Willem (Wim) Cool (born 12 February 1943, Gieten) is a Dutch business consultant, mediator and politician. As a member of Democrats 66 (D66) he has been a member of the States-Provincial of North Holland since 18 April 2011. [1]
Cool studied law at the University of Amsterdam. He was a D66 member of the municipal council of Noorder-Koggenland from 1994 to 2002 and independent alderman of the municipality of Niedorp from 2004 to 2010.
Cool became national news because he made a mistake during the 2011 Dutch Senate election. As a member of the North Holland States-Provincial he was entitled to vote for the new Dutch Senate on 23 May 2011 but was not able to find the red writing device (usually a pencil) prescribed for voting. Instead he voted with a blue one (his fountain pen). As a result, his vote was declared invalid and Democrats 66 missed a seat in the new Senate. His mistake was in favour of the Socialist Party (SP) which gained an extra seat. Cool regretted his mistake and apologised. [2] Appeal of his party to the Election Council was not granted. [3]
Wim Cool lives in Hauwert, which is a town in the municipality of Medemblik.
The Netherlands is a parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands can be described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both of the political community and society as a whole.
Democrats 66 is a social liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned 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).
Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66).
Thomas Carolus 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.
The Political Party of Radicals was a Christian-radical and green political party in the Netherlands. The PPR played a relatively small role in Dutch politics and merged with other left-wing parties to form GroenLinks in 1991.
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Roger Henri Ludovic Maria van Boxtel is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and businessman.
Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 2 March 2011. Eligible voters elected the members of the provincial councils in the twelve provinces. These elections also indirectly determined the members of the Senate, since the 566 members of the twelve provincial councils elected the Senate's 75 members in the Senate election on 23 May 2011.
Elections of the Dutch Senate were held on 23 May 2011, following the provincial elections on 2 March 2011. The 566 members of the twelve States-Provincial elected the 75 Senate members. The new Senate was installed on 7 June 2011. The term ended on 8 June 2015.
An election of the Members of the European Parliament from the Netherlands was held on 22 May 2014. This is the 8th time the elections have been held for the European elections in the Netherlands.
Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 18 March 2015. Eligible voters elected the members of the States-Provincial in the twelve provinces. These elections also indirectly determined the members of the Senate, since the 566 members of the twelve States-Provincial will elect the Senate's 75 members in the Senate election on 26 May 2015. These provincial election were held on the same day as the 2015 Dutch water boards elections.
Municipal elections were held on 21 March 2018 in 335 municipalities in the Netherlands. This election determined the composition of the municipal councils for the following four years. The election coincided with the Intelligence and Security Services Act referendum.
Kiki Babette Hagen is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) and an elementary school teacher. She has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. She previously served as an alderwoman in the municipality De Ronde Venen. From 2011 to 2013 and from 2014 to 2018, she held a seat in the municipal council of that same municipality.
Alexander Robert Hammelburg is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66). He has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. He previously worked as a lobbyist for COC Nederland and held a seat in the municipal council of Amsterdam.
Faissal Boulakjar is a Moroccan-born Dutch politician, who has been serving as a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 Dutch general election. He is a member of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66) and previously held a seat in the Breda municipal council (2014–2021).
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.
Hülya Kat is a Dutch politician, serving as a member of the House of Representatives on behalf of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66). She was a member of the Velsen municipal council between 2010 and 2018, when she was elected to the Amsterdam council. Kat won a seat in the House in the 2021 general election.
An election to the Dutch Senate was held on 30 May 2023. The 75 members of the Senate were elected by members of the provincial councils and electoral colleges elected two months earlier in provincial and electoral college elections.