Liberalism in the Netherlands
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This article gives an overview of liberalism in the Netherlands. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme. For inclusion in this scheme it isn't necessary so that parties labeled themselves as a liberal party.
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[edit] Introduction
In the Netherlands the liberals have been dominant since 1848, the moment Johan Rudolf Thorbecke came to power. It took until 1885 that liberals organise themselves in a party and for most of the time liberals are divided in traditional and more social liberals.
In Netherlands liberals fought in 1848 to gain a new parliament from King William II of the Netherlands. The new, liberal government was led by Johan Rudolf Thorbecke. Another prominent Dutch liberal from that time was Samuel van Houten. Dutch liberalism got divided at the end of the nineteenth century into a conservative liberal current and a radical (free-minded democratic) current.
The Netherlands has not had a government headed by a liberal since 1918, although liberals have participated in more than half the cabinet coalitions since 1918.
Though between 1946 and 1966 there was only one liberal party, since 1966 there are two liberal parties in the Netherlands: the left-of-center social-liberal Democrats 66 (Democraten 66, member LI, ELDR) and the right-of-center conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, member LI, ELDR). Furthermore, in 2004, the GreenLeft (Groenlinks) started profiling itself as a 'left-liberal' party, thus possibly breaking with its socialist roots.
[edit] The timeline
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[edit] From Liberal Union until People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
- 1885: Liberals formed the Liberal Union (Liberale Unie)
- 1892: A radical faction formed the ⇒ Radical League
- 1894: A conservative faction formed the ⇒ Free Liberals
- 1901: A radical faction seceded to merge with the ⇒ Radical League into the ⇒ Freethinking Democratic League
- 1921: The LU merged with the ⇒ Economic League, the ⇒ League of Free Liberals, the Neutral Party and the Middle Class Party into the Freedom League (Vrijheidsbond)
- 1922: A conservative faction seceded as the ⇒ Liberal Party
- 1928: The Vrijheidsbond is renamed in Liberal State Party (Liberale Staatspartij)
- 1929: Staalman, founder of the Middle Class Party, leaves the LSP and found the Middle Party for City and Country
- 1945: The LSP is reorganised into the Freedom Party (Partij voor de Vrijheid), including a faction of the ⇒ Freethinking Democratic League
- 1948: The Freedom Party merged with former members of the Freethinking Democratic League into the present-day People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie)
[edit] Radical League and Free-minded Democratic League
- 1892: A radical faction of the ⇒ Liberal Union formed the Radical League (Radicale Bond)
- 1901: A second radical faction of the ⇒ Liberal Union merged with the Radical League into the Free-minded Democratic League (Vrijzinnig Democratische Bond)
- 1917: A right-wing faction secededas the ⇒ Economic League
- 1946: The Free-minded Democratic League merged into the present-day Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid), a faction joined the ⇒ Freedom Party
- 1948: Some former members left the Labour Party and merged into the ⇒ People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
[edit] (League of) Free Liberals
- 1894: A conservative faction of the ⇒ Liberale Union formed the Free Liberals (Vrije Liberalen), since 1906 renamed the League of Free Liberals (Bond van Vrije Liberalen)
- 1921: The league merged into the ⇒ Freedom League
[edit] Economic League
- 1917: A right-wing faction of the ⇒ Freethinking Democratic League formed the Economic League (Economische Bond)
- 1921: The league merged into the ⇒ Freedom League
[edit] Liberal Party
- 1922: A right-wing faction of the ⇒ Freedom League formed the Liberal Party (Liberale Partij) and disappears in 1925
[edit] Democrats 66
- 1966: Independent progressive liberals formed the party Democrats 66 (Democraten '66), later without apostrophe
[edit] Liberal leaders
- Liberals in the nineteenth century: Johan Rudolf Thorbecke - Samuel van Houten - Joannes Kappeyne van de Coppello
- Vrijzinnig-Democratische Bond: Dirk Bos - Pieter Jacobus Oud
- Liberale Staatspartij: Benjamin Marius Telders
- Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie: Pieter Jacobus Oud - Hans Wiegel - Frits Bolkestein - Mark Rutte (current)
- Democraten 66: Hans van Mierlo - Jan Terlouw - Alexander Pechtold (current)
[edit] Liberal thinkers
In the Contributions to liberal theory the following Dutch thinkers are included:
- Erasmus (1466–1536)
- Hugo Grotius (1583–1645)
- Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677)
- Johan Rudolf Thorbecke (1798–1872)
[edit] References
p.m.
[edit] See also
- History of the Netherlands
- Politics of the Netherlands
- List of political parties in the Netherlands
- Socialism in the Netherlands
- Christian democracy in the Netherlands
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