This article lists some of the events that took place in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 2008.

Incumbents

*Monarch: Beatrix *Prime Minister:

Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende Jr. (; born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 2010. Balkenende studied H ...

Events

January

*January 1: Wim Deetman resigns as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. *January 12: Two soldiers of

Task Force Uruzgan Task Force Uruzgan (TFU) was Australia's and the Netherlands' contribution to NATO's Regional Command South, International Security Assistance Force, in Afghanistan. The Dutch led one of the four Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the southern reg ...

, Lance Corporal Aldert Poortema (22) and

Private First Class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) ...

Wesley School (20), both of the Regiment Infanterie Johan Willem Friso, are killed in Uruzgan,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

*January 15:

Farshad Bashir Farshad Bashir (born 14 January 1988 in Kabul) is a Dutch politician of Afghan descent. As a member of the Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij) he was an MP from 15 January 2008 to 23 March 2017. He focused on matters of taxation, traffic an ...

(20) of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

is sworn in as member of the House of Representatives, becoming the youngest member in history. *January 26: Bishop Wim Eijk of Groningen-Leeuwarden is installed as

Archbishop of Utrecht List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht. Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580 Founders of the Utrecht diocese * * * * * Bishops * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

February

*February 3:

Joran van der Sloot Joran Andreas Petrus van der Sloot (; born 6 August 1987) is a Dutch convicted murderer who killed Stephany Flores Ramírez in Lima, Peru, in 2010. He is also the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in 2005. After Flores' ...

is unmasked in a high-profile TV-episode, made by

Peter R. de Vries Peter Rudolf de Vries (14 November 1956 – 15 July 2021) was a Dutch investigative journalist and crime reporter. His television program (''Crime Reporter''; 1995−2012) covered high-profile cases and set a Dutch television viewing record. F ...

, about the disappearance of

Natalee Holloway Natalee is a female given name. It is a variant of the name Natalie, though uncommon according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Notable people with the name include: *Natalee Caple (born 1970), Canadian author of novels and poetry *Natalee Holloway (born ...

May

* 9: During a huge fire on a shipyard in

De Punt De Punt is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Tynaarlo, and lies about 11 km south of Groningen. The village closely cooperates with Yde and they are often referred to as Yde-De Punt, however bot ...

(Drenthe) 3 firemen of the

Eelde Eelde () is a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Tynaarlo, and lies about 9 km south of Groningen. Groningen Airport Eelde is located near the village. Eelde was a separate municipality until 1998, when ...

corps perish.

June

* 4: The rebuilt Wilms' Boô is officially opened by Princess Margriet of the Netherlands. * Undated: **

Sweet Empire Sweet Empire is a Dutch punk rock band from the Amsterdam area. Besides punk rock the music has been styled as pop punk, power pop, or melodic hardcore. History Sweet Empire was formed June 2008 by Rowald van Baardwijk, Rick Diemeer, Jort van d ...

, punk rock band from the Amsterdam is formed.

July

* 1: Most exceptions on the smoking ban are dropped. * 10: The movie Hoe overleef ik mezelf? (How to survive myself?) gets a

Gouden Film The Golden Film ( nl, Gouden Film) is a film award recognizing domestic box office achievements in the Netherlands. The Golden Film is awarded to films from the Netherlands once they have sold . The award is an initiative by the Netherlands Fil ...

for getting 100.000 visitors.

September

* 24: Beginning of the Netherlands Film Festival. * 28:

Fortis Fortis may refer to: Business * Fortis AG, a Swiss watch company * Fortis Films, an American film and television production company founded by actress and producer Sandra Bullock * Fortis Healthcare, a chain of hospitals in India * Fortis Inc ...

is partially nationalized by

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

whom together get 49% of the stocks in their control. * 30: The Gouden Griffel for the best children-book goes to

Jan Paul Schutten Jan Paul Schutten (born 30 November 1970) is a Dutch writer of children's literature. Career Schutten's debut book ''Ruik eens wat ik zeg, de taal van dieren en planten'' was awarded in 2004 with the Vlag en Wimpel award. The book was illustr ...

for his book

Children of Amsterdam A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

(Kinderen van Amsterdam).

October

* 3: The Dutch branch of

becomes completely nationalized and taken over by the

Dutch government The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekke, ...

. * 5: Huge fire in a shopping mall in

Spijkenisse Spijkenisse () is a city in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Following an administrative reform in 2015, it is part of the municipality of Nissewaard, and has a population of 72,500. It covers an area of of which is water. It is part ...

