Democrats 66

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, Jan Paternotte 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 reform 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 seven out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives, the largest total by a new party at the time. The party was in government from 1973 to 1977, 1981 to 1982, 1994 to 2002, 2003 to 2006, 2017 to 2024, and from 2026 to the present, leading the latter government. It currently holds 26 seats in the House of Representatives, making it the largest parliamentary party, and Rob Jetten is the current Prime Minister of the Netherlands. The party also holds seven seats in the Senate and three seats in the European Parliament.