View source for Ton Elias

{{short description|Dutch politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name            = Ton Elias
| image           = HANDSHAKE - BRATISLAVA INFORMAL PARLIAMENTARY SUMMIT 2016-10-07 (30166705935).jpg
| caption         = Ton Elias (left) with Slovakia National Council Speaker [[Andrej Danko]] (right), 2016
| office          = [[Member of parliament|Member]] of the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]]
| term_start      = 18 December 2008
| term_end        = 23 March 2017
| predecessor     =
| successor       =
| birth_date      = {{Birth date and age|1955|3|14|df=y}}
| birth_place     = [[The Hague]], [[Netherlands]]
| death_date      =
| death_place     =
| birthname       =
| nationality     = Dutch
| party           = [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]]
| spouse          =
| residence       =
| alma_mater      = [[University of Amsterdam]]
| occupation      = [[Politician]] <br /> [[Journalist]]
| religion        =
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| website         =
}}
'''Ton Maarten Christofoor Elias''' (born 14 March 1955) is a Dutch businessman, retired politician and former journalist who served as a member of the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]] from 2008 to 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parlement.com/id/vhdl1erfczz5/t_m_ch_ton_elias |title=T.M.Ch. (Ton) Elias |language=nl |publisher=Parlement.com |access-date=9 April 2017}}</ref> As a parliamentarian for the [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]] (''Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie'' – VVD), he focused on matters of economic affairs, education and transport.
Born in [[The Hague]], Elias graduated from the [[University of Amsterdam]] in 1983. He worked for the TV show ''Den Haag Vandaag'' as a political journalist until 1989 and later became communications director of [[Aegon N.V.]] before founding two businesses: Elias Advies and Elias Communicatie.
He was number 23 on the VVD list during the [[2006 Dutch general election|general election of 2006]] and thus not elected; he entered the [[States General of the Netherlands|States General]] in 2008 after having sold his companies, as [[Henk Kamp]] left the House of Representatives after being appointed to be ''Rijksvertegenwoordiger voor de openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba'', starting 2009. He was fully elected in the [[2010 Dutch general election|2010 general election]] (number 20) and reelected in the [[2012 Dutch general election|general election of 2012]]. He was the VVD's spokesman on Economic Affairs and later Education, Public Transportation and Traffic. During the [[2016 Speaker of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) election|Speaker of the House of Representatives election, 2016]] he received 51 votes. He came second to the [[Labour Party (Netherlands)|Labour Party]] candidate [[Khadija Arib]], who received 83 votes and was elected.
For the [[2017 Dutch general election|2017 general election]] Elias was not part of the candidacy list of the VVD, which Elias stated he would appeal to the party board.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/39681/nbsp/article/detail/4413472/2016/11/11/Enfant-terrible-Ton-Elias-niet-op-kandidatenlijst-VVD.dhtml |title='Enfant terrible' Ton Elias niet op kandidatenlijst VVD
|language=nl |newspaper=[[Trouw]] |date=11 November 2016 |access-date=10 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Annemarie Kas |url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2016/11/11/ton-elias-niet-op-de-vvd-lijst-maakt-bezwaar-bij-partijbestuur-a1531397 |title=Ton Elias niet op de VVD-lijst, maakt bezwaar bij bestuur
|language=nl |newspaper=[[NRC Handelsblad]] |date=11 November 2016 |access-date=10 December 2016}}</ref> His appeal was supported by Senate President [[Ankie Broekers-Knol]] but rejected. He was the House's First Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2017; he currently works as a consultant. Elias received the [[Legion of Honour]] from French Foreign Affairs Minister [[Jean-Marc Ayrault]] in November 2016.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
* {{in lang|nl}} [http://www.parlement.com/9291000/biof/03064 Parlement.com biography]
== External links ==
* {{in lang|nl}} [http://tonelias.vvd.nl/ Ton Elias] <small>personal website</small>
* {{in lang|nl}} [http://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerleden/alle_kamerleden/elias_ton_maarten_christofoor/index.jsp House of Representatives biography]
* {{in lang|nl}} [http://www.vvd.nl/mensen/detail/23/ton-elias People's Party for Freedom and Democracy biography]
{{Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2012–2017}}
{{Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2010–2012}}
{{Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2006–2010}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elias, Ton}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Dutch campaign managers]]
[[Category:Dutch columnists]]
[[Category:Dutch political consultants]]
[[Category:Dutch political commentators]]
[[Category:Dutch political journalists]]
[[Category:Dutch television personalities]]
[[Category:Dutch MPs 2012–2017]]
[[Category:Politicians from The Hague]]
[[Category:People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians]]
[[Category:University of Amsterdam alumni]]
[[Category:Dutch MPs 2006–2010]]
[[Category:Dutch MPs 2010–2012]]
{{Netherlands-VVD-politician-stub}}