This article lists some of the events that took place in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 2008.

Incumbents

*Monarch:

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...

*Prime Minister:

Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende Jr. (; born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 2010. Balkenende studied ...

Events

January

*January 1:

Wim Deetman Willem Joost "Wim" Deetman (born 3 April 1945) is a retired Dutch politician and teacher who served as Minister of Education and Sciences from 1982 to 1989, Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1989 to 1996 and Mayor of The Hague from ...

resigns as

mayor 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 ...

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 ...

. *January 12: Two soldiers of

Task Force Uruzgan Task Force Uruzgan (TFU) was Australia's and the Netherlands' contribution to NATO's Regional Command South, International Security Assistance Force, in Afghanistan. The Dutch led one of the four Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the southern r ...

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

Aldert Poortema (22) and

Private First Class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ...

Wesley School (20), both of the

Regiment Infanterie Johan Willem Friso The Regiment Infantry Prins Johan Willem Friso is a line infantry regiment of the Royal Netherlands Army. Named after Johan Willem Friso of Orange-Nassau, it is the oldest and most senior regiment in the current order of battle. The regiment curr ...

, are killed in

Uruzgan Uruzgan ( Dari), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot serves as ...

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 ...

*January 15:

Farshad Bashir Farshad Bashir (born 14 January 1988 in Kabul) is a Dutch politician of Afghanistan, Afghan descent. As a member of the Socialist Party (Netherlands), Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij) he was an House of Representatives of the Netherlands, ...

(20) of 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 ...

is sworn in as member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, becoming the youngest member in history. *January 26: Bishop Wim Eijk of Groningen-Leeuwarden is installed as Archbishop of Utrecht.

February

*February 3: Joran van der Sloot is unmasked in a high-profile TV-episode, made by

Peter R. de Vries Peter Rudolf de Vries (14 November 1956 – 15 July 2021) was a Dutch investigative journalist and crime reporter. His television program (''Crime Reporter''; 1995−2012) covered high-profile cases and set a Dutch television viewing record. F ...

, about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

May

* 9: During a huge fire on a shipyard in

De Punt De Punt is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Tynaarlo, and lies about 11 km south of Groningen. The village closely cooperates with Yde and they are often referred to as Yde-De Punt, however bot ...

(Drenthe) 3 firemen of the

Eelde Eelde () is a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Tynaarlo, and lies about 9 km south of Groningen. Groningen Airport Eelde is located near the village. Eelde was a separate municipality until 1998, wh ...

corps perish.

June

* 4: The rebuilt Wilms' Boô is officially opened by

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands Princess Margriet Francisca of the Netherlands (born 19 January 1943) is the third daughter of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard. As an aunt of the reigning monarch, King Willem-Alexander, she is a member of the Dutch Royal House and curren ...

. * Undated: ** Sweet Empire, punk rock band from the Amsterdam is formed.

July

* 1: Most exceptions on the smoking ban are dropped. * 10: The movie Hoe overleef ik mezelf? (How to survive myself?) gets a Gouden Film for getting 100.000 visitors.

September

* 24: Beginning of the

Netherlands Film Festival The Netherlands Film Festival ( nl, Nederlands Film Festival) is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht. During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Be ...

. * 28: Fortis is partially nationalized by

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

whom together get 49% of the stocks in their control. * 30: The

Gouden Griffel The Gouden Griffel (Golden Stylus) is an award given to authors of children's or teenagers' literature in the Netherlands. History Since 1971, it is awarded each year during the Boekenweek, Dutch Children's Books Week, by the Collectieve Prop ...

for the best children-book goes to Jan Paul Schutten for his book Children of Amsterdam (Kinderen van Amsterdam).

October

* 3: The Dutch branch of Fortis becomes completely nationalized and taken over by the

Dutch government The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekk ...

. * 5: Huge fire in a shopping mall in

Spijkenisse Spijkenisse () is a city in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Following an administrative reform in 2015, it is part of the municipality of Nissewaard, and has a population of 72,500. It covers an area of of which is water. It is par ...

. * 8: The Maasvlakte Light is deactivated. * 11: TV presenter Ernst-Paul Hasselbach (43) dies together with a female

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

colleague in a traffic accident in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

November

* 14: Domino Day 2008 is held in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of th ...

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

Sports

*January 1:

Koninklijke HFC Koninklijke Haarlemsche Football Club (Royal Haarlem Football Club) is a football club based in Haarlem, Netherlands. It is the oldest existing club in Dutch football, founded by Pim Mulier in 1879. During the club's early years the team only p ...

win the traditional New Year's match against former international footballers 6–1. *January 2: The '' Federatie Eredivisie Basketball'' of the Netherlands Basketball Association takes

BC Omniworld Almere Pioneers is a Dutch amateur basketball team based in Almere. The team plays in the Promotiedivisie, the Dutch second tier league. History The club was founded in 1999 as a professional basketball club named BC Omniworld Almere and particip ...

