36 Facts About Pieter Omtzigt

Pieter Omtzigt was a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal, but left in 2021 and continued as an independent.

Pieter Omtzigt rose to prominence for his role in bringing attention to the childcare benefits scandal.

Pieter Omtzigt was born in The Hague, Netherlands in 1974, as one of twins.

When he was four years old, Pieter Omtzigt moved with his parents and brothers from Wassenaar to Borne.

From 1992 to 1996, Pieter Omtzigt studied at the University of Exeter, where he obtained his BA degree in Economics and Statistics with European Studies.

Pieter Omtzigt performed his doctoral research at the European University Institute, where he obtained a PhD in Economics in 2003, with the dissertation titled Essays in Cointegration Analysis.

Pieter Omtzigt was a researcher at the University of Insubria from 2000 to 2002.

In parliament, Pieter Omtzigt currently serves on the Committees on European Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Housing and Kingdom Services, Social Affairs and Employment, Finance and Public Expenditure.

In July 2020, Pieter Omtzigt was defeated by Deputy Prime Minister Hugo de Jonge in a vote for the position of leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal.

Pieter Omtzigt was re-elected in the 2021 general election, winning 342,472 preference votes, more than any other non-party leader.

On 10 June 2021, a 78-page memo by Pieter Omtzigt was leaked, addressed to the CDA's Spies-committee that analysed the results of the parliamentary elections of March 2021.

Pieter Omtzigt lashed out hard at the CDA, group employees and CDA members of parliament, and wrote that he was promised the leadership of the party if Hugo de Jonge would withdraw as party leader.

Two days later, Pieter Omtzigt announced that he had left the CDA, and that he would continue as an independent member of parliament after his leave of absence.

On 15 September 2021, Pieter Omtzigt returned to the Dutch House of Representatives as a member of a one-person parliamentary group under the name Member Pieter Omtzigt.

On 20 August 2023, Pieter Omtzigt announced his participation in the early Dutch parliamentary elections scheduled for 22 November 2023, with the party New Social Contract.

The party entered the House as the fourth-largest with twenty seats, and Pieter Omtzigt expressed his unwillingness to negotiate about forming a governing coalition with the right-wing populist Party for Freedom, the election winner, as he believed the party did not respect the rule of law.

Pieter Omtzigt finally left open the possibility to enter into an extraparliamentary cabinet, but he stepped out of the negotiations in February 2024, citing disagreements about finances.

Pieter Omtzigt rejoined talks under a new informateur, and a coalition agreement to form the Schoof cabinet was reached on 16 May 2024.

De Telegraaf had reported weeks before that Pieter Omtzigt had cried and screamed during talks between coalition parties and the cabinet.

Pieter Omtzigt froze and walked out of a December 2024 interview with Rick Nieman after being asked about his reported emotional behavior during formation talks, but returned shortly after to continue.

Pieter Omtzigt later clarified on social media that he was still limited in his capacity to handle pressure as part of his recovery.

Pieter Omtzigt is currently a member of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights; the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe ; the Sub-Committee on Human Rights; the Sub-Committee on the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights; and the Sub-Committee on the Rights of Minorities.

Pieter Omtzigt has been the Parliamentary Assembly's General Rapporteur on the protection of whistleblowers since 2021.

Pieter Omtzigt has served as rapporteur on the case of the car bombing of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, justice for the victims of ISIL ; and on Poland.

On 18 April 2025, Pieter Omtzigt announced his departure from national politics due to ongoing struggles with burnout and will prioritise his family and health.

Pieter Omtzigt confirmed that he would be handing over the party leadership to Nicolien van Vroonhoven.

Pieter Omtzigt was long seen as representative of the CDA's Eurosceptic wing.

Pieter Omtzigt has been critical of European Central Bank policies and, in 2020, pushed his party to support the idea of the Netherlands opting-out of unwanted EU programs.

At EW's 2024 HJ Schoo speech, Pieter Omtzigt advocated for a social market economy, arguing that the role of the national government should be enlarged.

Pieter Omtzigt believed the government should be less constrained by the EU, and he called for a revision of the tax system to favor large corporations less.

Pieter Omtzigt suggested that either the responsibility should be curtailed or its family members should only perform ceremonial duties.

Pieter Omtzigt cited the involvement of Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands in the aftermath of the childcare benefits scandal and the work of Queen Maxima of the Netherlands for the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

In 2017, media in the Netherlands described how fake news reports of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash were propagated with the support of Pieter Omtzigt, who introduced a Russian man as an "eyewitness" of the crash into a public expert debate in May 2017.

Pieter Omtzigt acknowledged via Twitter that he had acted carelessly and a few days later resigned as the spokesperson for the MH17 file.

Pieter Omtzigt married Ayfer Koc in 2009 and they have two children.

Pieter Omtzigt is a Catholic and is inspired by Catholic social teaching; he used to be a friend of Bishop Martinus Patrus Maria Muskens of Breda.