Democraten 66 (D66), is a social liberal party in the Netherlands. The Eerste Kamer (literally First Chamber in Dutch) is the Upper House or Senate of the Netherlands parliament, the States-General. ... The Tweede Kamer is the second chamber or lower house of the Staten-Generaal, the parliament in the Netherlands. ... The cabinet of the Netherlands or council of ministers plans and implements government policy. ... The Prime Minister of the Netherlands or Minister President is in the Politics_of_the_Netherlands the head of government and active executive authority of the Dutch Government. ... A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues with the aim to participate in power, usually by participating in elections. ... Elections in the Netherlands gives information on election and election results in the Netherlands. ... This is a list about liberalism and political parties around the world. ... The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). ...

Short history

It was founded on October 14, 1966 as D'66 by 44 people, 25 of whom had been active in other parties. The initiators were Hans van Mierlo, a journalist of the Algemeen Handelsblad who became the party leader, and Hans Gruijters. October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in Leap years). ... -1... Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva (Hans) van Mierlo (born August 18, 1931) is a Dutch journalist and politician. ...

In the Tweede Kamer elections of 1967 the party obtained 7 seats. In the 1971 elections it obtained 11 seats. In the 1972 elections it was reduced to 6 seats, but in 1973 became part of a governing five party coalition. The Tweede Kamer is the second chamber or lower house of the Staten-Generaal, the parliament in the Netherlands. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ...

After the even more disastrous provincial elections of 1974 under Jan Terlouw, and a period under leadership of Maarten Engwirda, its fortunes were restored in 1990 when Hans van Mierlo once again became the top election candidate (lijsttrekker). D66 became a member of the two "purple" coalitions, supplying members of the first and second cabinets of Wim Kok. 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... Jan Cornelis Terlouw (born November 15, 1931) is a Dutch scientist, politician, and author. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Paars is the Dutch word for purple, but it carries a much broader meaning within the modern political history of the Netherlands. ... The second cabinet of the Netherlands to be headed by Prime Minister Wim Kok. ... Prime Minister of the Netherlands Wim Kok (* September 29, 1938) was the Prime Minister of The Netherlands from 1994 until 2002. ...

In the 2002 elections with lijsttrekker Thom de Graaf (also faction chairperson) the number of its seats was reduced from 14 to 7 and it returned to the opposition. In 2003 D66 dropped further to 6 seats. Thom de Graaf decided to not stay party leader, but did remain as a 'normal' member of parliament. He has been succeeded by Boris Dittrich. 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ...

After the formation of a cabinet of christian democrats and social democrats failed, D66 joined a coalition with CDA and VVD. Thom de Graaf became deputy prime-minister and minister of administrative reforms. He concentrated on the (direct) elections of mayors and a change of the electoral system. After the defeat of a government proposal to deconstitionalize the crown appointment of the mayors, he resigned. D66 restarted negociations with CDA and VVD for an eventual continuation of the coalition. This lead to the so-called Easter Agreement. Subsequently a special party congress, with 2,600 members (is 20 % of the membership) present and live broadcasted on Dutch public television, agreed with a large majority to remain in government. De Graaf is succeeded by Alexander Pechtold as minister. Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst, the minister of economic affairs, became deputy-prime minister. Christen-Democratisch Appèl, a political party of the Netherlands Communications Decency Act, a US law which says that No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider and had provisions relating to letting... The Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD), literally Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, is a free market liberal party in the Netherlands. ... An American family watching television in the 1950s. ...

Leadership

The party has a strong internal separation of powers. Political leader is the group leader in parliament, Boris Dittrich. Other members of parliament are Lousewies van der Laan, Bert Bakker, Boris van der Ham, Ursie Lambrechts and Fatma Koser-Kaya. The leader of the party in the government was Thom de Graaf. Alexander Pechtold, former mayor of Wageningen, was president of the party, responsible for party affairs, but resigned when he became minister. Acting party president is now Jan Hoekema. The functions of member of parliament and member of the board of the party are incompatible. Wageningen is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands. ...

Identity: radical democratic and social liberal

A constantly recurring theme of discussion within the party has been the question of its founding principles, the reason for its existence. The first party congress described the party as standing for a radical democratisation of society in general and of the political system in particular. The emphasis lay for a long time on the second component, with the party advocating the use of the referendum, abolition of the Eerste Kamer, direct elections of the Prime Minister and city mayors, and the introduction of a moderate districts system. The co-founder Van Mierlo was also an exponent of the democratic radicalism, a movement that in the 19th century was crushed between socialism and liberalism. He had little interest in other visions about the direction and social policy of the party. Terlouw tried to give the party a direction of its own as a "reasonable alternative", with attention to the environment, social questions and technology, Van Mierlo returned in the mid 1980s with his speech "A reason of existence". The primary reason lay, according to this speech, in the political renewal. A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... The Eerste Kamer (literally First Chamber in Dutch) is the Upper House or Senate of the Netherlands parliament, the States-General. ... Alternative meaning: Prime Minister (band) A prime minister is the leading member of the cabinet of the top level government in a parliamentary system of government of a country, alternatively A prime minister is an official in a presidential system or semi-presidential system whose duty is to execute the... A mayor (Latin maīor better) is the politician who serves as chief executive official of some types of municipalities. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ... Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. ... Environment - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ...

