, in a social housing project. He studied social work in Den Bosch and he began a pre-master's program in political science at the University of Amsterdam. In his student days, Jesse was chairman of CROSS, then chairman of the trade union CNV Youth. In that capacity, he was the youngest member ever in 2009 of the Social Economic Council.
According to Jesse, the entire public debate is dominated by economism: everything is reduced to an economic and financial calculation. Jesse wants to fight this economism. Justice, sustainability and compassion are more important than economic growth.
Jesse has been a member of the Greens for more than ten years. He has been in the national parliament since 2010. In 2010 and 2012, Jesse was nominated by the parliamentary press as talent of the year. In 2014, Jesse brought the famous French economist Thomas Piketty to the Netherlands. He has been party leader since May 2015, when Bram van Ojik stepped down.
In his spare time he likes to ride his bike through the dunes. Jesse Brabander at heart, but now lives with his wife and son in The Hague.
