Thijsen was member of the Parliament of Aruba for the People's Electoral Movement between 2005 and 2021, and served as its President between 2017 and 2021.

[2] Thijsen started working at age 18 and held various jobs including gardener, dishwasher and croupier.

(Evelyna) Wever, proposed an amendement in the Dutch House of Representatives to introduce a mandatory referendum after the Landsverordening [nl] was changed.

[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.

[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.

[14] Together with the interim director of the Arubahuis he was charged with restructuring the institution by Aruban Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes.