Geert Wilders

Geert Wilders (Dutch: [ɣeːrt ˈʋɪldərs]; born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the right-wing to far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives. Wilders is best known for his right-wing populism, anti-immigration, opposition to Islam and Euroscepticism. His views have made him a controversial figure in the Netherlands and abroad. Since 2004, he has been protected at all times by armed police.

Raised a Roman Catholic, Wilders left the church at his coming of age. His travels to Israel and the Arab world as a young adult significantly helped form his political views. Wilders worked as a speechwriter for the conservative-liberal VVD; he later served as parliamentary assistant to party leader Frits Bolkestein from 1990 to 1998. He was elected to the municipal council of Utrecht in 1997. The following year he was elected to the House of Representatives. Citing irreconcilable differences over the party's position on the accession of Turkey to the European Union, he left the VVD in 2004 to form his own party, the Party for Freedom.

Wilders has campaigned to stop what he views as the "Islamisation of the Netherlands". He has compared the Quran to Mein Kampf and has campaigned to have the book banned in the Netherlands. He advocates ending immigration from Muslim countries, and banning the construction of new mosques. His controversial 2008 film featuring his views on Islam, Fitna, received international attention and extreme criticism. He has been described in the media as populist and as a far-right politician. He was also described by the media as an Islamophobe. Wilders rejects being labelled as far-right and views himself as a right-wing liberal, saying he does not want to be "linked with the wrong rightist fascist groups".

On 4 September 2020, the Dutch court convicted Wilders for group insults, following comments he made about Moroccans in the Netherlands.