Groningen is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. It borders on Friesland to the west, Drenthe to the south, the German state of Lower Saxony to the east, and the Wadden Sea to the north. As of January 2023, Groningen had a population of about 596,000, and a total area of 2,955 km2 (1,141 sq mi).
Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of January 2023, Drenthe had a population of about 502,000, and a total area of 2,680 km2 (1,030 sq mi).
Bellingwedde was a municipality in the province Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Bellingwedde was established in 1968, when the municipalities of Bellingwolde and Wedde merged. After almost 50 years, Bellingwedde was disestablished in 2018, when the municipalities of Bellingwedde and Vlagtwedde merged into Westerwolde.
The Communist Party of the Netherlands was a communist party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1909 as the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and merged with the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party in 1991, forming the GroenLinks. Members opposed to the merger founded the New Communist Party of the Netherlands.
The Frisian National Party is a Frisian nationalist political party in the Netherlands. The FNP is mostly involved in Frisian politics. The Independent Senate Group represents the FNP on a national level, the EFA represents the FNP on a European level.
The Independent Politics Netherlands, formerly known as the Independent Senate Group, is a federation of local and regional political parties in the Netherlands that competes in elections to the Dutch Senate. OPNL is composed of provincial- and municipal-level parties, and has no individual members.
The Party for the Animals is a political party in the Netherlands. Among its main goals are animal rights and animal welfare. The PvdD was founded in 2002 as a single-issue party for animal rights, opposing animal cruelty and the treatment of animals in agriculture. The party then developed into a left-wing, ecological party.
The provincial council, also known as the States-Provincial, is the provincial parliament and legislative assembly in each of the provinces of the Netherlands. It is elected for each province simultaneously once every four years and has the responsibility for matters of sub-national or regional importance. The number of seats in a provincial council is proportional to its population.
Bonno Spieker was a Dutch politician. He served in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party from 8 June 1977 to 10 June 1981 and again from 15 September 1981 until 17 May 1994. He was considered a member of the left wing of the party and a spokesperson for the Northern provinces.
Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on 20 March 2019. Eligible voters elected the members of the Provincial States in the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. The elections were held on the same day as the 2019 Dutch water boards elections and, in the Caribbean Netherlands, island council elections.
The Political Party for Basic Income, formerly known as the Basic Income Party and De Basis, is a minor political party in the Netherlands, which advocates for the implementation of a universal basic income. The party registered with the electoral council on 9 December 2013.
Eemsdelta is a municipality in the province of Groningen, Netherlands formed from the merger of Appingedam, Delfzijl and Loppersum. The municipality came into existence on 1 January 2021.
Romke Harke de Jong is a Dutch entrepreneur and politician of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66). He took over and expanded his father's ice cream catering company and served on the municipal council of Opsterland in Friesland between 2010 and 2018. De Jong became a member of the States of Friesland the following year, and he was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2021 general election.
Wieke Paulusma is a Dutch health professional and politician for the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66), who has been serving as a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. She started her career as a nurse and also worked as a health care manager. Besides, Paulusma served on the Groningen municipal council between 2014 and 2021.
Mark Frans Strolenberg is a Dutch politician of the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He founded an Internet company at the age of eighteen and later worked as an IT professional for different companies. Strolenberg, born and raised in Hoogeveen, served on the town's municipal council next to his job between 2009 and 2021, and he has been a member of his local water authority in the years 2004–23 with a short hiatus. He unsuccessfully ran for member of the House of Representatives in the March 2021 general election, but he was appointed to that body in September after the resignation of Tamara van Ark.
Municipal elections were held on 16 March 2022 in 333 municipalities in the Netherlands. This election determined the composition of the municipal councils for the following four years.
Frederik "Fré" Meis was a Dutch communist politician and trade unionist. He served in the House of Representatives for the Communist Party from 1971 until 1977, the Municipal Council of the city of Groningen from 1949 until 1958 and 1960 until 1978, and in the Provincial Council of Groningen from 1962 until 1978. Meis received national attention as the leader of the 1969 strikes in Oude Pekela, and the 1970 strike in the Port of Rotterdam.
Engel Modderman is a Dutch communist politician and activist.
Eline C. Vedder-Monaster is a Dutch dairy farmer and politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). Born in Dordrecht, she studied mechanical engineering and started running a dairy farm in Drenthe with her husband after some years at multinational Unilever.
Anja Haga is a Dutch politician of the Christian Union (CU) who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) between September 2023 and July 2024. Born in Drachten, she studied at the University of Groningen and subsequently became a clinical linguist. She switched to the private sector after a number of years, and by then she had become politically active. She lost in 2007 provincial elections in Friesland, but she did receive a seat in its council in 2010 to fill a vacancy. Haga was re-elected the following year and succeeded Piet Adema as parliamentary leader. She often commented on issues of public transport and sustainability, and she secured a third term in the provincial council in 2015 as her party's lead candidate.
