The Leader of the Democrats 66 is the most senior politician within the Democrats 66 (Dutch : Democraten 66, D66) 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.
The Leaders outwardly act as the 'figurehead' and the main representative of the party. Within the party, they must ensure political consensus. At election time, the leader is always the Lijsttrekker (top candidate) of the party list. In the Democrats 66, the Leader is often the Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. Some Democrats 66 leaders became a Minister in a cabinet.
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.
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende Jr. is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 2010.
Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt is a Dutch politician and diplomat of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later its successor the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 19 December 1977 until 4 November 1982.
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.
Jan Cornelis Terlouw is a retired Dutch politician, physicist and author. A member of the Democrats 66 (D66) party, he served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1981 to 1982 under Prime Minister Dries van Agt.
Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66).
André Rouvoet 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.
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.
Hans Wiegel is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessperson.
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.
Bernard Johannes "Joost" Eerdmans is a Dutch politician, broadcaster and former civil servant who has served as Leader of JA21 since 18 December 2020, a party he co-founded with Annabel Nanninga. Elected to the House of Representatives in the 2021 general election, he took office on 31 March 2021. Eerdmans had previously served as a member of the House of Representatives from 23 May 2002 until 30 November 2006 for the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) and as an Independent.
Joris Jacob Clemens Voorhoeve is a retired Dutch politician, diplomat of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and political scientist.
Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag is a Dutch diplomat and politician, who has been the leader of the Democrats 66 (D66) since 4 September 2020. She has served as Minister of Finance and first Deputy Prime Minister in the fourth Rutte cabinet since 10 January 2022. She previously served as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation from 26 October 2017 to 10 August 2021, and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 25 May 2021 to 17 September 2021 in the third Rutte cabinet.
Salima Belhaj is a Dutch-Moroccan politician. She has been a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for the Democrats 66 (D66) since 26 January 2016. She previously served as a municipal councillor and group president in Rotterdam between 2008 and 2016.
Rob Arnoldus Adrianus Jetten is a Dutch politician who serves as the political leader of Democrats 66 since 2023. He previously served as the party's parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives.
Early general elections are scheduled to be held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2023 to elect the members of the House of Representatives. The election 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 disagreements on immigration policy. Incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte has announced that he is not leading his party into the election and that he will be retiring from politics.
Jan Maarten Paternotte is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66). He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 23 March 2017. On 11 January 2022, he succeeded Sigrid Kaag as the party's leader in the House of Representatives.