Maastricht is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the Meuse,at the point where the Jeker joins it. Mount Saint Peter (Sint-Pietersberg) is largely situated within the city's municipal borders. Maastricht is adjacent to the border with Belgium. It is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion,a metropolis with a population of about 3.9 million,which includes the nearby German and Belgian cities of Aachen,Liège and Hasselt.
While recreational use,possession and trade of non-medicinal drugs described by the Opium Law are all technically illegal under Dutch law,official policy since the late 20th century has been to openly tolerate all recreational use while tolerating the other two under certain circumstances. This pragmatic approach was motivated by the idea that a drug-free Dutch society is unrealistic and unattainable,and efforts would be better spent trying to minimize harm caused by recreational drug use. As a result of this gedoogbeleid,the Netherlands is typically seen as much more tolerant of drugs than most other countries.
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.
Marius Job Cohen is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from 2010 to 2012.
Jan Pieter Hendrik "Piet Hein" Donner is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 21 December 2018.
Maria Josephina Arnoldina van der Hoeven is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and nonprofit director.
The Third Lubbers cabinet,also called the Lubbers–Kok cabinet,was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 7 November 1989 to 22 August 1994. The cabinet was formed the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) after the election of 1989. The cabinet was a centrist grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Christian-Democratic Leader Ruud Lubbers serving as Prime Minister. Labour Leader Wim Kok served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
Gijsbert van Tienhoven was a liberal Dutch politician. He started his political career in the municipal council and executive of Amsterdam,and served as mayor of Amsterdam from 1880 to 1891. He spent one year in the House of Representatives and eleven years in the Senate before being appointed formateur after the 1891 general election. For three years,he served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Foreign Affairs before his cabinet fell in 1894. He also served as Queen's Commissioner of North Holland for fourteen years,between 1897 and 1911.
The third Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 7 July 2006 until 22 February 2007. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) after the fall of the second Balkenende cabinet. The caretaker rump cabinet was a centre-right coalition and had a minority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Jan Peter Balkenende serving as Prime Minister. Former Liberal Leader Gerrit Zalm continued as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
Fredrik "Fred" Teeven is a retired Dutch politician,bus driver and jurist. A member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD),he served as State Secretary at the Ministry of Security and Justice from 2010 to 2015.
Maxime Jacques Marcel Verhagen is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and historian.
In the Netherlands,coffeeshops are establishments where the sale of cannabis for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities.
Following the 2006 Dutch general election,held on November 22,a process of cabinet formation started,involving negotiations about which coalition partners to form a common programme of policy and to divide the posts in cabinet. On February 22,2007 it resulted in the formation of the Fourth Balkenende cabinet.
Franciscus Cornelis Gerardus Maria (Frans) Timmermans is a Dutch politician and diplomat serving as First Vice President of the European Commission since 2014. Since 2019,Timmermans has served in the von der Leyen Commission as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal and European Commissioner for Climate Action.
Flikken Maastricht is a Dutch police drama. The series is set in Maastricht,Limburg,a city in the south of the Netherlands,and began broadcasting on Dutch channel NPO 1 on 3 September 2007. The series is a spin-off of the Flemish show Flikken set in Ghent,Belgium.
The first Rutte cabinet,also called the Rutte–Verhagen cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 14 October 2010 until 5 November 2012. The cabinet was formed by the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) after the election of 2010. The cabinet was a right-wing coalition and had a minority in the House of Representatives but had confidence and supply from the Party for Freedom (PVV) for a slim majority with Liberal Leader Mark Rutte serving as Prime Minister. Christian Democratic Leader Maxime Verhagen served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs,Agriculture and Innovation.
Klaas Henricus Dominicus Maria Dijkhoff is a Dutch legal scholar and politician who led the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021. He previously was Minister of Defence (2017) and State Secretary for Security and Justice (2015–2017).
Raymond Willem Knops is a Dutch politician and retired RNLAF officer who served as State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations under the Third Rutte cabinet from 2017 to 2019 and again from 2020 until 2022. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA),he was Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations from 2019 to 2020 in an acting capacity. Knops has held a seat in the House of Representatives since 2005 with three interruptions due to cabinet formation processes and service in government.
Marten "Martin" Zijlstra was a Dutch politician. He started his political career as member of the States of Groningen,serving between 1974 and 1978. Starting in 1977 he served as Mayor of Termunten for thirteen years. He was a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands between 1989 and 2002 for the Labour Party and focused on interior affairs and defence policy. After his time as Representative he served two stints as acting mayor in Oldambt and Schiermonnikoog.
Pim J.T. van Strien is a Dutch politician of the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He has been serving as a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election,and he has previously worked as a press officer for the VVD and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.
