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The Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (pronunciation , literally "Second Chamber of the States-General"), short Tweede Kamer, is the Dutch lower house. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary Representative democracy, a Constitutional monarchy and a The Netherlands and The Kingdom of the Netherlands are two distinct geographical and administrative entities The Council of Ministers of the Kingdom ( Dutch: Ministerraad van het Koninkrijk or Rijksministerraad) is the executive council of the Kingdom of the The Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba (Gevolmachtigd Minister van Aruba represents the constituent country of Aruba in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom The Minister Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands Antilles (Gevolmachtigd Minister van de Nederlandse Antillen represents the constituent country of the Netherlands Antilles The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands (in Dutch Statuut voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; in Papiamentu Statuut pa e Reino di Hulanda) describes the The Constitution of the Netherlands is the Fundamental law of the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Human rights of the Netherlands are codified in the Dutch constitution. The Netherlands has been an independent Monarchy since 16 March 1815, and has been governed by members of the House of Orange-Nassau Willem-Alexander Prince of Orange (in Dutch: Prins van Oranje The States-General ( Staten-Generaal) is the Parliament of the Netherlands. The Eerste Kamer ( First Chamber) is the Upper House or Senate of the Netherlands parliament the States-General The Historic composition of the Eerste Kamer gives an overview of the composition of the Higher House of the Dutch parliament The Historic composition of the Tweede Kamer gives an overview of the composition of the Lower House of the Dutch parliament The Dutch Council of Ministers is the executive council of Dutch government, formed by all the ministers This executive council initiates laws and policy The cabinet of the Netherlands is the main executive body of the Dutch government. This is a list of cabinets of the Netherlands Note first party mentioned provided prime minister The Prime minister of the Netherlands is the Head of government of the Netherlands and is the chair of the Dutch cabinet, and This is a list of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands since 1848 Jan Peter Balkenende (pronounced ˈjɑn ˈpetər ˈbɑɫkənɛndə) (born 7 May 1956 is a Christian Democratic politician who has been the Prime Minister of the This article lists political parties in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has a Multi-party system with numerous parties in which any one party has little This article gives an overview of liberalism in the Netherlands. This article gives an overview of socialism in the Netherlands, including Communism and Social democracy. This article gives an overview of Christian democracy in the Netherlands, which is also called confessional politics, including political catholicism and Elections in the Netherlands are held for six territorial levels the European Union (beyond the scope of this article the state the 12 Provinces Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands, on March 7, 2007. The 2006 Dutch general elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday November 22, 2006, and followed the call for new elections after The Dutch municipal elections of 2006 were held on March 7 2006. The Dutch referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was a consultative Referendum that was held on 1 June 2005 to decide if the The European Parliament election of 2004 in the Netherlands was the election of MEP representing Netherlands constituency for the 2004-2009 term of the European A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the local municipalities having the responsibility for matters of subnational or regional The States-Provincial ( Provinciale Staten, or PS - commonly known as simply the Staten, or States) is the provincial parliament and legislative Dutch water boards (waterschappen or nl ''hoogheemraadschappen'' are regional government bodies in the Netherlands. |||} All provinces of the Netherlands are divided into municipalities ( gemeenten) together 443 (2007 The European Union is a unique entity possessing elements of Intergovernmentalism, Supranationalism and a Multi-party Parliamentary democracy The Foreign policy of the Netherlands is based on four basic commitments to the atlantic cooperation, to European integration, to International This page lists embassies and consulates posted in the Netherlands. Listed below are the embassies and consulates of the Netherlands, excluding honorary consulates Europe Tirana A High Council of State (in Dutch: Hoog College van Staat) is a council of which the independence is guaranteed in the Constitution of the Netherlands. The National Ombudsman (in Dutch: Nationale Ombudsman) is a Dutch political office In the Netherlands, the Council of State ( Raad van State) is a Constitutionally established advisory body to the Government which consists of The General Chamber of Auditors (in Dutch: Algemene Rekenkamer) is an independent organ that Audits the spending of the national government on its Efficiency The Sociaal-Economische Raad (Social Economic Council SER is a major economic advisory council of the Dutch government The Hoge Raad der Nederlanden ( High Council of the Netherlands) is the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, situated in The Hague. De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB The Dutch Bank) is the Central bank of the Netherlands. Rise of Socialism In the beginning of the 20th century socialism began to develop in the Netherlands Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands A lower house is one of two chambers of a Bicameral Legislature, the other chamber being the Upper house. It has 150 seats which are filled through elections using a party-list proportional representation. Elections in the Netherlands are held for six territorial levels the European Union (beyond the scope of this article the state the 12 Provinces Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of Voting systems used in multiple-winner Elections (e The Tweede Kamer sits in The Hague.
