Leader of the Democrats 66
The leader of the Democrats 66 is the most senior politician within the Democrats 66 (Dutch: Democraten 66, D66) party in the Netherlands. The post is currently held by Rob Jetten who was elected on 12 August 2023 and led the party into the 2023 and 2025 elections. Jetten previously served as parliamentary leader of D66 in the House of Representatives from 2018 to 2021 and as Minister for Climate and Energy in the fourth Rutte government.
History
The Leaders outwardly act as the 'figurehead' and the main representative of the party. Within the party, they must ensure political consensus. At election time, the leader is always the lead candidate of the party list. In the Democrats 66, the leader is often the parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. Some Democrats 66 leaders became a minister in a cabinet.
| Leader | Term of office | Age as leader | Position(s) | Lead candidate | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hans van Mierlo (1931–2010) |
14 October 1966 – 1 September 1973 (6 years, 322 days) (First term) 25 January 1986 – 15 February 1998 (12 years, 21 days) (Second term) [1] |
35–42 (First term) 54–66 (Second term) |
|
1967 1971 1972 1986 1989 1994 | |||||
| Jan Terlouw (1931–2025) |
1 September 1973 – 8 September 1982 (9 years, 7 days) [1] |
41–50 |
|
1977 1981 1982 | |||||
| Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 1937) |
8 September 1982 – 11 November 1982 (64 days) [1] |
45–45 |
|
||||||
| Maarten Engwirda (born 1943) |
11 November 1982 – 25 January 1986 (3 years, 75 days) [1] |
39–42 |
|
||||||
| Hans van Mierlo (25 January 1986 – 15 February 1998) | |||||||||
| Els Borst (1932–2014) |
15 February 1998 – 30 May 1998 (104 days) [1] |
65–66 |
|
1998 | |||||
| Thom de Graaf (born 1957) |
30 May 1998 – 22 January 2003 (4 years, 237 days) [1] |
40–45 |
|
2002 2003 | |||||
| Boris Dittrich (born 1955) |
22 January 2003 – 3 February 2006 (3 years, 12 days) [1] |
47–50 |
|
||||||
| [Vacant] (3 February 2006 – 14 June 2006) | |||||||||
| Alexander Pechtold (born 1965) |
24 June 2006 – 10 October 2018 (12 years, 108 days) [1] |
40–52 |
|
2006 2010 2012 2017 | |||||
| [Vacant] (10 October 2018 – 4 September 2020) | |||||||||
| Sigrid Kaag (born 1961) |
4 September 2020 – 12 August 2023 (2 years, 342 days) [1] |
58–61 |
|
2021 | |||||
| Rob Jetten (born 1987) |
12 August 2023 – Incumbent (2 years, 220 days) [1] |
36–38 |
|
2023 2025 | |||||
- Lousewies van der Laan served as Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives but didn't serve as Party Leader. Alexander Pechtold was elected as lead candidate for the 2006 general election on 24 June 2006 following the 2006 leadership election.
- Rob Jetten served as Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives but didn't serve as Party Leader. Sigrid Kaag was elected as lead candidate for the 2021 general election on 4 September 2020.
References
External links
- (in Dutch) Official website