Paul Schnabel (born 17 July 1948) is a Dutch politician and sociologist who served on the Social and Economic Council (SER) from 2013 to 2015 and in the Senate on behalf of Democrats 66 (D66) from 2015 until 2019.

[1] In 2013, upon leading office as SCP director, he was made a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

In addition to his role in Parliament, Schnabel served as a member of the Dutch delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 2015.

In Parliament, he was a member of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media; the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development; the Subcommittee on Public Health and Sustainable Development; and the Subcommittee on Culture, Diversity and Heritage.

From 2006 de Volkskrant listed him in its top ten of the most influential persons in the Netherlands for a few years.