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Democrats 66 (; abbreviated D66, ) is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the
centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
of the political spectrum. It is a member of the
Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...
(LI) and the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europ ...
(ALDE). The name of the party refers to its year of foundation,
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...
. Initially, its main objective had been to democratise the Dutch political system, but it developed a broader social liberal ideology over time. In the 1967 general election, the party won 7 out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives. No new party had ever gained that many seats before. The party was in government from 1973 to 1977, 1981 to 1982, 1994 to 2002, 2003 to 2006 and 2017 to 2021. It currently holds 24 seats in the House of Representatives, 7 seats in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and 2 seats in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
. D66 is especially popular among people who hold a university degree, and its voters are mostly concentrated in larger cities and in municipalities with an above-average number of wealthy residents. The party supplies a relatively large proportion of
mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
, who are appointed rather than elected. Currently, the party is led by Sigrid Kaag, who was elected
party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...
on 4 September 2020. Annelien Bredenoord, Jan Paternotte and Sophie in 't Veld are serving as the party's parliamentary leaders in the Senate, the House of Representatives and the European Parliament respectively.


Name and logo

At its foundation, the party was called Democrats '66 (, abbreviated D'66). The name referred to the party's goal of radical democratisation and to the year of foundation, which was supposed to convey a modern image. In 1981, the
apostrophe The apostrophe ( or ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for two basic purposes: * The marking of the omission of one ...
was dropped: the name had become a successful political brand, but the year no longer conveyed a modern image.


History


1966–1986: Early years

Democrats 66 was founded on 14 October 1966 by a group of 44 people. Its founders were described as '' homines novi'', although 25 of the 44 had previously been members of another political party. The initiators were
Hans van Mierlo Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo (; 18 August 1931 – 11 March 2010) was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66). Van Mierlo studied Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Mas ...
, a journalist for the '' Algemeen Handelsblad'', and
Hans Gruijters Johannes Petrus Adrianus "Hans" Gruijters (; 30 June 1931 – 17 April 2005) was a Dutch politician and co-founder of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and journalist. Biography Hans Gruijters studied psychology and political and social sciences at ...
, a municipal councillor in Amsterdam. Van Mierlo became the party's political leader. The foundation of the party was preceded by the "Appeal 1966" on October 10, in which the founders appealed to the people of the Netherlands to re-take their democratic institutions. The party renounced the 19th-century political ideologies, which dominated the political system and sought to end
pillarisation Pillarisation (from the nl, verzuiling) is the politico-denominational segregation of a society into groups by religion and associated political beliefs. These societies were (and in some areas, still are) vertically divided into two or more gr ...
. It called for radical democratisation of the Dutch political system, and for
pragmatic Pragmatism is a philosophical movement. Pragmatism or pragmatic may also refer to: *Pragmaticism, Charles Sanders Peirce's post-1905 branch of philosophy * Pragmatics, a subfield of linguistics and semiotics *'' Pragmatics'', an academic journal i ...
and
scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
policy-making. The party participated in the 1967 general election, with Hans van Mierlo as its '' lijsttrekker'' (top candidate). The party won an unprecedented seven seats in the House of Representatives. In the 1971 general election, the party won an additional four seats and it formed a shadow cabinet with the Labour Party (PvdA) and the Political Party of Radicals (PPR). In the 1972 general election, the three parties formed a
political alliance A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies. International terms Equivalent terms are used differ ...
called the "Progressive Agreement" (; PAK) and presented the common electoral program "Turning Point '72" (''Keerpunt '72''). In the election, D66 lost nearly half its seats, leaving only six. The alliance became the largest political force in the country, but it did not gain a majority. After long cabinet formation talks, the three PAK-parties formed an extra-parliamentary cabinet joined by progressive members of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and the
Catholic People's Party The Catholic People's Party ( nl, Katholieke Volkspartij, KVP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1945 as a continuation of the Roman Catholic State Party, which was a continuation of ...
(KVP). The cabinet was led by Labour politician Joop den Uyl. Co-founder Hans Gruijters became Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning. After the formation talks, Van Mierlo left politics, feeling that his political position within the parliamentary party was untenable. Van Mierlo was replaced by Jan Terlouw, who became the new
parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are their ...
. In the period 1972–1974, the party lost a dramatic number of members (from 6,000 to 300) and polled very poorly in the 1974 provincial elections. The party also lost half of its senators in the 1974 Senate election. At one of the party congresses, a
motion In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and m ...
was put forth to abolish the party. A majority of the members voted in favour, but the two-thirds majority was not reached. In reaction, Terlouw started a campaign to revitalise the party, involving a membership drive and a
petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...
to the electorate. He emphasised issues other than democratic reform and gave the party a more liberal orientation. The party doubled its membership in 1975 and won two additional seats in the 1977 general election, despite losing all its seats in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
in the same year. In the 1981 general election, D66 gained 17 seats. The party formed a government with the Labour Party and the
Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolution ...
(CDA), with Terlouw as Minister of Economic Affairs. The cabinet was characterised by the personal and ideological conflicts between Prime Minister Dries van Agt (CDA) and Minister of Social Affairs Joop den Uyl (PvdA). The cabinet fell nine months after it was formed, when the Labour Party left the cabinet. D66 and the CDA continued to govern in a
caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...
. In the subsequent 1982 general election, D66 lost two-thirds of its support, and was left with only 6 seats. After the election, Terlouw left politics and was replaced by Maarten Engwirda. The party was confined to
opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
.