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Functions
The Tweede Kamer is the main chamber of parliament, where discussion of proposed legislation and review of the actions of the cabinet takes place. Legislation (or " Statutory law " is law which has been promulgated (or " Enacted quot by a Legislature or other Governing The cabinet of the Netherlands is the main executive body of the Dutch government. Both the cabinet and the Tweede Kamer itself have the right to propose legislation; the Tweede Kamer discusses it and, if adopted by a majority decision, sends it on to the senate (eerste kamer). The Eerste Kamer ( First Chamber) is the Upper House or Senate of the Netherlands parliament the States-General
Review of the actions of the cabinet takes the form of formal interrogations, which may result in motions urging the cabinet to take, or refrain from, certain actions. It is not possible for somebody to be a member of both parliament and cabinet, except if this is a caretaker cabinet that has not yet been succeeded when a new Tweede Kamer is sworn in.
The Tweede Kamer is also responsible for the first selection of judges to the Supreme Court (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden). A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law The Hoge Raad der Nederlanden ( High Council of the Netherlands) is the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, situated in The Hague. It will submit a list of three names for every vacant position to the Government.
Furthermore, it elects the Dutch Ombudsman and his subsidiaries. An ombudsman ( English plural conventionally ombudsmen) is an official usually (but not always appointed by the government or by parliament who is charged with
Elections
The maximum duration of the Tweede Kamer is four years. Anybody eligible to vote in the Netherlands also has the right to establish a political party and contest elections for the Tweede Kamer (see political parties of the Netherlands). A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral This article lists political parties in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has a Multi-party system with numerous parties in which any one party has little Elections are called when the government has lost the parliament's confidence, the government coalition has broken down, the sitting period of the Kamer expired or when no governing coalition can be formed.
The parties wanting to take part must register 43 days before the elections, supplying a nationwide list of at least 30 candidates. Parties that do not have any sitting candidates in the chamber must also pay a deposit (11,250 euro for the November 2006 elections, for all districts together) and provide 30 signatures of support from residents of each of the 19 electoral districts in which they want to collect votes. The candidate lists are placed in the hands of the voters at least 14 days before the election. Two or more parties can agree to combine their separate lists (a so called 'list combination' or lijstencombinatie), which increases the chance to win a remainder seat. Each candidate list is numbered, with the person in the first position known as the lijsttrekker (key member). The lijsttrekker is usually appointed by the party to lead its election campaign. The lijsttrekker of the party receiving the most seats will often become the Prime Minister. The Prime minister of the Netherlands is the Head of government of the Netherlands and is the chair of the Dutch cabinet, and Parties may choose to compete with different candidate lists in each of the 19 electoral districts, but as seats are allocated on national rather than district level, most parties have almost identical lists in all districts with candidates running nationwide. Only large parties usually have some 'regional' candidates at the bottom of their lists.
Citizens of the Netherlands aged 18 or over have the right to vote; excluded can only be those serving a prison term of more than one year. A single vote can be placed on any of the candidates. Many voters select one of the lijsttrekkers (Jan Peter Balkenende, for example, received 2,198,114 of the CDA's 2,608,573 votes in the November 2006 elections), but alternatively can place a preference vote for a candidate lower on the list. Jan Peter Balkenende (pronounced ˈjɑn ˈpetər ˈbɑɫkənɛndə) (born 7 May 1956 is a Christian Democratic politician who has been the Prime Minister of the
Once the election results are known, the seats are allocated to the parties. The number of valid national votes cast is divided by 150, the number of seats available, to give a threshold for each seat (the kiesdeler). Each party's number of votes is divided by this threshold to give an initial number of seats. Any party that received fewer votes than the threshold (i. e. , less than one in 150 of the total votes cast) fails to gain representation in the Kamer, thus the threshold is always at 0. 67% of the total number of valid national votes. This is one of the lowest thresholds for national parliament elections in the world. Any party that received more than 75% of the threshold will have its deposit refunded.
