1.
Excellency
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Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organisation or state. Generally people addressed as Excellency are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, and others holding equivalent rank and the FIFA President. It is sometimes misinterpreted as a title of office in itself, in reference to such an official, it takes the form His or Her Excellency, in direct address, Your Excellency, or, less formally, simply Excellency. The abbreviation HE is often used instead of His/Her Excellency, alternatively it may stand for His/Her Eminence, in most republican nations, the head of state is formally addressed as His Excellency. If a republic has a head of government, that official is often addressed as Excellency as well. If the nation is a monarchy, however, the customs may vary, in the case of Australia, all ambassadors, high commissioners, governors and the governor-general and their spouses are entitled to the use of Excellency. Governors of colonies in the British Empire were entitled to be addressed as Excellency, in various international organizations, notably the UN and its agencies, Excellency is used as a generic form of address for all republican heads of state and heads of government. Judges of the International Court of Justice are also called Your Excellency, in some monarchies the husbands, wives, or children, of a royal prince or princess, who do not possess a princely title themselves, may be entitled to the style. For example, in Spain spouses or children of a born infante or infanta are addressed as Excellency, also, former members of a royal house or family, who did have a royal title but forfeited it, may be awarded the style afterwards. Examples are former husbands or wives of a prince or princess, including Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. In some emirates, only the Emir, heir apparent and prime minister are called His Highness and their children are styled with the lower treatment of His/Her Excellency. In Spain members of the nobility, holding the dignity of grandee, are addressed as The Most Excellent Lord/Lady. Some of the high ranking counts, Excellency can also attach to a prestigious quality, notably in an order of knighthood. By a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Ceremonial of 31 December 1930 the Holy See granted bishops of the Roman Catholic Church the title of Most Reverend Excellency. In the years following the First World War, the title of Excellency. The adjective Most Reverend was intended to distinguish the title from that of Excellency given to civil officials. The instruction Ut sive sollicite of the Holy Sees Secretariat of State, dated 28 March 1969, cardinals, even those who were bishops, continued to use the title of Eminence. In some English-speaking countries, the honorific of Excellency does not apply to other than the nuncio
2.
Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
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The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is the head of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and a member of the Cabinet of the Netherlands. Stef Blok has been the acting Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations since 29 June 2016, because it shares so many responsibilities, and has twin buildings with the Ministry of Security and Justice, they are sometimes called the twin ministries. The ministry is headed by one minister and one state secretary. It employs almost 3,000 civil servants, the ministrys main office is located in the centre of The Hague in the same building as the ministry of Justice. An important autonomous agency of the ministry is the General Intelligence, the ministry was founded in 1798 as the department for internal policy and supervision on the state of water works in Batavian Republic. Since 1801 it has been named Ministry of the Interior, and some other responsibilities have been added to its name, Agriculture, list of Ministers of the Interior of the Netherlands Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties
3.
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
4.
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
5.
Christian Democratic Appeal
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The Christian Democratic Appeal is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Sybrand van Haersma Buma has been the party leader since 18 May 2012, the party suffered severe losses in the 2010 general election, losing half of its seats and falling to fourth place in the House of Representatives. Subsequently, the CDA again lost a number of seats in the 2012 general election. Since 1880 the sizeable Catholic and Protestant parties had worked together in the so-called Coalitie and they shared a common interest in public funding of religious schools. In 1888 they formed the first Christian-democratic government, led by the Anti-Revolutionary Æneas Baron Mackay, the cooperation was not without problems and in 1894 the more anti-papist and aristocratic conservatives left the Protestant Anti Revolutionary Party, to found the Christian Historical Union. The main issues dividing Protestants and Catholics was the position of the Dutch Representation at the Holy See, the General League evolved into the Roman Catholic State Party by 1926, and the Catholic Peoples Party in 1945. From 1918 to 1967, the three Christian Democratic parties had a majority in both houses of the States General, and at least two of them were included in every cabinet, the KVP and its antecedents had been in government without interruption since 1918. In the sixties, the Dutch society became more secularized and the pillars faded, in 1963 general election the three parties held 51% of the vote, whilst in 1972 general election they held only 32%. This decline forced the three parties to work closer together, in 1967 the Group of Eighteen was formed, it was a think-tank of six prominent politicians per party that planned the future cooperation of the three parties. In 1968 the three leaders of the parties (Norbert Schmelzer, Barend Biesheuvel and Jur Mellema made a public appearance. This caused progressive forces within the three parties, especially the ARP and KVP, to regret their political affiliation, in 1968 they founded the Political Party of Radicals, a left-wing party that sought cooperation with the Labour Party. Locally and provincially however the three parties had long cooperated well, in areas they formed one Christian-democratic parliamentary party. In the 1971 general election, the three presented a common political program, which lay the foundation for the first Biesheuvel cabinet. After the disastrous elections of 1972 the cooperation was given new momentum, in 1973 this federation was officially formed, with Steenkamp as chairperson. The cooperation was frustrated by the formation of the Den Uyl cabinet, established by the leader of the social-democratic PvdA, Den Uyl refused to allow members of the CHU in the cabinet that he would lead. This led to a situation where the CHU, ARP and KVP sat as a faction in both houses of parliament, but only the KVP and ARP supplied ministers and junior ministers. The cabinet Den Uyl was riddled with political and personal conflicts, another issue that split the three parties was the place that the Bible would take in the new party. In 1976, the three announced that they would field a single list at the 1977 general election under the name Christian Democratic Appeal
6.
Officer (armed forces)
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An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. In this sense, officers are not enlisted, but hold appointments from their government that typically remain in force indefinitely unless resigned, the proportion of officers varies greatly. Officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel, in 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British armed forces, and the senior 13. 7% of the French armed forces. In 2012, officers made up about 18% of the German armed forces, historically, however, armed forces have generally had much lower proportions of officers. During the First World War, fewer than 5% of British soldiers were officers, in the early twentieth century, the Spanish army had the highest proportion of officers of any European army, at 12. 5%. Within a nations armed forces, armies tend to have a proportion of officers. For example,13. 9% of British army personnel and 22. 2% of the RAF personnel were officers in 2013, having officers is one requirement for combatant status under the laws of war, though these officers need not have obtained an official commission or warrant. Commissioned officers are typically the only persons, in an armed forces environment, a superior officer is an officer with a higher rank than another officer, who is a subordinate officer relative to the superior. Non-commissioned officers in positions of authority can be said to have control or charge rather than command per se, many advanced militaries require university degrees as a prerequisite for commissioning, even from the enlisted ranks. In the Israel Defense Forces, a university degree is a requirement for an officer to advance to the rank of lieutenant colonel, the IDF often sponsors the studies for its majors, while aircrew and naval officers obtain academic degrees as a part of their training programmes. In the United Kingdom, there are three routes of entry for British Armed Forces officers, the first, and primary route are those who receive their commission directly into the officer grades following completion at their relevant military academy. The third route is similar to the second, in that they convert from an enlisted to a commission, but these are taken from the highest ranks of SNCOs. LE officers, whilst holding the same Queens Commission, generally work in different roles from the DE officers, in the infantry, a number of Warrant Officer Class 1s are commissioned as LE officers. For Royal Navy and Royal Air Force officer candidates, a 30-week period at Britannia Royal Naval College or a 30-week period at RAF College Cranwell, Royal Marines officers receive their training in the Command Wing of the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines during a grueling 15-month course. The courses consist of not only tactical and combat training, but also leadership, management, etiquette, until the Cardwell Reforms of 1871, commissions in the British Army were purchased by officers. The Royal Navy, however, operated on a more meritocratic, or at least socially mobile, AOCS also also included the embedded Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate and Naval Aviation Cadet programs. NAVCADs were personnel who held associates degrees, but lacked bachelors degrees, nAVCADs would complete the entire AOCS program, but would not be commissioned until completion of flight training and receiving their wings. After their initial tour, they would be assigned to a college or university full-time for no more than two years in order to complete their bachelors degree
7.
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
8.