1986–2006: Purple cabinets and demise

In 1986, Van Mierlo returned to politics. He emphasised democratic reform as the core issue of the party and wanted to end the polarisation between the Labour Party and the
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party i ...
(VVD), so that it would be possible to form a government without the CDA. He led the party in the 1986 general election and won 9 seats. In the 1989 election, the party won 12 seats and was asked to join the formation talks of a CDA–PvdA–D66 coalition. While the PvdA preferred to form a government ''with'' D66, the CDA did not. Ultimately, D66 was excluded from the coalition, because it was not necessary to include them to reach a majority in parliament. Despite being in opposition, D66 adopted a constructive approach towards the government. They were rewarded for this in the 1994 general election, in which the party doubled its number of seats to 24. D66 was able to form its preferred coalition: the " purple government", which included both the
social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
PvdA and the conservative liberal VVD. Van Mierlo was appointed
Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
. As advocated by D66, the
first Kok cabinet First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
initiated progressive legislation, such as the introduction of
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
and the legalisation of
euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...
. The moderately liberal economic policies of the cabinet were also seen as a great success. Shortly before the 1998 general election, Van Mierlo stepped back and Minister of Health Els Borst became the new top candidate. D66 lost ten seats in the election, while its coalition partners gained ground at the cost of D66. The
second Kok cabinet The second Kok cabinet, also called the second Purple cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 3 August 1998 until 22 July 2002. The cabinet was a continuation of the previous first Kok cabinet and was formed by the social ...
continued. Although D66 was technically not needed for a majority in parliament, it was seen as the glue that kept the PvdA and the VVD together. Borst stepped down as party leader and became
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
and Minister of Health.
Thom de Graaf Thomas Carolus "Thom" de Graaf (;''Thomas'' in isolation: . born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018. De Graaf attended the C ...
led the party in the House of Representatives. From within the party, there were calls for a more explicit progressive liberal course. In 1999, a constitutional reform that would allow for
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...
s to be held was rejected by the Senate, because a group of VVD dissidents had voted against it. In response, D66 left the cabinet. After the subsequent formation talks, D66 returned to the cabinet in return for a temporary referendum law and directly elected mayors. In the 2002 general election, the tide had turned against the purple government, and the right-wing populist
Pim Fortuyn List The Pim Fortuyn List ( nl, Lijst Pim Fortuyn, LPF) was a political party in the Netherlands named after its eponymous founder Pim Fortuyn, a former university professor and political columnist. The party was considered populist, right-wing pop ...
(LPF) gained considerable ground. The three purple parties lost an unprecedented 43 seats. D66 was left with only 7 seats. The
first Balkenende cabinet The first Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Netherlands government from 22 July 2002 until 27 May 2003. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the nationalistic Pim Fortuyn List ...
, consisting of CDA, LPF and VVD, lasted only three months. In the 2003 general election, D66 lost another seat, leaving only 6. De Graaf stepped down and was succeeded by Boris Dittrich. After long formation talks between the CDA and the PvdA failed, a second Balkenende cabinet was formed, which included the CDA, the VVD and D66. In return for investments in environment and education, and a special Minister for Governmental Reform, D66 supported the
centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...
reform cabinet and some of its more controversial legislation. In May 2005, the Senate rejected a constitutional reform that would allow a directly elected mayor. The legislation had been introduced by the
second Kok cabinet The second Kok cabinet, also called the second Purple cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 3 August 1998 until 22 July 2002. The cabinet was a continuation of the previous first Kok cabinet and was formed by the social ...
, but it was unable to get a two-thirds majority because the Labour Party was opposed the electoral system proposed by Minister for Governmental Reform Thom de Graaf. De Graaf resigned, but the rest of the ministers retained their positions as D66 was promised more investment in public education and the environment. A special party congress was called to ratify this so-called "Easter Agreement" (''Paasakkoord''). 2,600 members (20 percent of total membership) were present and the congress was broadcast live on television. The congress agreed to remain in cabinet by a large majority. Alexander Pechtold replaced De Graaf as Minister for Governmental Reform. Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, the Minister of Economic Affairs, became
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
.


