Democrats 66

Democrats 66 (Dutch: Democraten 66, D66; official name: Politieke Partij Democraten 66) is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an American style presidential system. In the 1967 general election, the party won 7 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives; no new party had ever gained that many seats before. The electoral history of the party is characterised by large fluctuations. At one point they had 24 seats, currently (following the September 2012 Parliamentary elections) they have 12. The party was in government from 1973-1977, 1981-1982, 1994-2002 and 2003-2006. Over time the party began to emphasise other issues in addition to democratic reform, creating a social-liberal programme.

Currently the party is represented by twelve seats in the House of Representatives, five in the Senate and three in the European Parliament. The party leader, and chair of the parliamentary party in the House of Representatives, is Alexander Pechtold. The party is in opposition against the Rutte cabinet. The party has a small number of elected local and provincial politicians, but supplies a relative large share of the mayors, which are appointed. The party's voters are concentrated in larger cities, especially those with a university.

The organisation of D66 is based on principles of direct democracy. Important decisions are made per referendum. D66 is a member of the Liberal International, the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.