After the initial seats are allocated, the remainder seats are allocated using the D'Hondt method of largest averages. The D'Hondt method (mathematically but not operationally equivalent to Jefferson's method, and Bader-Ofer method) is a Highest averages method for This system favours the larger parties. List combinations compete for the remainder seats as one list of the combined size of all parties in the combination, thus having more chance to gain remainder seats. Afterwards, the seats are allocated to the parties within the list combination using the largest remainder method. The largest remainder method is one way of allocating seats proportionally for representative assemblies with party list Voting systems.
Once the number of seats allocated to each party is known, in general they are allocated to candidates in the order that they appear on the party's list. (Hence, before the elections, the candidates near the top may be described as in an electable position, depending on the number of seats that the party is likely to obtain. ) However at this state the preference votes are also taken into account. If a candidate receives more than one quarter of the threshold on personal preference votes (the 'preference threshold' or voorkeursdrempel, 0. 1675% of the total number of valid votes), then he or she is considered elected in his/her own right, jumping over candidates who where placed higher on the list. In the November 2006 elections only one candidate received a seat exclusively through preference votes, while 26 other candidates reaching the preference threshold were already elected based on their position on the list. If a candidate can not take up the position in parliament (e. g. , if they become a minister, decide not to enter parliament, or later resign) then the next candidate on the list takes the place. A minister or a secretary is a Politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional Government.
After all seats are allocated a government is formed, (usually) based on a majority of the seats. The queen appoints an informateur, who checks out possible coalitions, and formateur, who leads formation negotiations. At the end of the negotiations, the formateur becomes prime minister. Although usually from the largest party in parliament, these appointments are arguably among the largest powers the queen holds in Dutch politics. All cabinet members must resign from parliament, as the constitution does not allow a cabinet member to hold a seat in the Tweede Kamer.
There is no hard and fast quota for winning a seat in the Tweede Kamer. In 1977, for instance, one party gained a seat despite winning only 0. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on May 25, 1977. 77 percent of the vote. Since the current party-list proportional representation system was introduced in 1918, no party has even approached the number of seats necessary for an outright majority. Between 1891 and 1897, the Liberal Union was the last party to have an absolute majority of the seats in the Tweede Kamer. The Liberal Union (in Dutch: Liberale Unie) or LU was a Dutch liberal Political party. Therefore, Dutch governments are always based on coalitions between two or more parties.
Current situation
As a result of the elections held on November 22, 2006, the allocation of the 150 seats is:
| Parties | Political Ideology | Top candidate | Votes | Seats | Vote % | Seat % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Democratisch Appèl, CDA) |
Christian Democracy | Jan Peter Balkenende | 2,608,573 | 41 | 26. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The 2006 Dutch general elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday November 22, 2006, and followed the call for new elections after The Christian Democratic Appeal ( CDA) (Christen Democratisch Appèl is a Dutch Christian-democratic Political party. Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian (and often specifically Catholic) principles to public policy Jan Peter Balkenende (pronounced ˈjɑn ˈpetər ˈbɑɫkənɛndə) (born 7 May 1956 is a Christian Democratic politician who has been the Prime Minister of the 5 | 27. 3 | |
| Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid, PvdA) |
Social Democracy | Wouter Bos | 2,085,077 | 33 | 21. Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left Drs Wouter Jacob Bos (born 14 July 1963 in Vlaardingen) is the Dutch Minister of Finance and deputy prime minister 2 | 21. 3 | |
| Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij, SP) |