2006–2016: Pechtold leadership

In February 2006, Dittrich stepped down as parliamentary leader, because he did not agree with the government's decision to send the Dutch armed forces to the southern province of Uruzgan in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
. D66 voted against the government's proposal together with the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...
and GroenLinks. Dittrich stated that the mission to send troops was not a reconstruction mission (as the government and the majority of the Dutch parliament claimed), but a military operation.
Lousewies van der Laan Louse Wies Sija Anne Lilly Berthe "Lousewies" van der Laan (born 18 February 1966) is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Life before politics In her youth, Van der Laan lived in Belgium, Germany, and the Un ...
replaced Dittrich. In May 2006, D66 polled particularly badly in the 2006 municipal elections. D66 began to lose a considerable number of members, some of whom founded deZES, another radical democratic, progressive liberal party. During a special party congress on 13 May 2006, a motion was put forth demanding the withdrawal of D66 from the cabinet, but it was rejected. In June 2006, an internal election was held in order to choose the new party leader. The election was won by Alexander Pechtold. During the special parliamentary debate on the naturalisation process of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, D66 supported a
motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
against Minister for Integration Rita Verdonk. As D66 was a junior coalition partner, this caused a crisis in the second Balkenende cabinet. The cabinet refused to remove Verdonk from her position. Lousewies van der Laan, parliamentary leader of D66, felt that the D66 faction could no longer support the cabinet and stated that the cabinet had to resign. On 3 July 2006, the two D66 ministers Alexander Pechtold and Laurens Jan Brinkhorst resigned, causing the second Balkenende cabinet to fall. In October 2006, just before the D66 party congress and its 40th anniversary as a party, D66 founder
Hans van Mierlo Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo (; 18 August 1931 – 11 March 2010) was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66). Van Mierlo studied Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Mas ...
asked the question whether D66 still had political legitimacy. He believed that many errors were made in recent history and that only the acceptance of these errors could provide for any credibility for D66. Van Mierlo declared his support for party leader Pechtold, who in his view could provide for such credibility. Since 2008, the party has performed quite well in the
opinion poll An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinion ...
s, ranging from 10 to 26 seats, compared to only 3 seats in the House of Representatives. In the
2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making th ...
, the party won 11% of the votes and 3 seats, two more than in the previous election. The news programme
Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...
attributed this increase to the leadership of Alexander Pechtold, who was considered "the leader of the opposition" at the time. Under the leadership of Pechtold, the party has taken strong stances against the
Party for Freedom The Party for Freedom ( nl, Partij voor de Vrijheid, PVV) is a nationalist, right-wing populist political party in the Netherlands. Founded in 2006 as the successor to Geert Wilders' one-man faction in the House of Representatives, it won nin ...
(PVV) of
Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (; born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the Party for Freedom (''Partij voor de Vrijheid'' – PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives (''Tweede Kamer'' ...
. Hugo Logtenberg
"Alexander Pechtold: Ik heb meer dan ooit criticasters nodig"
on ''intermediair.nl'' (2 April 2008)
In the 2010 general election, D66 increased its representation to 10 seats. In the 2012 general election, the party further increased its number of seats to 12. Since 2008, the party has experienced a significant increase in party membership, from 10,000 to 25,000 in 2015. In the 2017 general election, D66 won 19 seats in the House of Representatives and formed a centre-right
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
with the VVD, CDA and Christian Union (CU).
Kajsa Ollongren Jkvr. Karin Hildur "Kajsa" Ollongren (; ; born 28 May 1967) is a Dutch politician serving as the Netherlands' Minister of Defence since 10 January 2022. A member of the Democrats 66 (D66), she previously served as Minister of the Interior and K ...
was appointed second Deputy Prime Minister in the third Rutte cabinet.


