Johan Houwers
Johan Houwers (born October 4, 1957 in Winterswijk) is a Dutch politician and real estate broker. As a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) he was an MP from October 26, 2010 to September 19, 2012. He focused on matters of greenhouses, fishery, hunting, animal welfare, spatial planning and water. Since November 8, 2012 he once again was an MP, he resigned on July 22, 2013 due to a mortgagefraud investigation. After the possible return of the wolf to the Netherlands, Houwers mentioned that if the population numbers rose, wolves should be shot so they would not present a harm to society. Houwers clashed with the coalition Labour Party politician Lutz Jacobi on the topic.[1]
Houwers has been a member of the municipal council of Winterswijk from 1990 to 2002 and again since March 11, 2010. From 1990 to 1994 and again since 2010 he has also been VVD fraction leader. From 1994 to 2001 he was also an alderman and from 1999 to 2010 a member of the States-Provincial of Gelderland.
Houwers studied social geography (BA) as well as urban planning (MA) at Radboud University Nijmegen.
Mortgagefraud investigation
On July 22, 2013 Houwers resigned his seat after it was revealed that the police started an investigation into him concerning possible mortgage fraud. Aegon, the mortgage provider, filed charges against him because he did not represent his income correctly. On July 31, justice authorities seized Houwers property in Winterswijk for 1 million euro. Houwers said he would wait for the outcome of the investigation before responding to the press.[2]
References
- ^ "Winterswijks Kamerlid Houwers: 'Wolf afschieten'" (in Dutch). Tubantia. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ "Justitie legt beslag op landgoed oud-VVD'er Johan Houwers" (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
External links
- Template:Nl Johan Houwers personal website
- Template:Nl House of Representatives biography
- Template:Nl People's Party for Freedom and Democracy website
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- 1957 births
- Living people
- Dutch businesspeople
- Dutch geographers
- Municipal councillors in the Netherlands
- Dutch urban planners
- Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands
- People from Winterswijk
- People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians
- Provincial state members of the Netherlands
- Radboud University Nijmegen alumni
- Real estate brokers
- Social geographers
- People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politician stubs