EWALD DE HAAN DE CRONENBURG

Ewald de Haan de Cronenburg (Ewald Diderik Willem de Haan de Cronenburg, born 1 September 1968 in Alexanderstad) is a Kronenburg politician. He is the current leader of the PvG, having succeeded Lex Filidór in April 2009.

Childhood, education and career
Ewald de Haan de Cronenburg was born as the fourth child of two secundary school teachers in Alexanderstad. After having passed his final examination in 1987, he took several jobs, until he started his own consultant agency GoedAdvies in Waterburg in 1993, a company which now has several branches everywhere in the country. He became a member of the PvG in 1999 and was elected municipal councillor of Waterburg three years later. In February 2008 he became a member of the Noordkamer and in April 2009 he became party leader, with 50.3% of the votes, narrowly defeating then vice prime minister Wouter Hamersma.

Controversy
De Haan de Cronenburg had narrowly won the election for the party leadership in 2009 and he has had some trouble since impressing a large number of his own party members, let alone the Kronenburg voters. The good results the PvG got during the last municipal and parliamentary elections are mainly the result of other party prominents doing a good job, like finance minister Etto Reer. De Haan de Cronenburg has a somewhat brusque way of doing things and during the campaign for the elections of 23 March 2011 he managed to offend some of his opponents. He also expressed some prejudiced opinions regarding some countries Kronenburg has friendly relations with. For this reason, the other parties advised the king not to appoint De Haan de Cronenburg as Advisor General. Instead, Hans Dankert was appointed and subsequently became prime minister, while Ewald de Haan de Cronenburg remained chairman of the PvG parliamentary group in the Noordkamer.