Almere Almere () is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km to the east of Amsterdam (as the crow flies) across the IJmeer. Bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde, the municipality of Almere compr ...

out of the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

. The club had gone into administration. *January 4: Jermo Ribbers (14), a member of the Dutch national youth ski jumping team, dies after a fall following a jump in

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf ( Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns. At the&nb ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. *March 26–30 Netherlands at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships :: March 30:

Ellen van Dijk Eleonora Maria "Ellen" van Dijk (; born 11 February 1987) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . Besides road cycling she was also a track cyclist until 2012. Van Dijk is known as a tim ...

becomes World Champion at the

2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place at the Manchester Velodrome in Manchester, United Kingdom from 26 to 30 March 2008. Eighteen events were scheduled; the women's team pur ...

in the Women's scratch *July 3–6 Netherlands at the 2008 European Road Championships ::

won the gold medal in the Women's time trial, the only Dutch medal at the championships. *August 8–24

Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Olympics The Netherlands competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This was announced in an official statement on the NOC*NSF website.

*September 3–7 Netherlands at the 2008 UEC European Track Championships ::The Netherlands won 6 medals: 2 gold, silver and 2 bronze medals.

won four of them including the two gold medals. She won gold in the Women's under-23 points race and the Women's under-23 scratch and silver in the Women's omnium and Women's under-23 individual pursuit. *September 6–17

Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Paralympics The Netherlands competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. A total of 83 Dutch competitors took part in 13 sports. The athletes that qualified for the 2008 Summer Paralympics are listed below. Medalists Archery 1 competitor: ;Women ...

Deaths

January

*January 1: Dirk van Egmond, 54, journalist for Veronica,

KRO KRO, or (Catholic Radio Broadcasting), was a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925. Broadly Catholic in its spiritual outlook, KRO broadcast the bulk of its television output on the NPO 1 channel. KRO was also responsi ...

, Omroep Flevoland, TROS,

AVRO AVRO, short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep ("General Association of Radio Broadcasting"), was a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system. It was the first public broa ...

and RTL Veronique. *January 4: Anton P. de Graaff, 79, author *January 28:

Ginty Vrede Ginty Vrede (July 18, 1985 – January 28, 2008) was a Dutch kickboxer and 2008 WBC Muaythai Heavyweight World champion. Biography and career Vrede won the WBC Muaythai heavyweight World title by beating the previously unbeaten Shane del Rosario ...

, Surinamese-Dutch kick-boxer

February

*February 7:

Benny Neyman Wilhelmus Albertus "Benny" Neyman (9 June 1951 in Maastricht, Netherlands - 7 February 2008 in Soesterberg, Netherlands) was a Dutch singer. Biography Neyman was born in Limburg. In the beginning of the 1970s, he took a course at Kleinkunst ...

, 56, singer *February 22:

Henk Bruna Henk Bruna (11 June 1916 – 22 February 2008) was a Dutch publisher and director of the stationery and bookstore chain Bruna. He was a brother of A.W. (Abs) Bruna (1902–1996) and an uncle of the artist Dick Bruna. From 1935 till 1982 Bruna wa ...

, 91, businessman, founder of the Bruna retail chain

March

*March 17:

Ed Leeflang Ed, ed or ED may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ed'' (film), a 1996 film starring Matt LeBlanc * Ed (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Edward Elric, a character in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' media * ''Ed'' (TV series), a TV series that ran fro ...

, 78, poet *March 23:

Wim Mager Wim Mager (26 September 1940 in Rotterdam – 23 March 2008 in Silvolde) was a Dutch photographer who is mainly known for founding the Apenheul Primate Park near Apeldoorn of which he was the director until 1997. When he had found a successor he m ...

, 67, photographer, founder of

Apenheul Apenheul Primate Park is a zoo in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. It specializes in apes and monkeys. It opened in 1971 and was the first zoo in the world where monkeys could walk around freely in the forest and between the visitors. It started with just ...

April

*April 6:

Jeu Sprengers Mathieu Gerardus Marie "Jeu" Sprengers (24 May 1938, Tegelen – 6 April 2008) was the Netherlands, Dutch chairman of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) from 2002 until 2008. Sprengers served as chairman until his death on 6 April 2008, a ...

, 69, chairman of the

Royal Dutch Football Association The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and wom ...

August

*August 14: Percy Irausquin, 39, fashion designer.

References

{{Commons category, 2008 in the Netherlands

Years of the 21st century in the Netherlands 2000s in the Netherlands

Incumbents

Events

January

February

May

June

July

September

October

November

Sports

See also

Deaths

January

February

March

April

August

See also

References