1.
Labour Party (Netherlands)
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The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1946 as a merger of the Social Democratic Workers Party, the Free-thinking Democratic League, Prime Ministers from the Labour Party have been Willem Drees, Joop den Uyl, and Wim Kok. Since 2012, the PvdA is the partner in the Second Rutte cabinet with the Peoples Party for Freedom. Since 2016, Lodewijk Asscher has been Leader of the Labour Party, the party won 9 seats in the House of Representatives in the 2017 general election. The Labour Party is a member of the European Party of European Socialists, in the European Parliament, where the Labour Party has 3 seats, it is part of the parliamentary group Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. They were joined by individuals from Catholic resistance group Christofoor and the Protestant parties Christian Historical Union, the founders of the PvdA wanted to create a broad party, breaking with the historic tradition of Pillarisation. This desire to come to a new system was called the Doorbraak. The party combined socialists with liberal democrats and progressive Christians, however, the party was unable to break Pillarisation. Instead the new party renewed the ties that SDAP had with other socialist organisations. In 1948 some conservative members, led by former VDB leader Pieter Oud, together with the Freedom Party, they formed the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, a conservative-liberal party. Between 1946 and 1958, the PvdA formed coalition governments with the Catholic Peoples Party, the KVP and the PvdA together had a large majority in parliament. Since 1948, these cabinets were led by PvdA Prime Minister Willem Drees, under his leadership the Netherlands recovered from the war, began to build its welfare state and Indonesia became independent. After the cabinet crisis of 1958, the PvdA was replaced by the VVD, the PvdA was in opposition until 1965. The electoral support of PvdA voters began to decline, in 1965 a conflict in the KVP-ARP-CHU-VVD cabinet made continuation of the government impossible. The three confessional, Christian-influenced parties turned towards the PvdA, together they formed the Cals cabinet. This cabinet was also lived and conflict ridden. The conflicts culminated in the fall of the Cals cabinet over economic policy, meanwhile, a younger generation was attempting to gain control of the PvdA. A group of young PvdA members, calling themselves the New Left, prominent New Left members were Jan Nagel, André van der Louw and Bram Peper
2.
House of Representatives (Netherlands)
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The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Senate. It has 150 seats which are filled through elections using a party-list proportional representation and it sits in the Binnenhof in The Hague. Although this body is called the House of Representatives in English, this is not a translation of its Dutch name. Rather than representatives, members of the House are referred to as Tweede Kamerlid, the House of Representatives is the main chamber of parliament, where discussion of proposed legislation and review of the actions of the cabinet takes place. Both the Cabinet and the House of Representatives itself have the right to propose legislation, review of the actions of the cabinet takes the form of formal interrogations, which may result in motions urging the cabinet to take, or refrain from, certain actions. No individual may be a member of parliament and cabinet, except in a caretaker cabinet that has not yet been succeeded when a new House is sworn in. The House of Representatives is also responsible for the first round of selection for judges to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands and it submits a list of three names for every vacant position to the Government. Furthermore, it elects the Dutch Ombudsman and his subsidiaries, the normal term of the House of Representatives is four years. Anybody eligible to vote in the Netherlands also has the right to establish a political party, parties wanting to take part must register 43 days before the elections, supplying a nationwide list of at most 50 candidates. The candidate lists are placed in the hands of the voters at least 14 days before the election, each candidate list is numbered, with the person in the first position known as the lijsttrekker. The lijsttrekker is usually appointed by the party to lead its election campaign, two or more parties can agree to combine their separate lists, which increases the chance of winning a remainder seat. Only large parties usually have some regional candidates at the bottom of their lists, a single vote can be placed on any one candidate. Many voters select one of the lijsttrekkers, but alternatively a preference vote may be made for a lower down the list. Once the election results are known, the seats are allocated to the parties, the number of valid national votes cast is divided by 150, the number of seats available, to give a threshold for each seat, 1/150th is approximately 0. 67% of the valid votes. Each partys number of votes is divided by this threshold to give a number of seats. Any party that received fewer votes than the threshold fails to gain representation in the House of Representatives, the threshold is one of the lowest for national parliaments in the world, and there are usually multiple parties winning seats with 2% or less of the vote. Any party that received more than 75% of the threshold will have its deposit refunded, after the initial seats are allocated, the remainder seats are allocated using the DHondt method of largest averages. This system slightly favours the larger parties, list combinations compete for the remainder seats as one list of the combined size of all parties in the combination, thus having more chance to gain remainder seats
3.
