Born in Utrecht, Glimmerveen was educated in Hilversum and Amsterdam before starting work in 1945 in the salary office of the Calve-Delft company.

[1] In 1951 he joined the United Nations forces as a volunteer in the Korean War and following his service was employed at NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe offices.

[1] Glimmerveen first came to prominence as a member of the hardline Noordbond, a neo-Nazi group with links to the likes of Colin Jordan in the United Kingdom.

A series of damaging court cases and attempts to ban the party saw their fortunes fade dramatically and Glimmerveen resigned as leader in 1981.

[6] During an interview, Glimmerveen remarked that all Surinamese in the Netherlands should go back to Suriname, a former Dutch colony in South America, and all Jews must go to Israel.

[8] Glimmerveen was convicted in 2003 of making pro-Nazi speeches at a CP'86 rally seven years earlier and was sentenced to four months in prison.