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The 2006 Democrats 66 leadership election was called to elect the new leader of the Democrats 66 after incumbent Boris Dittrich announced his retirement from national politics. Dittrich, who had been the leader of the party since the resignation of Thom de Graaf on 22 January 2003, did not stand for the leadership election. Alexander Pechtold won the election, beating Lousewies van der Laan and six others.
The lijsttrekker election had been advanced to an earlier date under pressure of the party's largest regional sections. Boris Dittrich, parliamentary leader of D66 until February 2006, stepped down. He came under heavy criticism after the political debate on sending Dutch troops to Uruzgan. He was criticized for making tactical errors to get political support for the mission, which D66 itself opposed. He was succeeded by Van der Laan. Advancing the date of the lijsttrekker election would allow D66 more time to find its ideological course before the next national election.
The other candidates were:
A congress was held in The Hague on 24 June 2006. Eligible D66 members could vote for a candidate in two ways, either they filled in the mail-in ballot they received on 8 June before 23 June, or they made their choice clear on the day of the congress. Only D66 members who had paid their membership dues before 29 May 2006 could vote.
Five counting rounds were necessary to elect the lijsttrekker. Alexander Pechtold was voted the new lijsttrekker. In the final round he received 2,009 of the 3,823 votes, 52.6% of the total in the sixth count of the election. [1] The runner-up was Lousewies van der Laan, obtaining 1,752 votes, 45.8% of the total. 62 votes were declared invalid. In the first round Pechtold obtained 1,860 out of 3,905 votes (47.6%), Lousewies van der Laan 1,662 votes (42.6%) and Hein van Meeteren 182 votes (4.7%). [2]
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Pechtold | 1,860 | 1,862 | 1,865 | 1,877 | 1,895 | 2,009 |
| Lousewies van der Laan | 1,662 | 1,663 | 1,664 | 1,673 | 1,692 | 1,752 |
| Hein Westerouen van Meeteren | 189 | 189 | 190 | 199 | 221 | eliminated |
| Carlo Strijk | 64 | 64 | 68 | 75 | eliminated | |
| Simone Kuiter | 44 | 47 | 50 | eliminated | ||
| Jan Zelle | 14 | 16 | eliminated | |||
| Ricardo Gomila Vergara | 10 | eliminated | ||||
| André van Wanrooij | withdrew | |||||
| Blank | 62 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 62 |
| Total votes cast | 3905 | 3903 | 3899 | 3886 | 3870 | 3823 |
Democrats 66 is a social liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned in the centre of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).
The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) after the election of 2003. The cabinet was a centre-right coalition and had a slim majority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Jan Peter Balkenende serving as Prime Minister. Liberal Leader Gerrit Zalm, a former Minister of Finance, served as Deputy Prime Minister and returned as Minister of Finance, while former Progressive-Liberal Leader Thom de Graaf served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio for the Interior.
Wouter Jacob Bos is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and businessman.
Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66).
Boris Ottokar Dittrich is a Dutch politician, jurist, author and human rights activist who served as Leader of the Democrats 66 (D66) from 2003 to 2006. A former member of the House of Representatives (1994–2006), he has been a member of the Senate since 2019.
Thomas Carolus de Graaf 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.
Alexander Pechtold is a retired Dutch politician and art historian. He is a member of Democrats 66.
Louse Wies Sija Anne Lilly Berthe "Lousewies" van der Laan is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist.
General elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2006, following the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet. The election proved relatively successful for the governing Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) which remained the largest party with 41 seats, a loss of only three seats. The largest increase in seats was for the Socialist Party (SP), which went from nine to 25 seats. The main opposition party, the social democratic Labour Party (PvdA) lost nine of its 42 seats, while the right-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the progressive liberal Democrats 66 lost a considerable portion of their seats, six of 28 and three of six, respectively. New parties, such as the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) of former VVD MP Geert Wilders and the animal rights party Party for the Animals (PvdD) were also successful, with the PVV winning nine seats and the PvdD winning two, thereby becoming the first animal rights group to enter a European parliament.
Municipal elections were held in the Netherlands on 7 March 2006. About 11.8 million people could vote in 419 municipalities. Due to municipal reorganisations, 15 municipalities held elections in January 2006 and 24 municipalities held elections in November 2006. In some cities, such as Amsterdam, there were two elections, for the municipality and for the borough councils.
After the fall of the second Balkenende cabinet on 30 June 2006, a cabinet formation took place in Netherlands. On 7 July, this resulted in the third Balkenende cabinet. The minority cabinet was formed by Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). It was a rump cabinet of the third Balkenende cabinet, but without ministers from Democrats 66 (D66).
This article lists some of the events that took place in the Netherlands in 2006.
Lodewijk Frans Asscher is a Dutch politician and jurist who served as Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from 2016 to 2021 and parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021.
Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag is a Dutch politician, humanitarian and diplomat who is the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza since 2024. Kaag most recently served in the fourth Rutte cabinet as First Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Finance from 2022 to 2024 and has previously served as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation and Minister of Foreign Affairs. She was Leader of the Democrats 66 (D66) from 2020 to 2023.
The Leader of the Democrats 66 is the most senior politician within the Democrats 66 party in the Netherlands. The post is currently held by Rob Jetten who was elected on 12 August 2023 and will lead the party into the 2023 Dutch general election. Jetten previously served as parliamentary leader of D66 in the House of Representatives from 2018 to 2021 and as Minister for Climate and Energy in the fourth Rutte government.
Rob Arnoldus Adrianus Jetten is a Dutch politician. He has been the Leader of the Democrats 66 (D66) party since August 2023 and a member of the House of Representatives since December 2023. He previously served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands from January 2024 to July 2024 and Minister for Climate and Energy Policy from 2022 to 2024.
Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2023 to elect the members of the House of Representatives. The elections had been expected to be held in 2025 but a snap election was called after the fourth Rutte cabinet collapsed on 7 July 2023 due to immigration policy disagreements between the coalition parties. The incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that he would not lead his party into the election and that he would retire from politics.
Johanna Jantina "Hanneke" van der Werf is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66). She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2021. She previously held a seat in the municipal council of The Hague (2014–2021) and worked for the D66 caucus in the House of Representatives (2010–2018).
Kiki Babette Hagen is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) and an elementary school teacher. She has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. She previously served as an alderwoman in the municipality De Ronde Venen. From 2011 to 2013 and from 2014 to 2018, she held a seat in the municipal council of that same municipality.
Jeanet Maria Petronella van der Laan is a Dutch retired footballer, teacher, and politician of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66).