Diederik Samsom
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Diederik Maarten Samsom is a Dutch politician, and the former leader of the Labour Party. He was an MP between 30 January 2003 and 14 December 2016, on 16 March 2012 he was elected parliamentary leader as well as party leader. He lost the Labour Party leadership election to Lodewijk Asscher in December 2016, before his election to parliament he was CEO of a green energy company and a campaigner for Greenpeace Netherlands. Diederik Maarten Samsom was born on 10 July 1971 in Groningen in the Netherlands and his father worked as an internist and his mother as a physiotherapist. Between 1983 and 1989, he attended the Stedelijk Gymnasium in Leeuwarden, there he became interested in physics, so he went on to study applied physics at Delft University of Technology. Samsom specialised in physics and became a level three radiation expert. He graduated in May 1997, obtaining a Dutch engineers degree and he was also on the board of the national students union LSVb and edited a yearly edition of the Poenboek, a students guide concerning monetary issues. Samsom had been involved in long before entering politics. Samsom joined environmental organisation Greenpeace Netherlands in September 1995 as a volunteer and he led several campaigns and projects until he quit in December 2001, when the PvdA approached him offering a career in politics. He also worked as the CEO of Echte Energie, a green energy trading company. Samsom became a member of the social democratic Labour party while a student in Delft and he left the party but rejoined in February 2001. He stood as a candidate in the 2002 Dutch general election, the party regained most of its seats in the 2003 election and this time Samsom was given a high position on the list of candidates. He was subsequently sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives on 30 January 2003, together with fellow PvdA parliamentarians Staf Depla and Jeroen Dijsselbloem he traveled around the country campaigning. They operated under the name The Red Engineers, referring to both their scientific backgrounds and their red overalls, NRC editor Coen van Zwol called their campaign fresh, clear and sharp. He was nineteenth on the list of candidates in the 2006 Dutch general elections, in April 2008, Samsom was a candidate for succeeding Jacques Tichelaar as fractievoorzitter, but eventually he lost the vote to Mariëtte Hamer. Jacques Tichelaar became the leader of the party shortly after the 2006 general election in February 2007. He had to undergo a bypass surgery and it took him three months to recuperate. On 16 April, he announced he had decided to resign from office for health reasons and he planned to return as a parliamentarian on 1 July 2008
4.
Lodewijk Asscher
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Lodewijk Frans Asscher is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party. He has been the Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Social Affairs and he previously served as acting Mayor of Amsterdam from 12 March 2010 to 7 July 2010 after Job Cohen resigned as mayor to become the Labour Party leader for the Dutch general election of 2010. Lodewijk Frans Asscher was born on 27 September 1974 in Amsterdam in a religious family, his father is of Jewish descent. His father is a member of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, Asscher went to the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in The Hague. He studied psychology and Dutch law at the University of Amsterdam in Amsterdam, in 2002, he received his PhD in law from the University of Amsterdam. Asscher entered the city council after the Dutch municipal elections of 2002, besides his role as the group leader of the Labour Party in the Amsterdam city council, he took part in the commission on General Affairs. Until 1 January 2006, Asscher taught information law at the University of Amsterdam, in his book New Amsterdam, Asscher advocated the eventual disappearance of the red light district. A few days after the release of the book, Asscher revoked that statement, stating that he was not against prostitution, after the Dutch municipal elections of 2006, where he led the Labour Partys campaign in Amsterdam, Asscher was installed as an alderman on 26 April. He served as alderman of Economics, Airport and Harbour, and served as Acting Mayor of Amsterdam from 12 March 2010 to 7 July 2010. He then became alderman of Finances serving until 5 November 2012, on 5 November 2012, he became Minister of Social Affairs and Employment and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Rutte II. In Amsterdam he was succeeded by Pieter Hilhorst, in September 2014, Asscher announced heightened scrutiny of four Dutch Turkish organisations that he suspected of hindering integration, including a religious group, Millî Görüş. This led to the expulsion of 2 Dutch Turkish MPs from the Labour Party after they harshly criticised the move, on 9 December 2016 Asscher won the leadership of the Labour Party in an election against Diederik Samsom. He obtained 54, 5% of the vote, lodewijk Asscher is married to Jildau Piena, with whom he has three sons
5.
Groningen
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Groningen is the main municipality as well as the capital city of the eponymous province in the Netherlands. With a population of 201,865 as of 2016, it is the largest city in the north of the Netherlands, an old city, Groningen was the regional power of the northern Netherlands, a semi-independent city-state and member of the German Hanseatic League. Groningen is a university city, it houses the University of Groningen, the city was founded on the northernmost point of the Hondsrug area. The oldest document referring to Groningens existence dates from 1040, in the 13th century, when Groningen was an important trade centre, its inhabitants built a city wall to underline its authority. The city had a influence on the surrounding lands and made its dialect a common tongue. The most influential period of the city was the end of the 15th century, during these years, the Martinitoren was built, which loomed over the city at 127 metres tall. The citys independence came to an end when in 1536, it chose to accept Emperor Charles V, later, it joined the Republic of the Seven United Provinces. In 1614, the University of Groningen was founded, initially only for religious education, in the same period the city expanded rapidly and a new city wall was built. That same city wall was tested during the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672, the city walls resisted, an event that is still celebrated with music and fireworks on August the 28th. The city did not escape the devastation of World War II, in particular, the main square, the Grote Markt, was largely destroyed in April 1945 in the Battle of Groningen. However, the Martinitoren, its church, the Goudkantoor, the University of Groningen has a rich academic tradition that dates back to 1614. After the University of Leiden, it is the second oldest Dutch university,200,000 people were either students, teachers or researchers at the university. Groningen has the highest percentage of students by total population, approximately 25 percent, the city is nationally known as the Metropolis of the North and as Martinistad referring to the tower of the Martinitoren, named after its patron saint Martin of Tours. The large number of living in Groningen also contributes to a diverse cultural scene for a city of its size. The most important and most famous museum in Groningen is the Groninger Museum, with the construction of its current building, designed by Alessandro Mendini, the museum has been transformed into one of the most modern and innovative of its kind in the Netherlands. In addition, the city has a museum, a university museum, a comics museum. Groningen is also home of Noorderlicht, a photographic platform that runs a photo gallery. Groningen has a city theatre, located on the Turfsingel, a big theatre and concert venue called Martini Plaza, vera is located on the Oosterstraat, the Grand Theatre on the Grote Markt, and Simplon on the Boterdiep
6.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
7.
