Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is the most senior politician within the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Dutch: Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, VVD) in the Netherlands. The post is currently held by Mark Rutte, who succeeded Jozias van Aartsen after the leadership election of 2006 and who has also been the serving Prime Minister of the Netherlands since the Dutch general election of 2010 and was reelected as Prime Minister of the Netherlands after the Dutch general election of 2012.[1][2]
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 Lijsttrekker (top candidate) of the party list. Outside election time the Leader can serve as the Opposition leader. In the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy the Leader is often the Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. Some People's Party for Freedom and Democracy leaders became a Minister in a Cabinet.
Leaders
Deputy Leaders
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy doesn't have an official designated Deputy Leader in the party's hierarchy but some are given the title as an unofficial description by the media. Because of the often unofficial nature of the position, reliable sources can sometimes differ over who the deputy actually is or was.
Deputy Leader | Term of office | Position(s) as Deputy Leader | Leader(s) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dirk Stikker (1897–1979) |
28 January 1948 – 10 July 1952 (4 years, 164 days) |
Chairman of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (1948) Minister of Foreign Affairs (1948–1952) |
Pieter Oud | |||
Henk Korthals (1911–1976) |
10 July 1952 – 12 January 1963 (10 years, 186 days) |
Member of the House of Representatives (1945–1959) Member of the European Parliament (1958–1959) Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs (1959–1963) Minister of Transport and Water Management (1959–1963) Deputy Prime Minister (1959–1963) | ||||
Not in use (12 January 1963 – 14 July 1963) | ||||||
Molly Geertsema (1918–1991) |
14 July 1963 – 1 October 1969 (1 year, 273 days)[1] |
Member of the House of Representatives (1959–1971) Mayor of Wassenaar (1961–1971) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (1963–1966) |
Edzo Toxopeus | |||
Roelof Zegering Hadders (1912–1991) |
1 October 1969 – 1 July 1971 (1 year, 273 days)[1] |
Member of the House of Representatives (1948–1971) |
Molly Geertsema | |||
Molly Geertsema (1918–1991) |
1 July 1971 – 5 May 1973 (1 year, 308 days)[1] |
Minister of the Interior (1971–1973) Deputy Prime Minister (1971–1973) Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs (1973) Member of the House of Representatives (1973) (1973) |
Hans Wiegel | |||
Harm van Riel (1907–1980) |
5 May 1973 – 3 June 1976 (3 years, 29 days)[1] |
Member of the Senate (1963–1976) Parliamentary leader in the Senate (1956–1976) | ||||
Haya van Someren (1926–1980) |
3 June 1976 – 12 November 1980 (†) (4 years, 162 days)[1] |
Member of the Senate (1974–1980) Parliamentary leader in the Senate (1976–1980) | ||||
Not in use (12 November 1980 – 15 December 1986) | ||||||
Dr. Rudolf de Korte (1936–2020) |
15 December 1986 – 7 November 1989 (2 years, 327 days)[1] |
Minister of Economic Affairs (1986–1989) Deputy Prime Minister (1986–1989) Member of the House of Representatives (1989–1995) |
Joris Voorhoeve | |||
Loek Hermans (born 1951) |
9 July 1986 – 24 September 1990 (4 years, 77 days)[1] |
Member of the House of Representatives (1977–1990) |
Rudolf de Korte | |||
Joris Voorhoeve | ||||||
Frits Bolkestein | ||||||
Hans Dijkstal (1943–2010) |
24 September 1990 – 30 July 1998 (7 years, 309 days)[1] |
Member of the House of Representatives (1986–1994) (1998–2002) Minister of the Interior (1994–1998) Deputy Prime Minister (1994–1998) | ||||
Benk Korthals (born 1944) |
22 August 1994 – 3 August 1998 (3 years, 346 days)[1] |
Member of the House of Representatives (1982–1998) | ||||
Hans Dijkstal | ||||||
Annemarie Jorritsma (born 1950) |
3 August 1998 – 30 January 2003 (4 years, 180 days)[1] |
Minister of Economic Affairs (1998–2002) Deputy Prime Minister (1998–2002) Member of the House of Representatives (2002–2003) | ||||
Gerrit Zalm | ||||||
Jozias van Aartsen (born 1947) |
23 May 2002 – 27 November 2004 (4 years, 188 days)[1] |
Minister of Foreign Affairs (1998–2002) Member of the House of Representatives (2002–2006) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2003–2006) | ||||
Not in use (27 November 2004 – 29 June 2006) | ||||||
Edith Schippers (born 1964) |
29 June 2006 – 1 November 2012 (6 years, 125 days) |
Member of the House of Representatives (2003–2010) (2012) Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (2010–2017) |
Mark Rutte | |||
Stef Blok (born 1964) [3] |
8 October 2010 – 1 November 2012 (2 years, 24 days) |
Member of the House of Representatives (2002–2012) (2012) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2010–2012) | ||||
Halbe Zijlstra (born 1969) |
1 November 2012 – 13 February 2018 (5 years, 74 days) |
State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science (2010–2012) Member of the House of Representatives (2012–2017) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2012–2017) (2017) Minister of Foreign Affairs (2017–2018) | ||||
Dr. Klaas Dijkhoff (born 1981) |
25 October 2017 – Incumbent (3 years, 102 days) |
Member of the House of Representatives (since 2017) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (since 2017) | ||||
References
- "Politiek leider van een partij". Parlement&Politiek. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
- (in Dutch) Kabinet-Rutte is een feit, NOS, 14 October 2010
- "Purist stuurt bij naar rechts Stef Blok" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2018.