2018–present: Kaag leadership

In October 2018, Alexander Pechtold announced his retirement from politics. He was replaced by
Rob Jetten Rob Arnoldus Adrianus Jetten (; born 25 March 1987) is a Dutch politician of Democrats 66 (D66). He served as the party's parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. Early life and education Jetten grew up in Uden, Noord-Brabant and ...
as parliamentary leader, but the position of party leader remained vacant. In September 2020, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag was elected the new party leader and top candidate for the 2021 general election. Despite the fact that the opinion polls had predicted D66 to lose seats, the party won 24 seats in the 2021 election, becoming the second largest party in the House of Representatives.


Ideology

The ideology of D66 is a highly contested subject within the party and the question is tied to the reason for its existence. There are two currents within the party, namely the radical democrats and the progressive liberals. Although sometimes antagonistic, these two currents currently complement each other as both emphasise the self-realisation of the individual. The
Radical League The Radical League ( nl, Radicale Bond) was a progressive liberal political party in the Netherlands from its founding in 1892 until it merged with the left wing of the Liberal Union to form the Free-thinking Democratic League in 1901. Histor ...
and the Free-thinking Democratic League, two early 20th century parties are historic exponents of these two traditions.


Factions


Radical democrats

The first party congress emphasised radical democratisation of Dutch society and the political system. Its ideal was a
two-party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually refe ...
. To obtain this, it wanted to reform the electoral system after the American
first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
model. The electoral reform was gradually moderated as the party now favours German-style
mixed member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...
. In this system, a national party-list election is used to make a first-past-the-post election representative to the nationwide vote. This radical democratisation was combined with a pragmatic and anti-dogmatic attitude towards politics.
Hans van Mierlo Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo (; 18 August 1931 – 11 March 2010) was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66). Van Mierlo studied Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Mas ...
, the party's leader between 1966 and 1972 and between 1986 and 1998 and the party's figurehead, was an important exponent of this tendency within the party.


Progressive liberals

D66's progressive liberal section has historically been much weaker than its radical democratic wing. Under Jan Terlouw between 1972 and 1982, D66 began to emphasise new issues like the
environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
,
public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...
and
innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed enti ...
. He called D66 a fourth current, next to
social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...
,
Christian democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
and the conservative liberalism of the VVD. In 1998, the group Opschudding called for a progressive liberal course for the party. In the party's manifesto adopted in 2000, the party explicitly adopted a progressive liberal image. National political reasons explain the usage of the label " social-liberal" since the more right-leaning VVD describes itself as the liberal party.


Positions

Some of the party's most important positions include: * D66 is in favour of a mixed economy combining market economics and government intervention. D66 is also a proponent of increased flexibility in the labour market and
tax cut A tax cut represents a decrease in the amount of money taken from taxpayers to go towards government revenue. Tax cuts decrease the revenue of the government and increase the disposable income of taxpayers. Tax cuts usually refer to reductions i ...
s for the lower and middle classes. * D66 proposes to increase government spending on
education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
and
innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed enti ...
, for instance increases in teachers' salaries. D66 wants the education sector to be deregulated and introduce more competition in the sector. * The
environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
is an important issue for the party. D66 favours a
carbon price Carbon pricing (or pricing), also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS), is a method for nations to reduce global warming. The cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions in order to encourage polluters to reduce the co ...
and more investment in
sustainable energy Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as green ...
to combat
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
, but opposes the right to hunt and sees
hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
only as last resort for wildlife damage control. * D66 is a socially liberal party. The
first Kok cabinet First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
in which it participated introduced several liberal reforms in the past, such as the legalisation of
euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...
,
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
and
prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
. * D66 is a proponent of democratic reform. It favours electoral reforms such as a binding
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...
, abolition of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and direct election of prime ministers and
mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
. * D66 favours a Federal Europe and more European cooperation on issues such as the environment, immigration policy and foreign policy.


