The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party, is a party of the centre-right that tries to promote private enterprise and economic liberalism.
The Netherlands is a parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands can be described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both of the political community and society as a whole.
A consultative referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was held in the Netherlands on 1 June 2005 to decide whether the government should ratify the proposed Constitution of the European Union. The result was a "No" vote.
Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 2010 and 2024. Following his departure from national politics, Rutte will take up the post of NATO Secretary-General in October 2024. Rutte was the leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 2006 through 2023.
The Military Intelligence and Security Service is the military intelligence service of the Netherlands, which operates under the Ministry of Defence. It is tasked with investigating the security of the armed forces and collects military intelligence from and about foreign countries. The civilian counterpart is the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD), which operates under the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.
Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 12 September 2012 after Prime Minister Mark Rutte handed in his government's resignation to Queen Beatrix on 23 April. The 150 seats of the House of Representatives were contested using party-list proportional representation. The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) received a plurality of the votes, followed by the Labour Party (PvdA).
General elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 15 March 2017 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives.
In the Netherlands, from the entry into force of the Advisory Referendum Act on 1 July 2015, until its repeal on 18 February 2018, most types of primary laws could be subjected to a suspensory, non-binding referendum if requested shortly after royal assent and subsequent proclamation. If a law was rejected by more than half of the votes cast, with a mandatory turnout of at least 30%, its entry into force was to be suspended indefinitely and a follow-up law had to be enacted that either repealed the law or provided for its entry into force.
An advisory referendum on the approval of the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement was held in the Netherlands on 6 April 2016. The referendum question was: "Are you for or against the Approval Act of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine?"
General elections were held in the Netherlands from 15 to 17 March 2021 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives. Following the elections and lengthy coalition formation talks, the sitting government remained in power.
The third Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022. It was formed by a coalition government of the political parties People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Democrats 66 (D66) and Christian Union (CU) after the general election of 2017.
Municipal elections were held on 21 March 2018 in 335 municipalities in the Netherlands. This election determined the composition of the municipal councils for the following four years. The election coincided with the Intelligence and Security Services Act referendum.
The 2019 election to the Senate of the Netherlands was held on 27 May 2019, two months after the provincial elections.
Johannes Alexander "Hans" Vijlbrief is a Dutch civil servant, economist, and politician, who currently serves as State Secretary for the Extractive Industries. He is a member of the social-liberal party Democrats 66 (D66).
Martijn N. Bolkestein is a Dutch politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives between July 2020 and March 2021. He is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
Lisa Mianti van Ginneken is a Dutch politician of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66). She worked as a software developer and later gave organizational trainings. She started serving as chair of the organization Transvisie in 2017 and became a member of parliament after the 2021 general election. Van Ginneken is the first transgender person to be elected into the Dutch House of Representatives, where she is her party's spokesperson for IT, privacy, family law, and mobility.
Raoul Marc Boucke is a Surinamese-Dutch civil servant and politician, who has served as a member of the House of Representatives since 2021. He is a member of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66). Prior to his political career, Boucke worked for two government ministries, the European Commission, as well as the Dutch representation to the European Union.
Jeanet Maria Petronella van der Laan is a Dutch retired footballer, teacher, and politician of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66).
Ruben Pieter Brekelmans is a Dutch politician serving as the minister of defence in the Schoof cabinet since 2024. Brekelmans previously served as a member of the House of Representatives on behalf of the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). As a parliamentarian, he focused on foreign affairs and migration.
Following the Dutch general election on 17 March 2021, a cabinet formation led to the establishment of the fourth Rutte cabinet in 2022. The coalition included the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Democrats 66 (D66), Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Union (CU), the same parties from the preceding third Rutte cabinet. This formation process, lasting 299 days, was the longest formation in Dutch history.
