Dutch van der Linde

Dutch Michael van der Linde is a British politician who is currently serving as Member of Parliament for the St. Austell and Newquay Constituency since 2010, Dutch is a member of Libertarian UK

## Dutch van der Linde

### Occupation

Politician, Bar Owner & Police Officer

is a member of The Libertarian Party,

## Early Life

Dutch was born in Blackwater, Louisiana in 1940 to parents John and Mary van der Linde, he was born into a wealthy family with his Father, his family owned the local saloon in Blackwater and lived in a home in the town,

Dutch often worked in the saloon cleaning tables and cutlery, when Dutch was 10 he became friends with Former MP Hosea Matthews,

Dutch was a good student always getting A's or B's in his tests.

## Life In Saint Denis

When Dutch was 18 he started studying Criminal Justice at the University of Saint Denis, he met Susan Grimshaw in a saloon in 1961, it was love at first sight, they started going out a week after meeting each other,

In early 1962 Dutch and Susan married in Dutch's home town of Blackwater,

When they finished college in 1962 Dutch's Father bought them their first home in Saint Denis,

Dutch got a job as an officer in the Saint Denis Police Department in 1962, but Susan stayed at home, In 1963 Dutch and Susan had their first child John.

## Move To Annesburg

In 1964 Dutch was offered the position as Sheriff of the Annesburg Sheriff's Office, Dutch and his family packed their things and moved to Annesburg, they sold their home in Saint Denis and bought one near Annesburg,

Dutch was named the best Sheriff the town ever had, crime rates in Annesburg dropped to an all time low in 1968,

## Move Back To Blackwater

In 1970 Dutch and his Wife and Son moved back to Blackwater after Dutch was offered position as Chief of Police,

In 1971 Dutch's Father passed away peacefully in his home in Blackwater, his funeral was held at the local Church in Blackwater, after this Dutch took over the saloon quitting as Police Chief,

Dutch and his family lived next door in their new home with Dutch's Mother.

## Early Political Career

Dutch was elected to the Louisiana State Senate in 1972 for the 16th District as the Republican Candidate, he still ran the saloon in Blackwater while serving in the State Senate,

Dutch was a very popular Senator with him being re-elected in 1978 with 68% of the vote.

## Governor of Louisiana

In mid 1979 Dutch announced he was standing for election as Governor of Louisiana as a Republican,

In the primaries Dutch got 72% of the vote securing the nomination, Dutch won the General Election becoming the Governor of Louisiana, he was sworn into office in January 1980,

Dutch's main focus's as Governor were, crime, homelessness, health and education, during his first term crime and and homelessness went right down with more homes and prisons being built,

Dutch was easily re-elected as Governor in 1983 getting 67% of the vote, Dutch was sworn in again in January 1984,

In Dutch's final term as Governor he put in strict drug laws which were, Possession of Drugs: 10 years in prison, Selling Drugs: 15 years, this resulted in Louisiana having one of the lowest crime rates in the United States,

By the end of Dutch's final term Louisiana's healthcare and quality of life were one of the best in the United States, more school's were also being built in Louisiana and it having one of the best quality of education in the country,

In Dutch's final days as Governor in January 1988 then President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work as Governor,

On Dutch's final day as Governor he made and address to the people of Louisiana thanking them for their support during his 8 years as Governor.

## 1996 Presidential Run

On the 16th of November 1995 Dutch announced that he was running for President in the Republican Primaries, at first there was a lot of candidates but it came down to Dutch and Bob Dole, nobody knew who would win until the day of the convention when Bob Dole narrowly defeated Dutch,

Dutch endorsed Bob Dole and went on the campaign trail with him, but Dole was defeated in a landslide by Bill Clinton.

## U.S Senator

In April 1998 Dutch announced he was running in the upcoming Senate Election as a Republican, Dutch ran unopposed in the Republican Primaries with polls showing Dutch would win,

On November 3rd 1998 Dutch was elected US Senator from Louisiana with 72% of the vote,

Dutch's time in the Senate was quiet with him staying on the backbenches

In 2004 he was re-elected with 70% of the vote,

In 2007 he announced he was resigning from the US Senate stating he was off to retire with his Wife.

## Move To The UK

Dutch announced on Twitter in November 2009 that he was moving to Newquay in Cornwall with his wife Susan.

## Member of Parliament

In the 2010 General Election Dutch was elected Member of Parliament for St. Austell and Newquay as the Conservative Candidate,

He sat on the Conservative backbenches until he resigned from the party in 2012 and joined the new ReformUK Party,

Dutch was in favour of ReformUK becoming Libertarian Party UK,

He is now a key MP in Libertarian UK and is very close to the leadership.

## Personal Life

Dutch is married to Susan Grimshaw and they have one son together, John who lives in New York, both Dutch's parents are dead and buried in Blackwater.