Electorate

Although supporters of political parties are no longer fixed and election results fluctuate, D66 is overall strong and concentrated in the Randstad conurbation, while also getting its votes in and around university towns. In the 2014 municipal elections, D66 became the largest party in many major cities including
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
,
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
,
Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
,
Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...
,
Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...
,
Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...
,
Apeldoorn Apeldoorn (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland in the centre of the Netherlands. It is located about 60 km east of Utrecht, 60 km west of Enschede, 25 km north of Arnhem and 35 km south of Zwolle. Th ...
,
Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
,
Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...
and
Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...
.


Electoral results


House of Representatives


Senate


European Parliament


Representation


Members of the

Fourth Rutte cabinet The Fourth Rutte cabinet is the current Government of the Netherlands. It was inaugurated on 10 January 2022. The cabinet is a continuation of the previous third Rutte cabinet and is formed by the conservative-liberal People's Party for Free ...


Members of the States General


Members of the House of Representatives

Current members of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election: * Jan Paternotte, parliamentary leader * Salima Belhaj *
Vera Bergkamp Vera Alida Bergkamp (; born 1 June 1971) is a Dutch politician. A member of the Democrats 66 (D66) party, she has been a member of the House of Representatives since 20 September 2012. On 7 April 2021, she was elected Speaker of the House of ...
* Marijke van Beukering * Raoul Boucke * Faissal Boulakjar * Hind Dekker-Abdulaziz * Lisa van Ginneken * Tjeerd de Groot * Kiki Hagen * Alexander Hammelburg * Romke de Jong * Hülya Kat * Jeanet van der Laan * Paul van Meenen * Wieke Paulusma * Anne-Marijke Podt * Rens Raemakers * Sjoerd Sjoerdsma * Joost Sneller * Sjoerd Warmerdam *
Hanneke van der Werf Johanna Jantina "Hanneke" van der Werf (; born 29 November 1984) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66). She has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. She previously held a seat in the municipa ...
*
Steven van Weyenberg Steven Peter Robert Albert van Weyenberg (; born 21 March 1973) is a Belgian-born Dutch politician, who served as State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management in the ( demissionary) third Rutte cabinet from 10 August 2021 till 10 J ...
*
Jorien Wuite Jorien Wuite (; born 6 December 1964) is a Sint Maarten-Dutch civil servant, diplomat, and politician. Born in The Hague, she moved to Sint Maarten aged 32 to work in government. She rose to the position of Minister of Education, Culture, Youth ...


Members of the Senate

Current members of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
since the 2019 Senate election: * Annelien Bredenoord, parliamentary leader * Joris Backer * Petra Stienen * Boris Dittrich * Henk Pijlman * Carla Moonen * Peter van der Voort


Representation in EU institutions


Members of the European Parliament

The D66 delegation is part of the
Renew Europe Renew Europe (Renew) is a liberal, pro-European political group of the European Parliament founded for the ninth European Parliament term. The group is the successor to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group which exi ...
group in the European Parliament. Prior to the first European elections in 1979, D66's appointed MEPs were part of the
Socialist Group The Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group (french: Groupe Socialiste, SOC) is a primarily social-democratic political grouping in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. It was known as the Socialist Group prior to August 2017. The g ...
, before switching to
Non-Inscrits Non-Inscrits (; abbreviated NI; also non-attached members, abbreviated NA) are Members of the European Parliament (MEP) who do not belong to one of the recognised political groups. These MEPs may be members of a national party, or of a Euro ...
from 1979 to 1984, and the LDR/ELDR/ALDE group since 1989. Current members of the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
since the
2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peop ...
: * Sophie in 't Veld, delegation leader * Samira Rafaela


Members of the Committee of the Regions

In the European Committee of the Regions, the Democrats 66 party sits in the Renew Europe CoR group, with two full and two alternate members for the 2020–2025 mandate: *
Michiel Rijsberman Michiel is a Dutch masculine given name equivalent to Michael and a Venetian surname. Given name *Michiel Andrieszoon (died 1684), Dutch pirate *Michiel Bartman (born 1967), Dutch rower *Michiel Borstlap (born 1966), Dutch pianist and compose ...
, second vice-president of the Renew Europe group and coordinator of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy (COTER). * Ilse Zaal * Robert van Asten (alternate) * Robert Strijk (alternate)


King's commissioners


Provincial councillors

Since the 2019 provincial elections, D66 has 41 representatives in the provincial councils:


Organisation

The highest organ of the D66 is the General Assembly, in which every member can participate. It convenes multiple times per year. It appoints the party board and has the last say over the party program. The
party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...
, including the party's
parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are their ...
, for the Senate, House of Representatives, European Parliament candidates are elected directly by the members. The party has between 250 and 300 branches all over the Netherlands.