Civil service
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A civil servant or public servant is a person so employed in the public sector employed for a government department or agency. The extent of civil servants of a state as part of the service varies from country to country. In the United Kingdom, for instance, only Crown employees are referred to as civil servants whereas county or city employees are not, many consider the study of service to be a part of the field of public administration. Workers in non-departmental public bodies may also be classed as servants for the purpose of statistics and possibly for their terms. Collectively a states civil servants form its service or public service. An international civil servant or international staff member is an employee who is employed by an intergovernmental organization. These international civil servants do not resort under any national legislation but are governed by internal staff regulations, All disputes related to international civil service are brought before special tribunals created by these international organizations such as, for instance, the Administrative Tribunal of the ILO. Specific referral can be made to the International Civil Service Commission of the United Nations and its mandate is to regulate and coordinate the conditions of service of staff in the United Nations common system, while promoting and maintaining high standards in the international civil service. The origin of the modern civil service can be traced back to Imperial examination founded in Imperial China. The Imperial exam based on merit was designed to select the best administrative officials for the states bureaucracy and this system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of scholar-bureaucrats irrespective of their family pedigree. In the areas of administration, especially the military, appointments were based solely on merit, after the fall of the Han Dynasty, the Chinese bureaucracy regressed into a semi-merit system known as the Nine-rank system. This system was reversed during the short-lived Sui Dynasty, which initiated a civil service bureaucracy recruited through written examinations, the first civil service examination system was established by Emperor Wen of Sui. The examination tested the candidates memorization of the Nine Classics of Confucianism and his ability to compose poetry using fixed and traditional forms, the system was finally abolished by the Qing government in 1905 as part of the New Policies reform package. The Chinese system was admired by European commentators from the 16th century onward. In the 18th century, in response to changes and the growth of the British Empire, the bureaucracy of institutions such as the Office of Works. Each had its own system, but in general, staff were appointed through patronage or outright purchase, by the 19th century, it became increasingly clear that these arrangements were falling short. The origins of the British civil service are better known, during the eighteenth century a number of Englishmen wrote in praise of the Chinese examination system, some of them going so far as to urge the adoption for England of something similar. The first concrete step in this direction was taken by the British East India Company in 1806, in that year, the Honourable East India Company established a college, the East India Company College, near London to train and examine administrators of the Companys territories in India
8.
Hoogezand-Sappemeer
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Hoogezand-Sappemeer is a municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. It is the third municipality in the province of Groningen, after the city of Groningen. It is well known for its ship building industry, population centres in the municipality are, The A7 motorway crosses the municipality. There is also a line providing service to Groningen and Nieuweschans/Leer. Trains serve four stations in the municipality, Kropswolde, Martenshoek, Hoogezand-Sappemeer, since 2007, trains will stop 4 times an hour. Official website Media related to Hoogezand-Sappemeer at Wikimedia Commons
9.
Dokkum
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Dokkum is a Dutch fortified town in the municipality of Dongeradeel in the province of Friesland. The fortifications of Dokkum are well preserved and are known as the bolwerken and it is the fifth most popular shopping city in Friesland. It also has the smallest hospital of the Netherlands, the best known event in Dokkums history is the martyrdom of the Anglo-Saxon missionary Saint Boniface in 754. Oliver of Cologne preached the Fifth Crusade in Dokkum in 1214 and Dokkum sent a contingent, Dokkum acquired city rights in 1298. In 1572 Dokkum was sacked by the Spaniards after it had joined the Dutch Revolt, in 1597, the Admiralty of Friesland was established in Dokkum. However, it was moved to Harlingen in 1645, in 1971 the city was included in the list of Dutch Urban and village conservation areas. The town hall in Dokkum was built in 1610, grote of Sint-Martinuskerk which is from the 16th century. Bonifatiuskapel is from 1934 Dokkum had a station on the North Friesland Railway and it became the terminus for passenger services in May 1935 and closed to passengers in July 1936. The station reopened to passengers in May 1940 and closed to passengers in July 1942, there is still a bus station in Dokkum. In the 200 km ice skating marathon known as the Elfstedentocht, Dokkum is known as the keerpunt, because it is where the speedskaters turn, there are two different soccer clubs in Dokkum, VV Dokkum and Be Quick Dokkum. In 1652, Dokkum had five windmills, these were all post mills, Dokkum has two windmills, cap mills, that are preserved and both of them are open to the public by appointment. They are named Zeldenrust and De Hoop, a third mill, De Marmeerin stood by the Woudvaart outside the town. Since 2014 the mill was moved to be restored to working order, after restoration it is to be rebuilt at De sûkerei open-air museum in Damwoude. Dokkum was the residence for much of her career of the pioneering midwife Catharina Geertruida Schrader
10.
