João Varela

About

Dutch journalist who served as an MP in the House of Representatives for the Pim Fortuyn List from 2002 to 2006. He was the party's number two candidate during the 2002 general election. He became the lead candidate by default after the assassination of the leader Pim Fortuyn days before the election. He was not elected at the 2006 elections and retired from politics.

Before Fame

When he was eight, he ran away from home and went to live with foster parents. He studied economics at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He was employed as a marketing analyst for L'Oreal and also worked as a columnist for the Financial Telegraaf magazine.

Trivia

He was a semi-professional tennis player. He was a celebrity contestant in the first season of the Dutch version of Dancing on Ice.

Family Life

He was raised in a strict Catholic family. At age six, he moved to the Netherlands with his parents. He has seven siblings. 

Associated With

He and Kay Nambiar are both famous Dutch journalists.