Michael van der Galien was born in the Dutch city of Leeuwarden in 1984. As the youngest child in a family of four he received great attention and care from his parents who encouraged him to be the best he could be. After graduating VWO high school (there are different levels of high schools in the Netherlands), he went to Groningen where he attended law school for two years before switching to American Studies. He is currently working on his BA in this department.

Michael first started blogging in 2005 when he created his own blog, “Liberty and Justice.” He has devoted most of his attention to American domestic and foreign policy issues, which he covers from a conservative European perspective. After a couple of months writing for L&J, he was asked to contribute to The Moderate Voice by its editor-in-chief, which was an offer Michael gladly accepted. Writing for TMV made Michael a household name in the moderate and conservative blogosphere and he quickly became assistant editor of this blog. In December 2007, Michael co-founded the moderate conservative blog PoliGazette where he still publishes posts several times a day. PG focuses on Turkey (a country Michael visits frequently), the Middle East, and America. In the meantime, Michael also began writing columns for the Turkish Daily News now Hurriyet English (Turkey’s largest newspaper), Monsters and Critics (books department), and Real Clear Politics. He has contributed to Andrew Breitbart’s Big Hollywood since it’s inception.

In September of 2009, Michael joined David Horowitz’s NewsRealblog. First as contributor, later as assistant managing editor.