Public administration
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Public administration is the implementation of government policy and also an academic discipline that studies this implementation and prepares civil servants for working in the public service. As a field of inquiry with a diverse scope its fundamental goal, is to advance management and policies so that government can function. Public administrators are public servants working in departments and agencies. In the US, civil servants and academics such as Woodrow Wilson promoted American civil service reform in the 1880s, however, until the mid-20th century and the dissemination of the German sociologist Max Webers theory of bureaucracy there was not much interest in a theory of public administration. In 1947 Paul H. Appleby defined public administration as public leadership of public affairs directly responsible for executive action. In a democracy, it has to do with such leadership and executive action in terms that respect and contribute to the dignity, the worth, and the potentials of the citizen. One year later, Gordon Clapp, then Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority defined public administration as a public instrument whereby democratic society may be completely realized. This implies that it must relate itself to concepts of justice, liberty, and fuller economic opportunity for human beings and is concerned with people, with ideas. The key term product refers to items that are constructed or produced such as prisons, roads, laws, schools. As implementors, public managers engage these products and they participate in the doing and making of the living democracy. A living democracy is an environment that is changing, organic, imperfect, inconsistent, more recently scholars claim that public administration has no generally accepted definition, because the scope of the subject is so great and so debatable that it is easier to explain than define. Public administration is a field of study and an occupation, scholar Donald Kettl is among those who view public administration as a subfield within political science. The moral purpose of administration, implicit in its acceptance of its role, is the maximisation of the opportunities of the public to satisfy its wants. The North American Industry Classification System definition of the Public Administration sector states that public administration, dating back to Antiquity, Pharaohs, kings and emperors have required pages, treasurers, and tax collectors to administer the practical business of government. Prior to the 19th century, staffing of most public administrations was rife with nepotism, favoritism, and political patronage, Public administrators have long been the eyes and ears of rulers. In medieval times, the abilities to read and write, add, as the European Imperialist age progressed and the militarily powers extended their hold over other continents and people, the need for a sophisticated public administration grew. Far in advance of the rest of the world until almost the end of the eighteenth century, the eighteenth-century noble, King Frederick William I of Prussia, created professorates in Cameralism in an effort to train a new class of public administrators. The universities of Frankfurt an der Oder and University of Halle were Prussian institutions emphasizing economic and social disciplines, johann Heinrich Gottlob Justi was the most well-known professor of Cameralism
11.
Leeuwarden
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Leeuwarden is a city and municipality with a population of 108,249 in Friesland in the Netherlands. It is the capital and seat of the States of Friesland. The oldest remains of houses in the city back to the 2nd century AD. Leeuwarden has been inhabited since the 10th century. It was granted city privileges in 1435, the city was liberated from German occupation in World War II by The Royal Canadian Dragoons in 1945. It is the hub of the province of Friesland, situated in a green and water-rich environment, with lakes, villages. Leeuwarden is a royal residence and has a historic centre, many listed buildings. Leeuwarden has been awarded the title European Capital of Culture 2018, one important cultural and historical event is the Elfstedentocht, an ice skating-tour of eleven cities in Friesland, starting and finishing in Leeuwarden. Besides the city of Leeuwarden, population centres in the municipality with a population of 1,000 or more are Grou, Goutum, Wergea, Jirnsum, Reduzum, and Wirdum. The municipality is governed by the mayor Ferd Crone and a coalition of the Labour Party, Christian Democratic Appeal, and PAL-GroenLinks. The name Leeuwarden first came into use for Nijehove, the most important of the three villages that merged into one, namely Oldehove and Hoek in the early 9th century. There is much uncertainty about the origin of the citys name, historian and archivist Wopke Eekhoff summed up a total of over 200 different spelling variants, of which Leeuwarden, Liwwadden, and Ljouwert are still in use. The second syllable is easily explained, Warden, Frisian/Dutch for an artificial dwelling hill, is a designation of terps, the first part of the name, leeuw, means lion in modern standard Dutch. This interpretation corresponds with the coat of arms adopted by the city, however, modern standard Dutch was not used in this region in the Middle Ages, when the city was called Lintarwrde. Some scholars argue that the name of the city is derived from leeu-, the last one suits the watery province of Friesland. The name is similar to that of the French commune Lewarde, located in the Nord Department, the oldest remains of houses date back to the 2nd century AD in the Roman era and were discovered during an excavation near the Oldehove. The area has been inhabited since the 10th century, and was mentioned as a city in German sources in 1285. Situated along the Middelzee, it was a trade centre until the waterway silted up in the 15th century
12.