Right of asylum
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This right was already recognized by the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Hebrews, from whom it was adopted into Western tradition. René Descartes fled to the Netherlands, Voltaire to England, and Thomas Hobbes to France, the Egyptians, Greeks, and Hebrews recognized a religious right of asylum, protecting criminals from legal action to some extent. This principle was adopted by the established Christian church, and various rules were developed that detailed how to qualify for protection. The Council of Orleans decided in 511, in the presence of Clovis I and this protection was extended to murderers, thieves and adulterers alike. In England, King Æthelberht of Kent proclaimed the first Anglo-Saxon laws on sanctuary in about 600 CE, however Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae says that the legendary pre-Saxon king Dunvallo Molmutius enacted sanctuary laws among the Molmutine Laws as recorded by Gildas. The laws of king Ethelred used the term grith, some of these items survive at various churches. Elsewhere, sanctuary held in an area around the church or abbey, sometimes extending in radius to as much as a mile, stone sanctuary crosses marked the boundaries of the area, some crosses still exist as well. Thus it could become a race between the felon and the law officers to the nearest sanctuary boundary. Serving of justice upon the fleet of foot could prove a difficult proposition, Church sanctuaries were regulated by common law. An asylum seeker had to confess his sins, surrender his weapons and those who did return faced execution under the law and/or excommunication from the Church. If the suspect chose to confess their guilt and abjure, they did so in a public ceremony and they would surrender their possessions to the church, and any landed property to the crown. The coroner, an official, would then choose a port city from which the fugitive should leave England. The fugitive would set out barefooted and bareheaded, carrying a wooden cross-staff as a symbol of protection under the church, theoretically they would stay to the main highway, reach the port and take the first ship out of England. In practice, however, the fugitive could get a distance away, abandon the cross-staff and take off. Knowing the grim options, some fugitives rejected both choices and opted for an escape from the asylum before the forty days were up, others simply made no choice and did nothing. Since it was illegal for the friends to break into an asylum. Henry VIII changed the rules of asylum, reducing to a short list the types of crimes which were allowed to claim asylum, the medieval system of asylum was finally abolished entirely by James I in 1623. Upon realizing this situation they would rush to sanctuary at the nearest church until it was safe to come out, a prime example is Queen Elizabeth Woodville, consort of Edward IV of England
9.
Armed forces of the Netherlands
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The Armed forces of the Netherlands consist of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The service branches consist of, Koninklijke Landmacht, Royal Netherlands Army, Koninklijke Marine, Royal Netherlands Navy and Korps Mariniers, Marine Corps. Koninklijke Luchtmacht, Royal Netherlands Air Force, in addition, within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, there are small local conscript forces on the islands of Aruba and Curaçao. These operate under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Navy and Marines, the military ranks of the Dutch armed forces have similarities with British and U. S. military ranks. The highest-ranking officer in the Dutch military is the Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff, the Dutch armed forces exist by declaration in the constitution of the Netherlands. Interestingly, this means that the role and responsibility of the Dutch military in international stability, the same article of the constitution determines that supreme command of the Dutch military resides with the Government of the Netherlands. This has been the case since the constitution was changed in 1983, before then, in addition, a second major change in military affairs was made in 2003. Before then, all citizens of the Netherlands were tasked with the defense of the kingdom, in keeping with the move to a professional military, this article was dropped. The Netherlands military is currently a professional military. Conscription in the Netherlands was suspended in 1996 with the exception of Aruba, all military branches and specialties, except for the submarine service and the Marine Corps, are open to female recruits. The Dutch military is part of the NATO militaries and therefore conforms to the structure of a NATO military and it also uses conforming rank structures. All Dutch military personnel, officers and enlisted personnel, are required to take an oath of allegiance and this oath is recorded in the law on General Military Personnel Regulations in Article 126a. Unlike many military organizations, Dutch military members are allowed to form, there are four of these unions, Algemene Federatie van Militair Personeel, which was recognized by the Dutch government in 1966. The AFMP is a member of the Dutch Federation of Trade Unions, the ACOM is a member of the Dutch Christian National Trade Union. Gezamenlijke Officieren Verenigingen en Middelbaar en Hoger Burgerpersoneel bij Defensie, which was recognized by the Dutch government in 2004, the GOV/MHB is a member of the Dutch confederation of groups of middle and senior staffmembers. All unions represent both current and retired military personnel and/or civilian personnel, the Netherlands deployed further troops and helicopters to Afghanistan in 2006 as part of a new security operation in the south of the country. Dutch ground and air forces totalled almost 2,000 personnel during 2006, taking part in combat operations alongside British, the Netherlands announced in December 2007 that it would begin withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, which were mainly in Uruzgan Province, in July 2010. I do not have assurances that other countries will be ready to replace Netherlands troops, to the NATO secretary general, who has confirmed it
10.