Socialism | Jan Marijnissen | 1,630,803 | 25 | 16. The Socialist Party ( SP, Dutch: Socialistische Partij) is a Dutch socialist Political party. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Johannes Guillaume Christianus Andreas "Jan" Marijnissen ( (born 8 October 1952) is a Dutch Politician. 6 | 17. 3 | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, VVD) |
Conservative liberalism/Liberalism | Mark Rutte | 1,443,312 | 22 | 14. The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( VVD) (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie is a Dutch liberal Political party. Conservative liberalism is a variant of Liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances or more simply representing the right-wing Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal Mark Rutte (born February 14, 1967 in The Hague, Zuid-Holland) is a Dutch People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD 7 | 14. 7 | |
| Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid, PVV) |
Conservatism/Nationalism/Far right | Geert Wilders | 579,490 | 9 | 5. The Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid PVV) is a Dutch conservative political party Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation Far right, extreme right, ultra-right, or radical right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group Geert Wilders ('xert 'ʋildərs 'ʋildəʁs}} born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch Politician. 9 | 6. 0 | |
| GreenLeft (GroenLinks, GL) |
Green Politics | Femke Halsema | 453,054 | 7 | 4. GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party. Green politics is a Political ideology which places a high importance on ecological and environmental goals and on achieving these goals through broad-based (born April 25, 1966) is Dutch Politician. She is a member of the Tweede Kamer since 1998 6 | 4. 7 | |
| ChristianUnion (ChristenUnie, CU) |
Social-Christianity /Orthodox Protestantism | André Rouvoet | 390,969 | 6 | 4. This article is about the Dutch political party See Christian Union (students (with space between the two words for the university religious organization and Christian André Rouvoet (born January 4, 1962) is a Dutch politician currently serving as Minister of Youth and Family and Deputy Prime Minister of the 0 | 4. 0 | |
| Democrats 66 (Democraten 66, D66) |
Social liberalism, Radical Democracy, Progressivism | Alexander Pechtold | 193,232 | 3 | 2. Democrats 66 ( D66, Democraten 66 official name Politieke Partij Democraten 66) is a Dutch progressive, social-liberal and Social liberalism, also called new liberalism (as it was originally termed high liberalism radical liberalism, modern liberalism, or Radical democracy as an Ideology was articulated by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe in their book Hegemony and Socialist Strategy Towards a Radical Progressivism is a term that refers to a broad school of international social and political philosophies. Alexander Pechtold (born December 16 1965) is a Dutch Politician. 0 | 2. 0 | |
| Party for the Animals (Partij voor de Dieren, PvdD) |
Animal rights/Animal welfare | Marianne Thieme | 179,988 | 2 | 1. The Party for the Animals (Partij voor de Dieren is a Political party in the Netherlands with two out of the one hundred and fifty seats in parliament. "Animal liberation" redirects here for other uses see Animal liberation (disambiguation. Animal welfare refers to the viewpoint that it is morally acceptable for humans to use nonhuman animals for food in animal research, as clothing and in entertainment Marianne Louise Thieme ( Ede, March 6 1972) is a Dutch politician, animal activist and publicist 8 | 1. 3 | |
| Reformed Political Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, SGP) |
Conservatism, Reformed Christian | Bas van der Vlies | 153,266 | 2 | 1. The Political Reformed Party ( Dutch: Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, SGP) is an orthodox Protestant Dutch political party. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland abbreviated Gereformeerde kerk) was the second largest Protestant church in the Netherlands Bastiaan Johannis "Bas" van der Vlies (born June 29 1942, Sliedrecht) is a Dutch Politician. 6 | 1. 3 | |
| Other | – | – | 100,919 | – | 1. 0 | – | |
| Total | 9,818,683 | 150 | 100. 0 | 100. 0 | |||
| Turnout | 9,854,998 | – | 80. 4 | – | |||
| Source: Uitslag van de Tweede Kamerverkiezing van 22 november 2006. Kiesraad. | |||||||
The chairperson is Gerdi Verbeet. Gerardina Alida (Gerdi Verbeet ( Amsterdam, 18 april 1951) is a Dutch politician.
