The Leader of the Democrats 66 is the most senior politician within the Democrats 66 (Dutch: Democraten 66, D66) party in the Netherlands. The post is currently held by Rob Jetten who was elected on 12 August 2023 and will lead the party into the 2023 Dutch general election. Jetten previously served as parliamentary leader of D66 in the House of Representatives from 2018 to 2021 and as Minister for Climate and Energy in the fourth Rutte government.

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. In the Democrats 66, the Leader is often the Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. Some Democrats 66 leaders became a Minister in a cabinet.

Leaders

Leader			Term of office	Age as leader	Position(s) as leader	Further position(s)	Professional Background	Lijsttrekker
		Hans van Mierlo (1931–2010)	14 September 1966 – 1 September 1973 (6 years, 352 days)[1]	35–42	Chairman of the Democrats 66 (1966–1967) Member of the House of Representatives (1967–1977) (1986–1994) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (1967–1973) (1986–1994) Member of the Senate (1983–1986) Minister of Foreign Affairs (1994–1998) Deputy Prime Minister (1994–1998)	Minister of Defence (1981–1982) Member of the House of Representatives (1998) Minister of State (1998–2011)	Journalist	1967
								1971
								1972
								1986
								1989
								1994
		Dr. Jan Terlouw (born 1931)	1 September 1973 – 8 September 1982 (9 years, 7 days)[1]	41–50	Member of the House of Representatives (1971–1981) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (1973–1981) Minister of Economic Affairs (1981–1982) Deputy Prime Minister (1981–1982)	Queen's Commissioner of Gelderland (1991–1996) Member of the Senate (1999–2003)	Nuclear physicist Astrophysicist Mathematician Researcher Author professor	1977
								1981
								1982
		Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 1937)	8 September 1982 – 10 November 1982 (63 days)[1]	45	Member of the House of Representatives (1977–1982) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (1981–1982)	State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (1973–1977) Ambassador of the European Union to Japan (1982–1987) Member of the European Parliament (1994–1999) Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries (1999–2002) Minister of Economic Affairs (2003–2006) Deputy Prime Minister (2005–2006)	Lawyer Researcher Professor
		Maarten Engwirda (born 1943)	10 November 1982 – 25 January 1986 (3 years, 76 days)[1]	39–42	Member of the House of Representatives (1977–1989) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (1982–1986)	Member of the House of Representatives (1971–1972) Member of the European Parliament (1971–1973) Member of the European Court of Auditors (1996–2011)	Economist Mathematician civil servant
		Hans van Mierlo (1931–2010)	25 January 1986 – 15 February 1998 (12 years, 21 days)[1]	54–66	Chairman of the Democrats 66 (1966–1967) Member of the House of Representatives (1967–1977) (1986–1994) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (1967–1973) (1986–1994) Member of the Senate (1983–1986) Minister of Foreign Affairs (1994–1998) Deputy Prime Minister (1994–1998)	Minister of Defence (1981–1982) Member of the House of Representatives (1998) Minister of State (1998–2011)	Journalist	1967
								1971
								1972
								1986
								1989
								1994
		Dr. Els Borst (1932–2014)	15 February 1998 – 30 May 1998 (104 days)[1]	65–66	Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (1994–2002) Member of the House of Representatives (1998) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (1998)	Deputy Prime Minister (1998–2002) Minister of State (2012–2014)	Physician Researcher Hospital administrator Professor	1998
		Thom de Graaf (born 1957)	30 May 1998 – 22 January 2003 (4 years, 237 days)[1]	40–45	Member of the House of Representatives (1994–2003) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (1998–2003)	Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (1997–1998) Minister without Portfolio for the Interior (2003–2005) Deputy Prime Minister (2003–2005) Mayor of Nijmegen (2007–2012) Member of the Senate (2011–2018) Parliamentary leader in the Senate (2015–2018) Vice-President of the Council of State (since 2018)	Jurist Researcher Civil servant	2002
								2003
		Boris Dittrich (born 1955)	22 January 2003 – 3 February 2006 (3 years, 12 days)[1]	47–50	Member of the House of Representatives (1994–2006) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2003–2006)	Member of the Senate (since 2019)	Lawyer Judge Activist
Vacant (3 February 2006 – 24 June 2006) [Note]
		Alexander Pechtold (born 1965)	24 June 2006 – 6 October 2018 (12 years, 104 days)[1]	40–52	Member of the House of Representatives (2006–2018) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2006–2018)	Chairman of the Democrats 66 (2002–2005) Mayor of Wageningen (2003–2005) Minister without Portfolio for the Interior (2005–2006)	Auctioneer Art historian Civil servant	2006
								2010
								2012
								2017
Vacant (6 October 2018 – 4 September 2020) [Note]
		Sigrid Kaag (born 1961)	4 September 2020 – 12 August 2023 (2 years, 342 days)[1]	58–61	Minister of Finance (since 2022) Deputy Prime Minister (since 2022) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2021–2022) Member of the House of Representatives (2021–2022) Minister of Foreign Affairs (2021) Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (2017–2021)	United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (2015–2017) United Nations Special Coordinator for Syria (2013–2014)	Diplomat Civil servant	2021
		Rob Jetten (born 1987)	12 August 2023 – Incumbent (224 days)[1]	36–36	Minister for Climate and Energy Policy (since 2022)	Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2021) (2018–2021) Member of the House of Representatives (2017–2022)	Political consultant	2023

^Note After Boris Dittrich stepped down Lousewies van der Laan took over as Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. The Democrats 66 leadership election of 2006 elected Alexander Pechtold as Lijsttrekker for the general election of 2006 on 24 June 2006.

^Note After Alexander Pechtold stepped down Rob Jetten took over as Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives on 10 October 2018.