Leadership


Party leaders

*
Hans van Mierlo Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo (; 18 August 1931 – 11 March 2010) was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66). Van Mierlo studied Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Mas ...
(14 September 1966 – 1 September 1973) * Jan Terlouw (1 September 1973 – 8 September 1982) * Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (8 September 1982 – 10 November 1982) * Maarten Engwirda (10 November 1982 – 25 January 1986) *
Hans van Mierlo Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo (; 18 August 1931 – 11 March 2010) was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66). Van Mierlo studied Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Mas ...
(25 January 1986 – 15 February 1998) * Els Borst (15 February 1998 – 30 May 1998) *
Thom de Graaf Thomas Carolus "Thom" de Graaf (;''Thomas'' in isolation: . born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018. De Graaf attended the C ...
(30 May 1998 – 22 January 2003) * Boris Dittrich (22 January 2003 – 3 February 2006) * Alexander Pechtold (24 June 2006 – 6 October 2018) * Sigrid Kaag (4 September 2020 – present)


Chairpersons

*
Hans van Mierlo Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo (; 18 August 1931 – 11 March 2010) was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66). Van Mierlo studied Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Mas ...
(14 September 1966 – 16 February 1967) * Gerben Ringnalda (16 February 1967 – 18 November 1967) *
Hans van Lookeren Campagne Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjab ...
(18 November 1967 – 14 December 1968) * Jan Beekmans (14 December 1968 – 7 November 1971) * Ruby van der Scheer (7 November 1971 – 11 March 1973) * Jan ten Brink (11 March 1973 – 6 November 1976) * Jan Glastra van Loon (6 November 1976 – 27 October 1979) *
Henk Zeevalking Hendrik Jan "Henk" Zeevalking (7 June 1922 – 23 February 2005) was a Dutch politician and co-founder of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Zeevalking attended a Gymnasium in Utrecht from April 1934 until June 1940 and applied at the Utr ...
(27 October 1979 – 11 September 1981) * Cees Spigt ''(Ad interim)'' (11 September 1981 – 14 November 1981) * Jan van Berkom (14 November 1981 – 30 October 1982) * Jacob Kohnstamm (30 October 1982 – 20 May 1986) * Olga Scheltema ''(Ad interim)'' (20 May 1986 – 1 November 1986) * Saskia van der Loo (1 November 1986 – 29 October 1988) * Michel Jager (29 October 1988 – 3 November 1990) * Ries Jansen (3 November 1990 – 28 November 1992) * Wim Vrijhoef (28 November 1992 – 23 November 1996) * Tom Kok (23 November 1996 – 20 November 1999) *
Gerard Schouw Adrianus Gerardus (Gerard) Schouw (born 30 December 1965 in Monster, South Holland) is a Dutch corporate director and former politician. As a member of Democrats 66 (D66) he was an MP from 17 June 2010 till 31 July 2015. He focused on matters ...
(20 November 1999 – 16 November 2002) * Alexander Pechtold (16 November 2002 – 31 March 2005) * Jan Hoekema ''(Ad interim)'' (31 March 2005 – 21 May 2005) * Frank Dales (21 May 2005 – 2 March 2007) *
Gerard Schouw Adrianus Gerardus (Gerard) Schouw (born 30 December 1965 in Monster, South Holland) is a Dutch corporate director and former politician. As a member of Democrats 66 (D66) he was an MP from 17 June 2010 till 31 July 2015. He focused on matters ...
''(Ad interim)'' (2 March 2007 – 12 May 2007) * Ingrid van Engelshoven (12 May 2007 – 9 March 2013) * Fleur Gräper (9 March 2013 – 13 September 2015) * Letty Demmers (13 September 2015 – 6 October 2018) * Anne-Marie Spierings (6 October 2018 – 13 November 2021) * Victor Everhardt (13 November 2021 – present)