Tilburg University
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Tilburg University has a student population of about 12,000 students, about 10 percent of whom are international students. This percentage has increased over the past years. Tilburg University offers both Dutch-and English-taught programs, in 2014,39 of the total 67 were English-taught. Tilburg University awards approximately 70 PhDs per year, the institution has gained a reputation in both research and education. In 2007, the Executive MBA program at the universitys TIAS School for Business, in the field of law, Tilburg University was ranked #1 in the Netherlands for the last three years according to Elsevier Magazine. In 1963 the university was again renamed, as Katholieke Hogeschool Tilburg. Although in its present name Tilburg University, the word Catholic was dropped, on April 28,1969, students barricaded the campus buildings, demanding educational and organizational changes. The other four faculties—Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Philosophy and Theology, in addition to these faculties, Tilburg University has a number of research centers and graduate schools. Tilburg University offers a range of undergraduate studies, some of which are English-taught. Ariel Rubinstein in the presence of Queen Beatrix and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander
13.
Breda
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Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark, as a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance. Breda had a population of 180,420 in 2014, the area had a population of 324,812. In the 11th century, Breda was a fief of the Holy Roman Emperor. The city of Breda obtained a charter in 1252. After that Breda had the rights to build fortifications, the city constructed brick walls and Roman-style gates. In 1327 Adelheid of Gaveren Breda sold Breda to Duke Johannes III of Brabant, in 1350, the fief was resold to Johannes II of Wassenaar. In 1403 the heiress of his line, Johanna of Polanen, thus, the baron of Breda was also count of Nassau, Germany, prince of Orange and stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. Breda remained part of the barony Breda until it was taken by French revolutionary forces in 1795, the acquisition of the city by the House of Orange-Nassau marked its emergence as a residentiestad. The presence of the Orange-Nassau family attracted other nobles, who built palatial residences in the old quarters of the city. The most impressive one, built by the Italian architect Thomas Vincidor de Bologna for the first Dutch prince, was the first renaissance-style palace built north of the Alps, in the 15th century the citys physical, economic and strategic importance expanded rapidly. A great church was built in Brabantine Gothic style with a gallant 97-metre-high tower, in 1534 Henry III of Nassau-Breda rebuilt the modest medieval fortifications in impressive style. In 1534 a fire destroyed over 90 percent of the city, close to 1300 houses, churches and chapels, only 150 houses and the main church remained. In July 1581, during the Eighty Years War, Breda was captured by surprise by Spanish troops then under the command of Claudius van Barlaymont, although the city had surrendered upon the condition that it would not be plundered, the troops vented their fury upon the inhabitants. In the resulting mayhem, known as Haultpennes Fury, over 500 citizens were killed, the so-called Spaniards Hole marks the spot where the peat-boat allegedly lay, although this has not been historically proven. After a ten-month siege in 1624–25, the city surrendered to the Spaniards under Spinola, in 1637 Breda was recaptured by Frederick Henry of Orange after a four-month siege, and in 1648 it was finally ceded to the Dutch Republic by the Treaty of Westphalia. The Treaty of Breda was signed in the city, July 31,1667, during World War II the city was under German occupation. It was liberated following a successful outflanking manoeuvre planned and performed by forces of 1st Polish Armoured Division of Gen. Maczek on October 29,1944
14.
Young Socialists (Netherlands)
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The Young Socialists in the PvdA is a Dutch social-democratic youth organisation. The JS is an independent organisation, but is affiliated with the Labour Party. Members must be between 12 and 28 years old, members are not required to be a member of the Labour Party. JS used to be a democratic socialist organisation that promotes the participation of young people in society. Since 2007 however, the JS has adapted social democracy as their ideology, calling for a peaceful and just world with happy, the JS has a very diverse and active memberbase and is entirely run by young people. They organise trainings on different topics ranging from intercultural learning, European integration, human rights, theater and they have debates, public awareness campaigns and excursions and also publish their own magazine, called Lava. JS is an organisation of International Union of Socialist Youth
15.
