Barry Madlener

Barry Madlener
Madlener in 2017
Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 July 2024
Prime Minister	Dick Schoof
Preceded by	Mark Harbers
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 20 September 2012 – 2 July 2024
Succeeded by	Folkert Thiadens
In office 30 November 2006 – 14 July 2009
Leader of the Party for Freedom in the European Parliament
In office 14 July 2009 – 19 September 2012
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Laurence Stassen
Member of the European Parliament
In office 14 July 2009 – 19 September 2012
Constituency	Netherlands
Personal details
Born	(1969-01-06) January 6, 1969 (age 56) Leiden, Netherlands
Political party	Party for Freedom
Other political affiliations	Livable Rotterdam
Children	1
Residence	Rockanje
Occupation	Politician Estate agent

Barry Madlener (born 6 January 1969) is a Dutch politician, who has served as Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management in the Schoof cabinet since July 2024. A member of the Party for Freedom (PVV), he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2006. He became the PVV's leader in the European Parliament following the 2009 election. Madlener resigned from that position to again serve in the House of Representatives from the 2012 general election until 2024.

During his youth, Madlener lived in the south seaside village of Oostvoorne with his parents and older sister. He later moved to Rotterdam for his studies. After graduating from high school he became a real estate agent and spent a number of years selling commercial real estate. On 14 March 2002 he was inaugurated as a member of the municipal council of Rotterdam for Livable Rotterdam, a position he held until 2007.^[1] Together with Kay van der Linde he was also involved in establishing the Livable Netherlands political party.

At the 2002 municipal election, Madlener was listed eleventh on the Livable Rotterdam list, the local party whose leader Pim Fortuyn was assassinated later that year. Madlener was considered a confidant of Fortuyn. The party won 17 seats in these historical elections on 6 March 2002. As a municipal councillor Madlener was infrastructure spokesman. In that function he was an outspoken supporter of the construction of a campus at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. He was also in favour of prohibiting municipal civil servants wearing a veil. He put forward two proposals: a proposal to prohibit carrying religious symbols for all civil servants, as well as a second proposal to the same effect for teachers and support staff at schools. He also stated that physical education at Muslim schools should be a mixed gender class.

Elected to the House of Representatives in the 2006 general election, he was placed seventh on the Party for Freedom list led by Geert Wilders. It was the first general election in which the party participated.^[1] Madlener resigned as a Rotterdam municipal councillor on 1 July 2007. He led the PVV in the 2009 European Parliament election before returning to the House of Representatives following the 2012 election. He became the PVV's spokesperson for infrastructure after the 2017 general election, and his specialty has been housing following the November 2023 election.^[2] Over the years, he has advocated merging passenger railway operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen and railway infrastructure management organization ProRail, and he has opposed establishing an international rail connection between Eindhoven and Aachen in Germany.^[1]

After the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB formed the Schoof cabinet, Madlener was sworn in as Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management on 2 July 2024.^[1][3]

In its governing agreement, the cabinet committed to limiting air traffic movements from and to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, to reduce noise pollution for local residents by 20% over time. In his final plan, Madlener proposed to reduce air traffic movements to 478,000 in 2025, down from 500,000, which would result in a 15% noise pollution reduction. The House subsequently urged Madlener to stick to a 17% reduction, which had been agreed to earlier.^[4][5] Responding to unsafe situations and nuisance caused by electric fatbikes, the VVD and NSC introduced a motion calling on Madlener to set a minimum driving age of 14 and to require helmets. He advised against the motion, arguing that fatbikes are too similar to other electric bikes for separate regulations, but an overwhelming majority of the House voted in favor in September 2024.^[6][7]

Madlener worked with provinces and water companies on plans to ensure the reliable supply of potable water, following warnings of a potential future shortage. They agreed in January 2025 to closely cooperate to select and more quickly develop new water extraction sites.^[8]

Madlener has been a long-time resident of the South Holland village of Rockanje.^[9] He met his wife in Brussels, and their son was born in 2013.^[10][11]

• (in Dutch) Parlement.com biography