At the end of the 20th century a new position arose. After the anti-dogmatism of the party seemed to have become the party's very own dogma, the group Opschudding (shake-up) in 1998 managed to break through this dogma and were the first in the party to provide a subtitle. From then on, D66 was "Social Liberal". Opschudding described it thus: D66 exists as a Social Liberal party in order to build a durable, democratic and open society, in which the individual develops in solidarity with others. The party hereby placed itself internationally as a progressive liberal party. Domestic reasons explain the usage of the label social liberal, since the more right-wing VVD labels itself as the liberal party. The social liberal identity is confirmed in the party constitution and in its declaration of principles (Uitgangspunten). (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Social liberalism is either a synonym for new liberalism or a label used by progressive liberal parties in order to differentiate themselves from the more conservative liberal parties, especially when there are two or more liberal parties in a country. ... Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. ... The Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD), literally Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, is a free market liberal party in the Netherlands. ...

With this embedding in the left liberalism, D66 has found a second reason for existence. This second reason doesn't replace the first however, since it is incorporated. Developmental liberalism places the "free but responsible" individual central. It wants to give individuals, in equality, influence so that they can make their own contribution to life and society. The latter requires openness and democracy and in this way the original reason for the existence of the party is incorporated.

With its policies and ideas D66 is a continuation of the Vrijzinnig Democratische Bond (Freethinking Democratic League). Some D66 members prefer to label themselves as freethinking democrats. Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Historical liberal parties | Netherlands political parties ...

International affiliations

D66 is a member of the Liberal International and of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR). D66 member Wilfried Derksen is one of the vice-presidents on the bureau of ELDR. Its member in the European Parliament, Sophie in 't Veld sits in the group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. The Liberal International is an international organization for liberal parties. ... The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party aisbl (founded 1993) is a liberal party, active in the European Union, uniting liberal and centrist parties around Europe which together represent more than 20 million European voters and is an international non-profit association incorporated under the laws of Belgium. ... The European Parliament is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. ... ALDE logo The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (French: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour lEurope) is a Group in the European Parliament. ...

Cabinet members from D66 since 1994

• Hans van Mierlo - 1994-1998: Minister of External Affairs and Vice Prime Minister in the first cabinet of Wim Kok.
• Hans Weijers - 1994-1998: Minister of Economic Affairs in the first cabinet of Wim Kok.
• Winnie Sorgdrager - 1994-1998: Minister of Justice in the first cabinet of Wim Kok.
• Els Borst - 1994-2002: Minister of Health and Vice Prime Minister in the first and second cabinets of Wim Kok.
• Rogier van Boxtel - 1998-2002: Minister of Large Cities Policy and Integration Policy in the second cabinet of Wim Kok.
• Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst - 1998-2002 and 2003- :Minister of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fishery in the second cabinet of Wim Kok, Minister of Economy and since 2005 deputy Prime Minister in the second Balkenende cabinet.
• Thom de Graaf - 2003-2005: Minister of Governmental Renewal and Kingdom Relations in the second cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende.
• Alexander Pechtold - 2005-: Minister of Governmental Renewal and Kingdom Relations in the second cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende.

Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva (Hans) van Mierlo (born August 18, 1931) is a Dutch journalist and politician. ... The second cabinet of the Netherlands to be headed by Prime Minister Wim Kok. ... The second cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende is in office in the Netherlands from May 27, 2003 It consists of three political parties: VVD, CDA and D66. ... Prime Minister of the Netherlands Jan Peter Balkenende (* May 7, 1956) is Prime Minister of The Netherlands since July 22, 2002. ... Prime Minister of the Netherlands Jan Peter Balkenende (* May 7, 1956) is Prime Minister of The Netherlands since July 22, 2002. ...

See also

• Liberalism
• Contributions to liberal theory
• Liberalism worldwide
• List of liberal parties
• Liberal democracy
• Liberalism in the Netherlands

Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. ... This is an (partial) overview of individuals that contributed to the development of liberal theory on a worldwide scale and therefore are strongly associated with the liberal tradition and instrumental in the exposition of political liberalism as a philosophy. ... This article links to articles on liberalism in diverse countries around the world. ... This is a list about liberalism and political parties around the world. ... Liberal democracy is a form of representative democracy where elected representatives that hold the decision power are moderated by a constitution that emphasizes protecting individual liberties and the rights of minorities in society, such as freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of religion, the right to private property and privacy... This article is part of or related to the Liberalism series Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Liberalism by country | Netherlands political parties ...

External links

• Official web site (http://www.d66.nl)
• Official web site (English) (http://www.democrats.nl)