Paul Schnabel

Paul Schnabel (born July 17, 1948 in Bergen op Zoom) is a Dutch sociologist and the director of an agency of the Dutch government called Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau ("Netherlands Institute for Social Research"), usually abbreviated as "SCP" (or "SCPB"). He is also professor at Utrecht University. Since 9 June 2015, he has been a member of the Senate on behalf of Democrats 66 (D66).
Biography.
Schnabel grew up in Breda. He studied sociology at Utrecht and Bielefeld Universities. He received his Ph.D. in 1982 for his dissertation on new religious movements and mental health.
Apart from his work for the SCP he has other appointments in several institutions in Dutch society such as the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD), and the Scientific Council for Government Policy. He is a columnist to the Dutch newspapers "NRC-Handelsblad" and "Het Financieele Dagblad". As of 2008, he is also the chairperson of the committee that selected the 1,000 texts deemed as "key" of the Dutch and Flemish cultural history for the Digital library for Dutch literature.
In addition to his role in parliament, Schnabel has been serving as member of the Dutch delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since 2015. As member of D66, he is part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group. He is a member of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media; the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development; the Sub-Committee on Public Health and Sustainable Development; and the Sub-Committee on Culture, Diversity and Heritage.
Since 2006 "De Volkskrant" lists him in their top ten of the most influential persons in the Netherlands.