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,which promotes private enterprise and economic liberalism.
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands.
The Christian Union is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CU is a centrist party,maintaining more progressive stances on economic,immigration and environmental issues while holding more socially conservative positions on issues such as abortion and euthanasia. The party describes itself as "social Christian".
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a Christian-democratic and socially conservative political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party,the Anti-Revolutionary Party and the Christian Historical Union;it has participated in all but three cabinets since it became a unitary party.
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).
AndréRouvoet is a retired Dutch politician of the Reformatory Political Federation (RPF) party and later the Christian Union (CU) party and jurist. He is the chairman of the executive board of the Healthcare Insurance association (ZN) since 1 February 2012.
Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician who has served as prime minister of the Netherlands since 2010. He was also the leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 2006 through 2023. He is currently acting in a demissionary capacity,and will not return to politics following the installation of a new cabinet.
Arie Slob is a Dutch politician and history teacher who served as Minister for Primary and Secondary Education and Media in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022.
Franciscus Cornelis Gerardus Maria "Frans" Timmermans is a Dutch politician who most recently served as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal and European Commissioner for Climate Action in the von der Leyen Commission from 2019 until his resignation in 2023. He is a member of the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA).
Purple is a common term in politics used to describe governments or other political entities consisting of parties that have red and blue as their political colours. It is of particular note in three countries. In the politics of the Netherlands and Belgium,purple is the term for a government coalition of social democrats and liberals,excluding christian democrats. It is derived from the combination of the colour of the social democrats (red) and liberals (blue).
Ina Brouwer is a Dutch politician of the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) and later co-founder of the GroenLinks (GL) party and lawyer.
Sybrand van Haersma Buma is a Dutch politician serving as Mayor of Leeuwarden since 2019. Until 2019,he was a member of the House of Representatives from 2002 who also served as the parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) from 2010 and as the leader of his party from 2012.
Cornelia Johanna "Carola" Schouten is a Dutch politician serving as third Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister for Poverty Policy,Participation and Pensions in the IV Rutte Cabinet since 10 January 2022. She has served as Minister of Agriculture,Nature and Food Quality in the Third Rutte cabinet from 2017 to 2022. She is a member of the Christian Union (CU).
Pieter Herman Omtzigt is a Dutch politician who has served as a member of the House of Representatives since 2003 apart from a short interruption between June and October 2010. He was member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA),but left in 2021 and continued as independent. In August 2023,he founded a new party called New Social Contract,its name taken from his 2021 manifesto.
Jesse Feras Klaver is a Dutch politician serving as a member of the House of Representatives since 2010 and Leader of GroenLinks since 2015. Prior to this,he chaired the youth union of the Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond from 2009 to 2010.
Eppo Egbert Willem Bruins is a Dutch politician and physicist who served as a member of the House of Representatives for the Christian Union (CU) from 2015 to 2021.
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 Leader of the Christian Union is the most senior politician within the Christian Union in the Netherlands. The post is currently held by Mirjam Bikker,who succeeded Gert-Jan Segers in 2023.
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.
A process of cabinet formation took place following the 2021 Dutch general election,leading to the formation of the Fourth Rutte cabinet in 2022. The coalition consists of People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD),Democrats 66 (D66),Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Union (CU),the same parties that formed the preceding Third Rutte cabinet. At 299 days,it was the longest formation in Dutch history.