Parliamentary leaders

*
Parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are their ...
s in the House of Representatives **
Hans van Mierlo Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo (; 18 August 1931 – 11 March 2010) was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66). Van Mierlo studied Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Mas ...
(23 February 1967 – 1 September 1973) ** Jan Terlouw (1 September 1973 – 11 September 1981) ** Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (11 September 1981 – 10 November 1982) ** Maarten Engwirda (10 November 1982 – 3 June 1986) **
Hans van Mierlo Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo (; 18 August 1931 – 11 March 2010) was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66). Van Mierlo studied Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Mas ...
(3 June 1986 – 22 August 1994) ** Gerrit Jan Wolffensperger (22 August 1994 – 21 November 1997) **
Thom de Graaf Thomas Carolus "Thom" de Graaf (;''Thomas'' in isolation: . born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018. De Graaf attended the C ...
(21 November 1997 – 19 May 1998) ** Els Borst (19 May 1998 – 30 May 1998) **
Thom de Graaf Thomas Carolus "Thom" de Graaf (;''Thomas'' in isolation: . born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018. De Graaf attended the C ...
(30 May 1998 – 22 January 2003) ** Boris Dittrich (22 January 2003 – 3 February 2006) **
Lousewies van der Laan Louse Wies Sija Anne Lilly Berthe "Lousewies" van der Laan (born 18 February 1966) is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Life before politics In her youth, Van der Laan lived in Belgium, Germany, and the Un ...
(3 February 2006 – 30 November 2006) ** Alexander Pechtold (30 November 2006 – 9 October 2018) **
Rob Jetten Rob Arnoldus Adrianus Jetten (; born 25 March 1987) is a Dutch politician of Democrats 66 (D66). He served as the party's parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. Early life and education Jetten grew up in Uden, Noord-Brabant and ...
(9 October 2018 – 18 March 2021) ** Sigrid Kaag (18 March 2021 – 25 May 2021) **
Rob Jetten Rob Arnoldus Adrianus Jetten (; born 25 March 1987) is a Dutch politician of Democrats 66 (D66). He served as the party's parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. Early life and education Jetten grew up in Uden, Noord-Brabant and ...
(25 May 2021 – 28 September 2021) ** Sigrid Kaag (28 September 2021 – 10 January 2022) ** Jan Paternotte (11 January 2022 – present) *
Parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are their ...
s in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
** Bert Schwarz (11 May 1971 – 17 September 1973) ** Paula Wassen-van Schaveren (17 September 1973 – 17 September 1974) ** Doeke Eisma (17 September 1974 – 20 September 1977) ** ''No representation'' (20 September 1977 – 16 September 1980) ** Jan Glastra van Loon (16 September 1980 – 3 December 1985) ** Jan Vis (3 December 1985 – 1 March 1995) **
Eddy Schuyer Eduard Henri "Eddy" Schuyer (born 28 July 1940) is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party.Gerard Schouw Adrianus Gerardus (Gerard) Schouw (born 30 December 1965 in Monster, South Holland) is a Dutch corporate director and former politician. As a member of Democrats 66 (D66) he was an MP from 17 June 2010 till 31 July 2015. He focused on matters ...
(12 June 2007 – 17 June 2010) ** Hans Engels (22 June 2010 – 7 June 2011) ** Roger van Boxtel (7 June 2011 – 9 June 2015) **
Thom de Graaf Thomas Carolus "Thom" de Graaf (;''Thomas'' in isolation: . born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018. De Graaf attended the C ...
(9 June 2015 – 26 June 2018) ** Hans Engels (26 June 2018 – 11 June 2019) ** Annelien Bredenoord (11 June 2019 – present)