Parental leave
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Parental leave or family leave is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term parental leave generally includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave, in some countries and jurisdictions, family leave also includes leave provided to care for ill family members. Often, the benefits and eligibility requirements are stipulated by law. Unpaid parental or family leave is provided when an employer is required to hold a job while that employee is taking leave. Paid parental or family leave provides paid time off work to care for or make arrangements for the welfare of a child or dependent family member. The three most common models of funding are social insurance/social security, employer liability, and mixed policies that both social security and employer liability. Parental leave has been available as a legal right and/or governmental program for many years, a different study showed that of 186 countries examined, 96% offered some pay to mothers during leave, but only 81 of those countries offered the same for fathers. The United States and Suriname, while they do mandate unpaid parental leave, are the other countries that do not require employers to provide paid time off for new parents. Private employers sometimes provide either or both unpaid and paid parental leave outside of or in addition to any legal mandate, nussbaum proposed 10 central capabilities as the minimum requirement for a decent society. In Nussbaums model, states should provide the resources and freedoms to ensure people have the opportunity to achieve a threshold of each central capability. Whether parental leave contributes to gender equality depends upon whether laws consider a child to be the responsibility of parents and whether the leave is equal as to the sexes. Similarly, a 2015 study by Rønsen & Kitterød found that part of the effect of Norwegian parental leave policy contributed to, a more equal division of paid and unpaid work among parents. The advancement of equality has also been on the political agenda of Nordic countries for decades. Although, all Nordic countries have extended the total leave period, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have established equal 3 months quotas for the father. The only Nordic country that does not provide fathers with a quota is Denmark, however, the dual earner/dual care model seems to be the direction of all the Nordic countries are moving in the construction of their parental leave systems. Paid parental leave incentivizes labor market attachment for women both before and after birth, affecting GDP and national productivity, as the workforce is larger, parental leave increases income at the household level, as well, by supporting dual-earner families. Paid parental leave incentivizes childbirth, which affects the future workforce, the neoclassical model of labor markets predicts that if the cost of hiring women of child-bearing years is anticipated to increase, then the demand for women in the labor market will decrease. While gender discrimination is illegal, without some kind of remedy, women may seek out employment sectors that are family-friendly, resulting in occupational sex segregation
16.
Martijn van Dam
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Martinus Hendricus Petrus van Dam is a Dutch engineer and politician for the Labour Party. Since 3 November 2015 he is State Secretary for Economic Affairs and he was a member of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2015. He previously served as councillor for the municipality of Eindhoven, from the time he entered parliament on 30 January 2003 to 29 November 2006 he was the youngest member of parliament. Van Dam was born in Zoetermeer and grew up in Huissen and he moved to Eindhoven with his family in 1990, where he attended the Eindhoven University of Technology. He was active in different student associations and also joined the Young Socialists, in 1998 he ran for the city council of Eindhoven and became a councillor, later speaker for the Labour Party caucus in the city council and member of the national party committee of the Labour Party. After graduating from university he worked at Philips until 2003, in 2003 he was elected member of the House of Representatives, becoming the youngest member. He moved to Utrecht in 2005, in his first period in the House Labour Party caucus, Van Dam was spokesman for media, technology and innovation. He quickly established himself in 2003 by frequently asking questions about the Discharge Fraud in the IT sector, following the 2006 elections he became spokesman for foreign affairs, which made him the face of the Labour Party in the debate on the extension of the military mission in Uruzgan. In March 2007 he joined the caucus leadership, Van Dam was elected Political Talent of the Year 2005 by the parliamentary press corps. In November 2015 Van Dam became State Secretary for Economic Affairs, succeeding Sharon Dijksma, who moved to the Ministry for Infrastructure, parlement. com biography Wie ben ik Curriculum vitae of Martijn van Dam Martijn van Dam website House of Representatives biography
17.
Algemeen Dagblad
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The Algemeen Dagblad or AD is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Algemeen Dagblad was founded in 1946, the paper is published in tabloid format and has its headquarters in Rotterdam. However, the paper has also a focus in regard to other two cities, namely Utrecht and The Hague in addition its native Rotterdam. There it has a cooperation with local dailies, the publication employs 550 journalists in the Netherlands and abroad. AD is owned by De Persgroep Nederland and is published by PCM Uitgevers NV, AD includes a regional supplement in the districts previously served by these regional papers. Two of them, the AD Haagsche Courant and the AD Rotterdams Dagblad appear in both a morning and an evening edition, in 2001 its circulation was 335,000 copies. In 2013 the paper was the second largest paid newspaper of the Netherlands after De Telegraaf, after a merger with seven regional newspapers on 1 September 2005 and ongoing reduction in readership, it had an average circulation merger of 365,912 copies in 2014
18.