Municipal council (Netherlands)
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In the Netherlands the municipal council is the elected assembly of the municipality. Its main role is laying down the guidelines for the policy of the council of mayor and aldermen and exercising control over its execution by the council of mayor and aldermen. The municipal councils range in size from nine to 45 seats, depending on the municipalitys population, in many municipalities all major political parties contest in the election in addition to local parties. All citizens and foreigners who live in the Netherlands for at least four years in a municipality have the right to vote, ministers and state secretaries in the national government are barred from standing in elections as well as mayors and civil servants employed by the municipality. After the elections the parties in the elect the aldermen. The municipal council is supported by its own civil service headed by the raadsgriffier, members of the council are not paid as full-time politicians, instead, most of them have day job. As in most legislatures, the members of municipal council work in political groups and policy area related committees. The mayor chairs the meetings of the council, some municipalities allow parties to have dual councillors, politicians who are not elected into the city council but are allowed to speak in committees
11.
College van burgemeester en wethouders
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The college van burgemeester en wethouders is the executive board of a municipality in the Netherlands. This local government body plays a role in municipal politics in the Netherlands. It consists of the mayor and the members of the municipal executive, belgium has a similar system, which is referred to as the college van burgemeester en schepenen in the Dutch language. College van burgemeester en wethouders is expressed in English in several ways, the college van burgemeester en wethouders should not be confused with the town council itself. A Dutch mayor is called a burgomaster in English, but mayor is a more standard. A wethouder is a title in Dutch, but there is no real English equivalent. In English it is possible to someone as councillor or alderman. In the UK alderman is an honorary title, even in the US, where the term alderman is still actively used, alderman often refers to someone sitting on the municipal council rather than someone sitting on the executive board. Alderman is now seen by many as a title for a woman. Municipal executive councillor or municipal executive board member serve as better translations for wethouder, the mayor of a municipality is ex officio the chair of the municipalitys executive board. He or she has the casting vote in the event of a tie, apart from this, however, the mayor is at the same level as the other members of the executive board. The municipal secretary, who is chosen by the board, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the executive board and assists with administrative. After every municipal election, the wethouders are elected to the executive by the members of the municipal council, wethouders hold office at the pleasure of the city council. The city council can remove someone from the office by way of a non-confidence motion, usually the municipal council elects sitting members of the council to the executive board, but it is also possible for them to elect someone from outside the council. A member of the executive is not entitled to vote in municipal council resolutions. According to the Municipality Act, the number of wethouders cannot exceed 20% of the number of members of the municipal council, in Dutch municipalities with 18,000 inhabitants or less, the office of wethouder is a part-time one. The executive roughly plays the role in municipal government that a cabinet plays in national government. The wethouders are assigned portfolios within the government and, in this capacity, prepare, coordinate
12.
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
13.
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
14.
Stef Blok
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Stephanus Abraham Stef Blok is a Dutch politician of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. He is the Minister of Security and Justice in the Cabinet Rutte II since 27 January 2017, Blok previously served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 25 August 1998 until 23 May 2002, and again from 3 September 2002 until 5 November 2012. He became the Parliamentary leader of the Peoples Party for Freedom, on 5 November 2015 he became Minister for Housing and the Central Government Sector in the second Rutte cabinet. Blok served as Minister of Security and Justice after the resignation of Ivo Opstelten from 10 March 2015 until 20 March 2015, stephanus Abraham Blok was born on 10 December 1964 in Emmeloord, now in the Province of Flevoland. After attending Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden, he studied Business Administration at the University of Groningen from 1977 until 1983, Blok worked for ABN AMRO from 1989 until 1998. He was a member of the council of Nieuwkoop from 1994 to 1998. Drs. S. A. Blok Parlement & Politiek
15.
