Born on November 8, 1985, Marcel van Hattem holds a BA in International Relations and a specialization in Law, Economics and Constitutional Democracy, both from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). He obtained a Master's degree in Political Science from the University of Leiden, in Journalism, Media and Globalization from the Universities of Aarhus, Denmark, and Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, and is a graduate of the Political, Social and Business Leadership Program at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, United States.
He began his professional career as a newspaper delivery man and later became a reporter for the Jornal Dois Irmãos. He was a guest contributor to Revista Voto and wrote opinion articles and reports to different organizations of the Brazilian press, including Zero Hora, Jornal do Comércio and O Estado de S. Paulo. He worked in the international division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in The Hague and founded Argumento – a Consulting Firm for Leaders of Expression.
He was elected in 2004, at age 18, Council Member of the city of Dois Irmãos. He ran for State Representative and, in 2014, was the first alternate member of the Progressive Party (PP), serving from February 2015 to March 2018 as the youngest deputy in the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul. He became famous for making speeches in the Gaucho Parliament in favor of the ideas of freedom and against statist and collectivist ideologies.
A selection of his most impactful pronouncements, commented, was published in his book “Somos Nós Com Uma Voz:do megafone à tribuna em defesa da Liberdade, do Estado de Direito e da Democracia” - “This is us: from the megaphone to the tribune in defense of Liberty, the Rule of Law and Democracy” -, released by LVM Editora.
In March 2018, he joined the NOVO Party and was elected as a Federal Deputy with the highest vote count in Rio Grande do Sul, 349,855 votes. In 2022, he was re-elected with 256,913 votes. Marcel van Hattem’s work in Congress is guided by his fight against corruption, a leaner and more efficient government, greater freedom for Brazilians, a firm stance against abuse of power, and the defense of those politically persecuted in Brazil. In his first year in office, he served as the very first Leader of NOVO’s caucus in the Chamber of Deputies. In the following years, he was vice-Leader, and in 2025, he returned to the role of Leader.
Marcel currently heads the External Committee on flood damage in Rio Grande do Sul in the House of Representatives. The committee’s mission is to lead the reconstruction of the state after the devastating floods of 2023 and 2024, the latter considered the worst natural disaster in Rio Grande do Sul’s history.