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
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The Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party, supports private enterprise, Mark Rutte has been the partys leader since 31 May 2006 and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 14 October 2010. Therefore, an election was held in September 2012. The VVD remained the largest party, with 41 seats, from November 2012 until March 2017, the VVD was the senior partner in the Second Rutte cabinet, a purple coalition government with the Labour Party. The VVD was founded in 1948 as a continuation of the Freedom Party, which was a continuation of the interbellum Liberal State Party and they were joined by the Comité-Oud, a group of liberal members of the Labour Party, led by Pieter Oud. The liberals within the Labour Party were primarily members of the pre-war social-liberal Free-thinking Democratic League and they were unhappy with the social-democratic orientation of the Labour Party. Between 1948 and 1952 the VVD took part in the cabinets led by the Labour Party Prime Minister Willem Drees. The party was a partner with only eight seats to the Catholic Peoples Party and Labour Party. The partys leadership was in the hands of the respected former Labour Party member Oud, the Drees cabinet laid the foundation for the welfare state and decolonization of the Dutch East Indies. In the Dutch general election of 1952 the VVD gained one seat and this time they gained nineteen seats and the party entered government alongside the Protestant Anti Revolutionary Party, Christian Historical Union CHU and the Roman Catholic KVP. In 1963, Oud left politics, and was succeeded by the minister of Home Affairs Edzo Toxopeus, with the lead of Toxopeus VVD lost three seats in the 1963 elections, but remained in government. In 1966, frustrated with their hopeless efforts, LDC-members departed the VVD altogether, in 1965, there also occurred a conflict between VVD-ministers and their counterparts from KVP and ARP in Cabinet Marijnen. The cabinet fell and without elections it was replaced by the KVP-ARP-Labour Party cabinet under Cals, in the following 1967 elections the VVD remained relatively stable and entered yet again the cabinet under Prime Minister Piet de Jong. During this period the VVD had loose ties with other liberal organisations and this included the liberal papers Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and the Algemeen Handelsblad, the broadcaster AVRO and the employers organisation VNO. In the Dutch general election of 1971 the VVD lost one seat, a cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic parties, the VVD and the Labour Party offshoot Democratic Socialists 70. This cabinet fell after a few months, meanwhile, the charismatic young MP Hans Wiegel had attracted considerable attention. He became the new leader of the VVD, in 1971 he became the new Parliamentary group leader, with Wiegel the VVD oriented towards a new political course, reforming the welfare state, cutting taxes etc. Wiegel did not shrink from conflict with the Labour Party and the trade unions, with this new course came a new electorate, working class and middle-class voters, who because of individualization and depillarization were more easy to attract
19.
Klaas Dijkhoff
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Klaas Henricus Dominicus Maria Dijkhoff is a Dutch politician and legal scholar. He is the State Secretary for Security and Justice since 20 March 2015, previously, he was a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. His focus was on matters of security, public safety, klaas Henricus Dominicus Maria Dijkhoff was born on 13 January 1981 in the town of Soltau in Germany. He is the son of officer Henricus Marikus Cornelis Dijkhoff and nurse Petronella Dominicus Maria Thijssen, Dijkhoff went to secondary school in Eindhoven, where he did the gymnasium program. He studied Dutch law at Tilburg University and graduated his research master cum laude and he obtained his Ph. D. with his dissertation titled Law, War and Technology in 2010. While writing his thesis he worked as a scholar at Tilburg University. He also had his own consultancy firm specialized in legal affairs, Dijkhoff became a member of the VVD in 1998. On 17 June 2010, he was elected as a Member of Parliament, in 2013, Dijkhoff got appointed national campaign leader for the municipal council elections of March 2014. He first became the spokesperson on development aid. He booked his biggest success in stopping subsidies to development organisations with a chairman earning more than €124,000.00 a year, later on he became the spokesperson on European affairs. Then he was the VVD spokesperson on matters of security, public safety. Dijkhoff successfully managed to pass two motions in the House of Representatives in the battle against Jihad fighters and his motions called upon the cabinet to stop free travel to conflict zones and denationalisation of Jihad fighters. In 2013, he passed legislation through parliament making identity fraud a punishable offence. He resigned on 20 March 2015, when he became State Secretary for Security, klaas Dijkhoff, personal website House of Representatives biography
20.
Han ten Broeke
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Johannes Hermanus ten Broeke is a Dutch politician. As a member of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy he has been an MP since November 30,2006 and he focuses on matters of foreign policy and the armed forces of the Netherlands. Ten Broeke studied political science with a specialization in international relations at Leiden University, european Council on Foreign Relations, Member Parlement. com biography Han ten Broeke personal website House of Representatives biography Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy biography
21.
Sander Dekker
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Sander Dekker is a Dutch politician of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. He previously served as an alderman in The Hague from 2006 to 2012, sander Dekker was born on 9 February 1975 in The Hague in the Netherlands. He went to primary and secondary schools in Zoetermeer and he studied public administration at Leiden University. In July 2015 Dekker submitted to parliament a proposal to change two aspects of the freedom of education law, Not to demand that new schools represent an ideological direction, such as a religion. New schools could be based on an idea for education, for instance ICT-based education, green schools, or other innovative concept. To introduce more severe quality controls, Freedom of education should not be a license for bad educational systems
22.
