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.
Alexander Pechtold is a retired Dutch politician and art historian. He is a member of Democrats 66.
Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006.
Henricus Gregorius Jozeph "Henk" Kamp is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who served as Minister of Defence in the Cabinet Rutte III from 24 September 2021 to 10 January 2022. He previously served as Minister of Defence in the Cabinets Balkenende I,II and III from 12 December 2002 until 22 February 2007.
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.
Wouter Koolmees is a Dutch economist and politician and of the Democrats 66 (D66) party who has been serving as Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the Third Rutte cabinet since 2017. He also served as second Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2019 to 2020 during Kajsa Ollongren's medical leave of absence.
The second Rutte cabinet,also called the Rutte–Asscher cabinet,was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 5 November 2012 until 26 October 2017. The cabinet was formed by the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) after the election of 2012. The cabinet was a centrist grand coalition and had a slim majority in the House of Representatives. VVD Leader Mark Rutte served as Prime Minister;prominent PvdA politician Lodewijk Asscher,a former alderman of Amsterdam,served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Employment.
Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag is a Dutch diplomat and politician,serving as Minister of Finance and First Deputy Prime Minister in the Fourth Rutte cabinet. She previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 25 May 2021 until 17 September 2021 and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation from 26 October 2017 until 10 August 2021 in the Third Rutte cabinet.
Eric Derk Wiebes is a resigned Dutch politician who served as Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the Third Rutte cabinet since 26 October 2017 until 15 January 2021. He is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
Jkvr. Karin Hildur "Kajsa" Ollongren is a Dutch politician serving as the Netherlands' Minister of Defence since 10 January 2022. A member of the Democrats 66 (D66),she previously served as Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and second Deputy Prime Minister in the third Rutte cabinet (2017–2022),and briefly as Mayor of Amsterdam.
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. The cabinet formation took 225 days,a record high in the Netherlands.
Ferdinand Bernhard Joseph "Ferd" Grapperhaus is a Dutch politician who served as Minister of Justice and Security in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).
Wopke Bastiaan Hoekstra is a Dutch politician who has served as second Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the fourth Rutte cabinet since 10 January 2022. He has also been Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) since 2020. Hoekstra previously served as Minister of Finance in the third Rutte cabinet from 2017 to 2022.
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).
The Dutch childcare benefits scandal is a political scandal in the Netherlands concerning false allegations of fraud made by the Tax and Customs Administration while attempting to regulate the distribution of childcare benefits. Between 2013 and 2019,authorities wrongly accused an estimated 26,000 parents of making fraudulent benefit claims,requiring them to pay back the allowances they had received in their entirety. In many cases,this sum amounted to tens of thousands of euros,driving families into severe financial hardship.
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.
The Fourth Rutte cabinet is the current Government of the Netherlands. It was inaugurated on 10 January 2022. The cabinet is a continuation of the previous third Rutte cabinet and is formed by the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD),the social-liberal Democrats 66 and the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Union (CU) after the election of 2021.
