The son of a burgemeester (mayor), he is a descendant of Firmin Navin, a French Huguenot who had fled to Holland in 1696[2] to escape persecution.

[3] Following a long career working for the Dutch Ministry of Justice he was elected in 2002 as a member of the Christen-Democratisch Appèl for the municipal council of Zoetermeer.

Despite the assassination of Fortuyn by an animal rights activist,[6] which happened days before the election, the LPF emerged with a successful result, thus bringing Nawijn into the Dutch House of Representatives.

[7] Due to the instability of the LPF following Fortuyn's assassination, the first Balkenende cabinet lasted briefly, leading to early elections in 2003.

During his campaign, Nawijn voiced his support for accepting CIA black sites into the Netherlands in an interview in October 2006 in the Dutch newspaper Spits.

[18] As a result of his performances at the talent contest, which were met with public ridicule,[19] Nawijn signed up for a five-year contract as a singer.