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
16.
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
17.
Ton Elias
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Ton Maarten Christofoor Elias is a Dutch politician and former journalist. As a member of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy he has been an MP since December 18,2008 and he focuses on matters of education and the Dutch House of Representatives. Elias sold his company to become an MP for the VVD, for the 2017 general election Elias was not part of the candidacy list of the VVD, which Elias stated he would appeal to the party board. Parlement. com biography Ton Elias personal website House of Representatives biography Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy biography
18.
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
19.
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
20.
Pieter Litjens
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Pieter Jan Marie Litjens is a Dutch politician of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. He is an Alderman in Amsterdam since 18 June 2014, Litjens previously served as an Alderman for the Amsterdam borough Zuidoost from April 2002 until August 2006. After the Dutch municipal elections of 2014 he became a Alderman in Amsterdam on 18 June 2014, pieter Jan Marie Litjens was born on 17 May 1968 in Utrecht in the Netherlands Province of Utrecht. He worked for the VNO-NCW from 1996 to 1999 when he became the advisor of the alderman for Economic Affairs of Amsterdam. In April 2002 he became an Alderman for the Amsterdam-Zuidoost borough, dealing with finance, economic affairs, sports and recreation, environmental management and personnel and he stepped down in 2006 and was elected mayor of Aalsmeer the following year, taking office on 15 August 2007. He was candidate for the House of Representatives during the Dutch general election of 2012 and he was elected on 12 September 2012 and left mayoralty of Aalsmeer the same day he has taken office as an MP. Litjens became alderman in Amsterdam on 18 June 2014, he resigned in the House of Representatives on 25 June and was replaced by Hayke Veldman
21.
Anne-Wil Lucas
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Antoinette Wilhelmina Lucas-Smeerdijk is a Dutch politician. As a member of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy she was an MP from June 17,2010 to September 7,2016 and she was replaced by Daniël van der Ree. Lucas focused on matters of education, science and the flood control in the Netherlands. Lucas studied urban planning at Wageningen University, parlement. com biography Anne-Wil Lucas personal website House of Representatives biography Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy website
22.
Anouchka van Miltenburg
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Anouchka van Miltenburg is a Dutch politician of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. She was the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 25 September 2012 until 12 December 2015 and has been a Member of the House of Representatives since 30 January 2003. Van Miltenburg attended Mavo in Utrecht from 1979 until 1984 when she studied for a year at the Prince of Wales College in Vancouver, from 1984 until 1986 she attended a Havo in Nieuwegein. After that she began a study in journalism at the school in Tilburg. From 1991 until 2001 she worked as a freelance journalist for various media companies, and from 1992 until 1993 she worked as a teacher at a media school in s-Hertogenbosch. On March 14,2002 she was elected as a member of the council in her hometown of Zaltbommel for the Peoples Party for Freedom. She left the council on 1 January 2003 when she became a candidate for the House of Representatives during the Dutch general election of 2003. On 30 January 2003 she has become a Member of the House of Representatives and has been re-elected ever since and her main focuses was on matters of mass media and medical ethics. On 20 September 2012 she announced her candidacy to succeed Gerdi Verbeet as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Verbeet retired after six-years and this left the high office open. Van Miltenburg defeated fellow former journalist Ton Elias in an election in the Peoples Party for Freedom. Van Miltenburg resigned as Speaker of the House on 12 December 2015, Anouchka van Miltenburg has been married to Chris Halkes since 1991 and has three children, she lives in Zaltbommel. She is a member of the Catholic Church, in the 1990s Van Miltenburg was the lead singer of a rock band called Blow Smoke. Parlement. com biography Anouchka van Miltenburg Anouchka van Miltenburg
