Ady Thijsen

In the 2005 Aruban general election he was elected to the Parliament of Aruba for the People's Electoral Movement (MEP). He later became parliamentary leader for the MEP.^[1] During 2010 Thijsen, together with C.A.S.D. (Evelyna) Wever, proposed an amendement in the Dutch House of Representatives to introduce a mandatory referendum after the Landsverordening [nl] was changed. The amendment was rejected, with only 6 supporting out of possible 150 representatives.^[3] Thijsen has argued for a dispute resolution system for the Kingdom of the Netherlands.^[2] In June 2013 he was in a brawl with fellow member of parliament Melvin Tromp and filed charges against him.^[4] In 2016 he served as Aruba's special delegate for kingdom acts regarding Dutch nationality law and visa requirements.^[5]

Thijsen was elected President of the Parliament of Aruba on 27 November 2017, he succeeded Guillfred Besaril.^[1][6] In this position he chaired the Interparlementair Koninkrijksoverleg [nl] (Interparliamentary Kingdom consultation) in January 2018.^[7] In June 2019 he was critical of the Dutch government for refusing to provide funds to deal with influx of refugees in Aruba originating from the crisis in Venezuela.^[8] Thijsen announced his decision to enter the 2021 Aruban general election in April 2021, making it the fifth elections in which he stood candidate.^[9] He served as President of Parliament until July 2021 and was succeeded by Edgar Vrolijk.^[10][11] In September 2021 he announced he would take up his seat in Parliament after having postponed the decision to the last possible day.^[12] Thijsen remained member of the Parliament until 1 December 2021.^[2]

On 1 December 2021 he was named Permanent Representative of Aruba to the European Union and Deputy Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba.^[1] He succeeded Eddy Paris as Permanent Representative.^[13] On 5 July 2022 he was named Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba, succeeding Guillfred Besaril.^[1] He was the first individual to undergo screening for such a position under the stricter screening law.^[14] Together with the interim director of the Arubahuis he was charged with restructuring the institution by Aruban Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes.^[15] On 13 October 2022 he was formally sworn in by the Governor of Aruba, Alfonso Boekhoudt. He remained in function as Permanent Representative of Aruba to the European Union.^[16]

Thijsen is married and has four children.^[1]