Previous situation
Elections were held on January 22, 2003 after the resignation of the first Balkenende cabinet. Events 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The PvdA's lijsttrekker, Wouter Bos, declared that he would not become Prime Minister if his party lost: the party's candidate was not announced until a few days before the election - Job Cohen, the mayor of Amsterdam, who did not take part in the campaign. Drs Wouter Jacob Bos (born 14 July 1963 in Vlaardingen) is the Dutch Minister of Finance and deputy prime minister Marius Job Cohen (born 18 October 1947) is the current Mayor of Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west The negotiations following the election were lengthy and resulted in a coalition of CDA, VVD and D66 and the second Balkenende cabinet.
| Parties | Lijsttrekker | Votes | Seats | Vote % | Seat % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Democratisch Appèl) | Jan Peter Balkenende | 2,763,480 | 44 | 28. A general election of the Tweede Kamer of the Dutch Parliament was held in The Netherlands on January 22, 2003 The Christian Democratic Appeal ( CDA) (Christen Democratisch Appèl is a Dutch Christian-democratic Political party. Jan Peter Balkenende (pronounced ˈjɑn ˈpetər ˈbɑɫkənɛndə) (born 7 May 1956 is a Christian Democratic politician who has been the Prime Minister of the 6 | 29. 3 |
| Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid) | Wouter Bos | 2,631,363 | 42 | 27. Drs Wouter Jacob Bos (born 14 July 1963 in Vlaardingen) is the Dutch Minister of Finance and deputy prime minister 3 | 28. 0 |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) | Gerrit Zalm | 1,728,707 | 28 | 17. The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( VVD) (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie is a Dutch liberal Political party. Gerrit Zalm (born May 6, 1952) is a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Netherlands. 9 | 18. 7 |
| Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij) | Jan Marijnissen | 609,723 | 9 | 6. The Socialist Party ( SP, Dutch: Socialistische Partij) is a Dutch socialist Political party. Johannes Guillaume Christianus Andreas "Jan" Marijnissen ( (born 8 October 1952) is a Dutch Politician. 3 | 6. 0 |
| List Pim Fortuyn (Lijst Pim Fortuyn) | Mat Herben | 549,975 | 8 | 5. Pim Fortuyn List ( Lijst Pim Fortuyn, LPF is a defunct Political party in the Netherlands. Mathieu ("Mat" Herben (born July 15, 1952) is a Dutch politician and a member of the List Pim Fortuyn. 7 | 5. 3 |
| GreenLeft (GroenLinks) | Femke Halsema | 495,802 | 8 | 5. GroenLinks ( GL, English: GreenLeft) is a Dutch Green Political party. (born April 25, 1966) is Dutch Politician. She is a member of the Tweede Kamer since 1998 1 | 5. 3 |
| Democrats 66 (Democraten 66) | Thom de Graaf | 393,333 | 6 | 4. Democrats 66 ( D66, Democraten 66 official name Politieke Partij Democraten 66) is a Dutch progressive, social-liberal and Thomas ("Thom" Carolus de Graaf (born June 11, 1957) was a Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations 1 | 4. 0 |
| Christian Union (ChristenUnie) | André Rouvoet | 204,694 | 3 | 2. This article is about the Dutch political party See Christian Union (students (with space between the two words for the university religious organization and Christian André Rouvoet (born January 4, 1962) is a Dutch politician currently serving as Minister of Youth and Family and Deputy Prime Minister of the 1 | 2. 0 |
| Political Reformed Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij) | Bas van der Vlies | 150,305 | 2 | 1. The Political Reformed Party ( Dutch: Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, SGP) is an orthodox Protestant Dutch political party. Bastiaan Johannis "Bas" van der Vlies (born June 29 1942, Sliedrecht) is a Dutch Politician. 6 | 1. 3 |
| Total (turnout 80. 0 %) | 9,654,475 | 150 | 98. 7 | 100. 0 | |
The other parties contesting the elections were: Partij voor de Dieren (47,754), Leefbaar Nederland (38,894), Partij van de Toekomst (13,845), LijstRatelband. The Party for the Animals (Partij voor de Dieren is a Political party in the Netherlands with two out of the one hundred and fifty seats in parliament. Livable Netherlands (in Dutch Leefbaar Nederland, LN was a Dutch populist Political party. The Partij van de Toekomst ( Party of the Future) is a satirical political party of the Netherlands. nl (9,045), Duurzaam Nederland (7,271), Nieuwe Communistische Partij-NCPN (4,854), de Conservatieven. The New Communist Party Of The Netherlands ( Nieuwe Communistische Partij Nederland) is a Dutch communist Political party, founded in 1992 nl (2,521), Vooruitstrevende Integratie Partij (1,623), Alliantie voor Vernieuwing en Democratie (990) and Lijst Veldhoen (296). All of these parties lost their deposit, except for LN which as a sitting party didn't have to pay it.
