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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 |
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Senate. It has 150 seats, which are filled through elections using party-list proportional representation. Generally, the house is located in the Binnenhof in The Hague, however, it has temporarily moved to the former building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Bezuidenhoutseweg 67 in the Hague while the Binnenhof is being renovated.
Democrats 66 is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself 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 (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋʌutər ˈbɔs]; is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party 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 of the Democrats 66 (D66) party, jurist, author and human rights activist. He is a Member of the Senate since 11 June 2019.
Thomas Carolus "Thom" 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 elections 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.
The Dutch municipal elections of 2006 were held on 7 March 2006. About 11.8 million people could vote in 419 municipalities. Due to local redistricting, 15 municipalities have already held elections in January 2006 and 24 municipalities will hold elections in November 2006. In some cities, such as Amsterdam, there were two elections, for the municipality and for the 'stadsdeelraden'.
The 2006 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy leadership election was called to elect the new Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy after incumbent Jozias van Aartsen announced his retirement from national politics. Mark Rutte the State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science closely beat Rita Verdonk the Minister for Integration, Immigration and Asylum Affairs and backbencher Member of the House of Representatives Jelleke Veenendaal.
Marianne Louise Thieme is a Dutch politician, author and animal rights activist. A jurist by education, she served as the Party for the Animals' political leader from 2002 to 2019 and a member of the House of Representatives from 2006 to 2019.
This article lists some of the events that took place in the Netherlands in 2006.
The 1999 European Parliament election in the Netherlands was the election of MEP representing Netherlands constituency for the 1999–2004 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 1999 European election. It was held on 10 June 1999. Eleven parties competed in a D'Hondt type election for 31 seats.
The fourth Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Union (CU) and the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) after the election of 2006. The cabinet was a centrist grand coalition and had a slim majority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Jan Peter Balkenende serving as prime minister. Labour Leader Wouter Bos served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance while Social Christian Leader André Rouvoet served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio for Health, Welfare and Sport.
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 party may officially be party chair, secretary, or the highest political office.
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.
The Leader of the Democrats 66 is the most senior politician within the Democrats 66 in the Netherlands. The post is currently held by Sigrid Kaag who was elected on 4 September 2020 and who has been the serving as the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation since 2017. Kaag is the second female Leader of the Democrats 66 and the first career diplomat.
Jeanet Maria Petronella van der Laan is a Dutch retired footballer, teacher, and politician of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66).
