Alexander Pechtold

D66 chair of the parliamentary party
Alexander Pechtold

In office
June 24, 2006 – present
Preceded by	Lousewies van der Laan
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	December 16, 1965 Delft, Netherlands
Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations
In office
2005 – 2006
Preceded by	Thom de Graaf
Succeeded by	Atzo Nicolaï
Mayor of Wageningen
In office
2003 – 2005
Succeeded by	Geert van Rumund
Political party	Democrats 66
Website: www.pechtold.nl

Alexander Pechtold (born December 16, 1965) is a Dutch politician. He is a member of D66, a Dutch social liberal party.

Pechtold studied art history and archeology at Leiden University, obtaining a degree in 1996. He also obtained a certification as auctioneer and worked for the Van Stockum's Veilingen during his studies. He was elected president of D66 in 2002. At that time he was alderman of Leiden, where earlier he functioned as councillor. He was appointed mayor of Wageningen in 2003. In 2005 he became Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations in the second cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende.

Pechtold is the lijsttrekker for D66 in the Dutch elections of 2006, after he beat parliamentary leader Lousewies van der Laan and others in the 2006 D66 leadership election. Pechtold, as well as Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst, resigned from his minister post after the second Balkenende cabinet came in crisis on June 29, 2006. The next day, Balkenende offered the resignation of the full cabinet to the Dutch Queen.

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Preceded by Thom de Graaf	Dutch Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations March 31, 2005 – July 3, 2006	Succeeded by Atzo Nicolaï