Democrats 66
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Democrats 66 (Dutch: Democraten 66; D66) is a social-liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). The party is led by Rob Jetten, who was elected party leader on 12 August 2023. Paul van Meenen, Rob Jetten and Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy are serving as the party's parliamentary leaders in the Senate, the House of Representatives and the European Parliament respectively. Its name refers to its year of foundation, 1966. Initially, its main objective had been to democratise the Dutch political system, but it developed a broader social liberal ideology over time. D66 is especially popular among people who hold a university degree, and its voters are mostly concentrated in larger cities and in municipalities with an above-average number of wealthy residents. The party supplies a relatively large proportion of mayors, who are appointed rather than elected. In the 1967 general election, D66 won 7 out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives. No new party had ever gained that many seats before. The party was in government from 1973 to 1977, 1981 to 1982, 1994 to 2002, 2003 to 2006 and 2017 to 2024. It currently holds twenty six seats in the House of Representatives, making it the joint largest parliamentary party along with the PVV. It also holds six seats in the Senate and three seats in the European Parliament.