Mark Harbers
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Markus Gerardus Jozef Harbers is a Dutch politician and former communication employee. As a member of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy he has been an MP since 1 December 2009 and he focuses on matters of finance. Harbers was a member of the municipality of the ward Kralingen-Crooswijk from 1992 to 1998 and he was also an alderman of Rotterdam from 2007 to 2009. He studied economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, parlement. com biography Mark Harbers personal website House of Representatives biography Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy biography
23.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert
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Jeanine Antoinette Hennis-Plasschaert is a Dutch politician of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. She has been the Minister of Defence in the Cabinet Rutte II since 5 November 2012, jeanine Antoinette Plasschaert was born in Heerlen, Netherlands. She followed her education at the St. Anthonys College in Gouda. In 2004 Hennis-Plasschaert was elected into the European Parliament for the VVD with 44,000 preference votes, in the European Parliament Hennis-Plasschaert was a member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and a substitute for the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. She also served as a member of the Delegation to the EU-Romania Joint Parliamentary Committee, in May 2005 she filed a report for the European Parliament concerning the safety of airports. She argued that safety regulations against terrorist attacks, should apply for airports. Furthermore, the costs and safety regulations should not distort free competition, in February 2006 parliament she asked questions concerning the code of conduct for the media set up by the European Commission after the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. In March 2006 she wanted to enter Belarus to monitor the election as an independent observer. She was put on the 4th place on her partys list for the Dutch general election of 2010 and she focused on matters of public safety, Dutch police, equality of treatment, LGBT rights, and emergency management. During the Dutch general election of 2012, she was number 4 on the list for the VVD, after the following cabinet formation she became the presumptive Minister of Defence for Cabinet Rutte II. In October 2015, she was named the most influential woman in the Netherlands and she has been married to Erik-Jan Hennis since 27 September 2003 and has a stepson. They live in Nederhorst den Berg
24.
Mark Rutte
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Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician who has been the Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 14 October 2010, and the Leader of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy since 31 May 2006. At the 2006 general election, the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, already under Rutte, lost six seats, and he became the opposition leader. At the following election in 2010, the VVD won the highest number of votes cast. After a long period, Rutte became Prime Minister and formed a Cabinet. When Rutte was sworn in on 14 October 2010, he became the first liberal Prime Minister of the Netherlands in 92 years, on 5 November 2012, the Second Rutte cabinet was installed by Queen Beatrix. Izaäk Rutte worked for a company, first as an importer in the Dutch East Indies. Rutte attended a high school from 1979 until 1985, specialising in the arts. Although Ruttes original ambition was to attend a conservatory and become a concert pianist, he went to study history at Leiden University instead, where he obtained a MA degree in 1992. Rutte combined his studies with a position on the board of the Youth Organisation Freedom and Democracy, after his studies, Rutte entered the business world, working as a manager for Unilever and Calvé. Until 1997, Rutte was part of the human resource department of Unilever, between 1997 and 2000, Rutte was staff manager for Van den Bergh Nederland, a subsidiary of Unilevers. In 2000, Rutte became a member of the Corporate Human Resources Group, between 1993 and 1997, Rutte was a member of the national board of the VVD. Rutte also served as a member of the VVD candidate committee for the election of 2002. Rutte was elected as Member of Parliament in 2003, Rutte served as Undersecretary in the Social Affairs and Employment ministry from 22 July 2002 to 17 June 2004 in the first and second Balkenende cabinets. Rutte was responsible for fields including bijstand and arbeidsomstandigheden, after the 2003 elections Rutte was briefly also a member of the House of Representatives, from 30 January to 27 May 2003. In office, Rutte showed particular interest in making the Dutch higher education system more competitive internationally, Rutte would have been succeeded by former The Hague alderman Bruno Bruins. Before Bruins could be sworn into office, the second Balkenende cabinet fell, in the subsequently formed third Balkenende cabinet Bruins succeeded Rutte as Undersecretary. Rutte resigned as Undersecretary in June 2006 to return to the House of Representatives, Rutte became an important figure within the VVD leadership. Rutte was campaign manager for the 2006 municipal elections, on 31 May 2006, it was announced that Mark Rutte would be the next front-runner of the VVD
25.
Barbara Visser
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Barbara Visser is a Dutch politician. As a member of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy she has been an MP since September 20,2012, Visser worked at the Ministry of Finance. From 2006 to 2010, she was a councillor of, and also from 2010 to 2012
26.
Halbe Zijlstra
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Halbe Zijlstra is a Dutch politician of the right wing Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. He served as State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science in the first Rutte cabinet from 14 October 2010 until 5 November 2012, halbe Zijlstra was born in Oosterwolde, in the province of Friesland, where he attended secondary education at vwo level. He studied Sociology at the University of Groningen, after which he worked for several companies. Having been a member of Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy since 1994, Zijlstra served as a member of the council of the city of Utrecht from 1998 to 2001. He was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2006 general election, in the House, he was his partys spokesman on care, energy, sports, higher education and sciences and biotechnology. On 14 October 2010, Zijlstra was appointed as State Secretary for Education, Culture, additionally, Zijlstra initiated budget cuts in the culture sector, sharpening the conditions necessary to be eligible for government subsidies, and merging several cultural funds. These measures saved a total of 200 million euros, after Ruttes first cabinet lost a motion of no confidence in 2012 and new elections were held, Zijlstra returned to the House of Representatives as chairman of his partys parliamentary group. In 2016, he announced he would not be available for a term as parliamentary group leader after the 2017 general election. Zijlstra resides in Wassenaar, a village just north of The Hague in the province of South Holland and he has been an active member of a carrier pigeon club
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