Top candidates

* '' Lijsttrekker'' –
General election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
**
Hans van Mierlo Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo (; 18 August 1931 – 11 March 2010) was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66). Van Mierlo studied Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Mas ...
 –
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
·
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...
· 1972 ** Jan Terlouw –
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
· 1981 ·
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...
**
Hans van Mierlo Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo (; 18 August 1931 – 11 March 2010) was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66). Van Mierlo studied Law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Mas ...
 –
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...
·
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
·
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
** Els Borst –
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
**
Thom de Graaf Thomas Carolus "Thom" de Graaf (;''Thomas'' in isolation: . born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018. De Graaf attended the C ...
 –
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
·
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
** Alexander Pechtold –
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
·
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
·
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
·
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
** Sigrid Kaag –
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
* '' Lijsttrekker'' – Senate election ** Jan Glastra van Loon – 1980 · 1981 · 1983 ** Jan Vis – 1986 · 1987 · 1991 **
Eddy Schuyer Eduard Henri "Eddy" Schuyer (born 28 July 1940) is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party.2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
**
Gerard Schouw Adrianus Gerardus (Gerard) Schouw (born 30 December 1965 in Monster, South Holland) is a Dutch corporate director and former politician. As a member of Democrats 66 (D66) he was an MP from 17 June 2010 till 31 July 2015. He focused on matters ...
 –
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
** Roger van Boxtel –
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
**
Thom de Graaf Thomas Carolus "Thom" de Graaf (;''Thomas'' in isolation: . born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018. De Graaf attended the C ...
 –
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
** Annelien Bredenoord –
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
* '' Lijsttrekker'' – European Parliament election **
Aar de Goede Arie "Aar" de Goede (21 May 1928 – 16 May 2016) was a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party. He served in the House of Representatives (1967–1973), European Parliament (1979–1984) and Senate (1986–1987). As part of the executi ...
 – 1979 ** Doeke Eisma –
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
** Jan-Willem Bertens –
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
·
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
**
Lousewies van der Laan Louse Wies Sija Anne Lilly Berthe "Lousewies" van der Laan (born 18 February 1966) is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Life before politics In her youth, Van der Laan lived in Belgium, Germany, and the Un ...
 –
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
** Sophie in 't Veld –
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
·
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
·
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
·
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...


Party board

* Victor Everhardt, chair * Nadia Arsieni, secretary *
Rob Meijer Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ( ...
, treasurer * Maartje Jansen, board member (international relations) * Hester Duursema, board member (communications and recruitment) * Wietske Veltman, board member (association and education)


Linked organisations

The youth wing of D66 is called the Young Democrats (, abbreviated JD). It has produced several prominent active members of D66, such as former MP Boris van der Ham. The JD is a member of European Liberal Youth and the International Federation of Liberal Youth. D66 is a co-founder of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, a democracy assistance organisation of seven Dutch political parties. The Hans van Mierlo Foundation is the party's
policy institute A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental or ...
.


International affiliation

D66 is a member of the
Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...
and of the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europ ...
(ALDE). D66 joined the Liberal and Democratic Reformists (LDR) group in 1989. It became a full member of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) in 1994 and a full member of the Liberal International in 1986.Democrats 66
on liberal-international.org


Relationships to other parties

In recent elections, political commentators have positioned D66 at the centre of the political spectrum. This offers the party a lot of possibilities for co-operation with other parties in the Dutch political landscape. Historically, D66 has often co-operated in cabinets with the Labour Party (PvdA). They were in four cabinets together ( Den Uyl, Van Agt II, Kok I and Kok II), and formed a shadow cabinet in the early seventies. However, there have been heavy tensions between D66 and the PvdA on three occasions: in 1981, when D66 decided to continue to govern with the
Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolution ...
(CDA) after the PvdA had left the
first Van Agt cabinet The First Van Agt cabinet, also called the Van Agt–Wiegel cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 19 December 1977 until 11 September 1981. The cabinet was formed by the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (C ...
; in 1989, when the PvdA formed the third Lubbers cabinet without D66; and in 2003, when D66 joined the second Balkenende cabinet. Ideologically, the social liberal D66 is linked to
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party i ...
(VVD), although VVD is considered a party of conservative liberalism. This resulted in five coalition governments ( Kok I, Kok II, Balkenende II, Rutte III and Rutte IV). Both D66 and the VVD are members of the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europ ...
(ALDE) and their respective members in the European Parliament are part of the
Renew Europe Renew Europe (Renew) is a liberal, pro-European political group of the European Parliament founded for the ninth European Parliament term. The group is the successor to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group which exi ...
group.


See also

*
Liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...
*
Liberalism in the Netherlands Liberalism in the Netherlands started as an anti-monarchical effort spearheaded by the Dutch statesman Thorbecke, who almost single-handedly wrote the 1848 Constitution of the Netherlands that turned the country into a constitutional monarchy. I ...
* Water Natuurlijk


Notes


References


External links

*
International website

Profile at DNPP
{{Authority control 1966 establishments in the Netherlands Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party member parties Centre-left parties in Europe Centrist parties in the Netherlands European federalist parties Green political parties in the Netherlands Liberal International Liberal parties in Europe Political parties established in 1966 Political parties in the Netherlands Pro-European political parties in the Netherlands Progressive parties Social liberal parties Organisations based in The Hague