The total votes cast was 9,654,475, giving a threshold required for a seat of 64,363. 167. GL and SP combined their lists for the calculations, as did CU and SGP. The two candidates obtaining seats only because of preference votes were H. P. A. Nawijn (LPF) (21,209) and J. C. Huizinga-Heringa (CU) (19,650).
The Socialistische Partij lost one seat in February 2004 when it expelled Ali Lazrak from its faction. Lazrak decided to continue as a one-man faction.
In August 2004 the entire LPF faction resigned from their party, due to internal politics within the party. They remained as an independent faction, continuing to use the name LPF.
On the 2nd of September 2004 the VVD also lost a seat when Geert Wilders left the faction. Geert Wilders ('xert 'ʋildərs 'ʋildəʁs}} born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch Politician. He too decided to continue as a one-man faction. In 2005, Hilbrand Nawijn, former Minister without Portfolio for Immigration and Integration in the first Balkenende Cabinet, departed from the LPF to become the third one-man-faction in the chamber. Hilbrand Pier Anne Nawijn (born August 8, 1948) is a Dutch Politician, a former Member of the Dutch Parliament, and until A Minister without Portfolio is either a Government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry. Jan Peter Balkenende (pronounced ˈjɑn ˈpetər ˈbɑɫkənɛndə) (born 7 May 1956 is a Christian Democratic politician who has been the Prime Minister of the On June 7, 2006, Gonny van Oudenallen was installed as successor of Margot Kraneveldt, who retired from parliament and stepped over to the PvdA. Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Hillegonda Francisca Maria "Gonny" van Oudenallen (born Amsterdam, January 31 1957 is a Dutch Politician. Although on the LPF list for the 2003 elections, Oudenallen sat as a one-woman faction. On August 16, 2006, LPF party leader Gerard van As stepped over to Hilbrand Nawijn's faction. Events 1384 - The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China, Emperor Dong hears a case of a couple who tore paper money bills while fighting Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. On September 6, 2006, Anton van Schijndel was removed from the VVD faction. Events 3114 BC - According to the Proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. He became part of a two member faction with Joost Eerdmans, who was removed from the LPF on September 20, 2006. Bernard Johannes (Joost Eerdmans ( Harderwijk, 9 January 1971) is a politician in the Netherlands, and member of the Eén NL party Events 451 - The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
The new chairman of the Tweede Kamer was elected on December 6, 2006. The winner was Gerdi Verbeet. Gerardina Alida (Gerdi Verbeet ( Amsterdam, 18 april 1951) is a Dutch politician. The previous chairman (2002-2006) was Frans Weisglas, who retired on November 29, 2006. Frans W Weisglas (born The Hague, August 8 1946 is a Dutch Politician for the VVD party
Historical periods
To give an overview of the longer history of the second chamber, the figure to the right shows the seat distribution in the Dutch second chamber from the first general elections after WWII (1946), to the current situation. The Historic composition of the Tweede Kamer gives an overview of the composition of the Lower House of the Dutch parliament Until 1956, there were 100 seats. This was expanded to 150 seats, which is the current number.
The left wing parties are on the bottom, the Christian parties in the center, with the right wing parties closer to the top. Occasionally one (or few) issue parties have arisen that are shown at the extreme top.
Vertical lines indicate general elections. Although in principle every four years, the necessary coalition governments do not always finish their term without a governmental crisis, which is often followed by new elections. Hence the regular periods numbering less than four years.
External links
- (Dutch) Official site
- (English) Official site
- (English) virtual tour of the houses of parliament
- (Dutch) seat-allocation in the Tweede Kamer. Click the diagram on the left to see names and photos of all representatives per section.
- (Dutch) Official site for archives since 1995 in Dutch
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