{{Short description|Dutch politician and economist (born 1967)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Henk Otten | image = Henk Otten, 2022.jpg | caption = Otten in 2022 | office = Member of the [[Senate (Netherlands)|Senate]] | term_start = 11 June 2019 | term_end = 13 June 2023 | predecessor = | successor = | office2 = | term_start2 = | term_end2 = | birth_name = Henk Otten | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|5|30|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Assen]], Netherlands | party = [[Group Otten]] | other_party = [[Party for the Future]] (2019)<br /> [[Forum for Democracy]] (2016–2019)<br />[[Pim Fortuyn List]] (2002) | children = 2 }} '''Henk Otten''' (born 30 May 1967) is a Dutch politician and economist. He was a member of the [[Senate (Netherlands)|Senate]] from June 2019 until June 2023. He was the co-founder of the party [[Forum for Democracy]] (FvD) along with [[Thierry Baudet]]. He served as FvD treasurer from 2016 to 2019.
Otten was also chairman of the permanent Senate Committee on Finance. He held that position on behalf of the FvD faction until 28 July 2019; since then he has formed his own faction in the Senate which he registered as a political party called [[Group Otten]].
==Biography== Otten grew up on his parents' farm. He studied economics and law at the [[University of Groningen]] before going to work for [[Rabobank]] in Hong Kong. From 1999 to 2002, he also worked for [[Lehman Brothers]] in London.<ref name="parlement">{{cite web|url=https://www.parlement.com/id/vktao4s8lvq1/h_henk_otten|title=Mr.Drs. H. (Henk) Otten|website=Parlement.com|access-date=5 January 2022}}</ref><ref>[https://www.businessinsider.nl/henk-otten-thierry-baudet-forum-fvd/ 7 onmisbare weetjes over Henk Otten, de grote man achter Thierry Baudet die nu overhoop ligt met de Forum-leider], Business Insider, 26 juli 2019.</ref>
===Political career=== Otten was a member of the [[Pim Fortuyn List]] for a short time. In 2015, he founded the think-tank ''Forum for Democracy'' (FvD) together with [[Thierry Baudet]] and others. Its main goal was campaigning in the [[2016 Dutch Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement referendum]] and against Dutch membership of the EU.<ref name=FT>{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/4520bb4c-07e3-11e7-97d1-5e720a26771b|publisher=[[Financial Times]]|date=14 March 2017|title=Populists seize the moment as Dutch fall out of love with EU|author=Joshua Chaffin}}</ref> FvD later registered as a political party, after which Otten became party treasurer in the FvD's executive board and a party secretary to the two-member House of Representatives faction ([[Theo Hiddema]] and Baudet) from 2017 to 2019.<ref>[https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2018/11/24/de-grote-man-achter-thierry-baudet-a2756421 De grote man achter Thierry Baudet], nrc.nl</ref><ref name="Otten">[https://www.parlement.com/id/vktao4s8lvq1/h_henk_otten Mr.Drs. H. (Henk) Otten], parlement.com</ref>
In February 2018, members of the FvD complained that Otten led the party apparatus in a dictatorial way and demanded more internal democracy. However, Baudet initially sided with Otten.<ref>Derk Stokmans & Philip de Witt Wijnen, [https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2018/03/23/gedonder-en-gedoe-bij-de-partij-van-de-liefde-a1596894 'Gedonder en gedoe bij de "partij van de liefde"'], NRC Handelsblad, 23 maart 2018.</ref> In April 2019, he stood down from the party board after it was found he had transferred money from party donors to his own consultancy company without permission. Although he later returned the money at the party's request, the incident prompted Otten to resign as a board member. However, he formally remained the party's lead candidate for the 2019 elections to the Senate but [[Paul Cliteur]] was appointed to take over as the FvD Senate spokesperson. Otten was subsequently elected to the Senate.<ref>[https://nos.nl/artikel/2282056-henk-otten-stapt-op-als-bestuurslid-forum-voor-democratie.html Henk Otten stapt op als bestuurslid Forum voor Democratie], nos.nl.</ref><ref>[https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2019/04/25/henk-otten-fvd-op-zijspoor-na-een-betaling-aan-zichzelf-a3958160 'Henk Otten (FVD) op zijspoor na een betaling aan zichzelf'], ''NRC Handelsblad'', 25 april 2019.</ref><ref>[https://www.trouw.nl/democratie/henk-otten-stapt-uit-bestuur-forum-voor-democratie-na-beschuldiging-kasgreep-~a23e6cb9/ Henk Otten stapt uit bestuur Forum voor Democratie na beschuldiging ‘kasgreep’], ''Trouw'', 25 april 2019.</ref><ref>[https://forumvoordemocratie.nl/actueel/verklaring-eerste-kamerlijst-fvd-over-positie-henk-otten Verklaring Eerste Kamerlijst FVD over positie Henk Otten] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515215219/https://forumvoordemocratie.nl/actueel/verklaring-eerste-kamerlijst-fvd-over-positie-henk-otten |date=15 May 2019 }}, forumvoordemocratie.nl, 29 april 2019</ref>
Otten was formally expelled from the FvD on 24 July 2019 due to financial malpractices and for making critical statements of Baudet's leadership. He subsequently disputed some of the allegations as slander and claimed his expulsion was as a result of his criticism of what he regarded as Baudet's controversial statements on social media and aggressive leadership style (which Otten attributed to the FvD's difficulty in forming coalitions in Provincial Councils) rather than financial disputes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2294940-forum-voor-democratie-zet-senator-henk-otten-uit-de-partij.html |title=Forum voor Democratie zet senator Henk Otten uit de partij |website=[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS]] |date=24 July 2019 |access-date=26 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |user=hendrikotten3 |author=Henk Otten |number=1154294963473174534 |date=25 July 2019 |title=1. DRAADJE. Hierbij een draadje met een eerste korte inhoudelijke reactie op de beschuldigingen van FVD-bestuurders Baudet en Rooken van 24 juni jl. aan mijn adres.}}</ref>
Otten formed his own faction in the Senate and expressed interest in forming a new political party. He held talks with [[Henk Krol]] and his [[Party for the Future]] and subsequently became the party's chairman. He later registered his senate faction as a political party ''[[Group Otten]]'' and ''Party for the Future'' was merged into this. Otten was joined in his new party by fellow former FvD politicians [[Robert Baljeu]] and [[Dorien Rookmaker]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nporadio1.nl/politiek/18195-verstoten-fvd-kopstuk-robert-baljeu-succes-is-baudet-naar-z-n-bol-gestegen |title=Verstoten FvD-kopstuk Robert Baljeu: 'Succes is Baudet naar z'n bol gestegen'|website=NPO Radio 1|date=20 August 2019|access-date=26 August 2019}}</ref>
==Personal life== Otten is married with two children.<ref>[https://www.eerstekamer.nl/persoon/mr_drs_h_otten_fractie_otten Mr.drs. H. Otten (Fractie-Otten)], profiel op website Eerstekamer.nl.</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otten, Henk}} [[Category:1967 births]] [[Category:Forum for Democracy (Netherlands) politicians]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Members of the Senate (Netherlands)]] [[Category:Politicians from Amsterdam]] [[Category:Leaders of political parties in the Netherlands]] [[Category:Dutch eurosceptics]] [[Category:Dutch economists]] [[Category:Pim Fortuyn List politicians]]