. * 8: The

Maasvlakte Light Maasvlakte Light is an inactive lighthouse in Maasvlakte, an industrial area in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. At a height of it is the twelfth-tallest "traditional lighthouse" in the world, as well as the second-tallest concrete lighth ...

is deactivated. * 11: TV presenter Ernst-Paul Hasselbach (43) dies together with a female Belgian colleague in a traffic accident in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

November

* 14: Domino Day 2008 is held in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

Sports

*January 1:

Koninklijke HFC Koninklijke Haarlemsche Football Club (Royal Haarlem Football Club) is a football club based in Haarlem, Netherlands. It is the oldest existing club in Dutch football, founded by Pim Mulier in 1879. During the club's early years the team only ...

win the traditional New Year's match against former international footballers 6–1. *January 2: The '' Federatie Eredivisie Basketball'' of the

Netherlands Basketball Association ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

takes BC Omniworld of

Almere Almere () is a Planned community, planned List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km ...

out of the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

. The club had gone into administration. *January 4: Jermo Ribbers (14), a member of the Dutch national youth ski jumping team, dies after a fall following a jump in

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf ( Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns. At the&nb ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. *March 26–30 Netherlands at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships :: March 30: Ellen van Dijk becomes World Champion at the

2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place at the Manchester Velodrome in Manchester, United Kingdom from 26 to 30 March 2008. Eighteen events were scheduled; the women's team pur ...

in the Women's scratch *July 3–6 Netherlands at the 2008 European Road Championships :: Ellen van Dijk won the gold medal in the Women's time trial, the only Dutch medal at the championships. *August 8–24 Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Olympics *September 3–7 Netherlands at the 2008 UEC European Track Championships ::The Netherlands won 6 medals: 2 gold, silver and 2 bronze medals. Ellen van Dijk won four of them including the two gold medals. She won gold in the Women's under-23 points race and the Women's under-23 scratch and silver in the Women's omnium and Women's under-23 individual pursuit. *September 6–17 Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Deaths

January

*January 1: Dirk van Egmond, 54, journalist for Veronica,

KRO KRO, or (Catholic Radio Broadcasting), was a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925. Broadly Catholic in its spiritual outlook, KRO broadcast the bulk of its television output on the NPO 1 channel. KRO was also responsi ...

Omroep Flevoland The Dutch public broadcasting system ( nl, Nederlands publieke omroepbestel) is a group of organizations that are responsible for public service television and radio broadcasting in the Netherlands. It is composed of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep ...

TROS Tros or TROS may refer to: * 18281 Tros, an asteroid * Transformer read-only storage, a type of read-only memory * TROS, a Dutch broadcasting union, originally an acronym for Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting * Tros (mythology), a figure in Greek ...

AVRO AVRO, short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep ("General Association of Radio Broadcasting"), was a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system. It was the first public broad ...

and RTL Veronique. *January 4:

Anton P. de Graaff Anthonie Peter de Graaff (Amsterdam, 12 April 1928 – Waalwijk, 4 January 2008) was a Dutch writer. The author, who himself served in the Dutch East Indies from March 1949 to the beginning of October 1950 as sergeant combat medic of the 425th I ...

, 79, author *January 28:

Ginty Vrede Ginty Vrede (July 18, 1985 – January 28, 2008) was a Dutch kickboxer and 2008 WBC Muaythai Heavyweight World champion. Biography and career Vrede won the WBC Muaythai heavyweight World title by beating the previously unbeaten Shane del Rosa ...

, Surinamese-Dutch kick-boxer

February

*February 7:

Benny Neyman Wilhelmus Albertus "Benny" Neyman (9 June 1951 in Maastricht, Netherlands - 7 February 2008 in Soesterberg, Netherlands) was a Dutch singer. Biography Neyman was born in Limburg. In the beginning of the 1970s, he took a course at Kleinkunst Aca ...

, 56, singer *February 22:

Henk Bruna Henk Bruna (11 June 1916 – 22 February 2008) was a Dutch publisher and director of the stationery and bookstore chain Bruna. He was a brother of A.W. (Abs) Bruna (1902–1996) and an uncle of the artist Dick Bruna Dick Bruna (born Hendrik Mag ...

, 91, businessman, founder of the Bruna retail chain

March

*March 17: Ed Leeflang, 78, poet *March 23:

Wim Mager Wim Mager (26 September 1940 in Rotterdam – 23 March 2008 in Silvolde) was a Dutch photographer who is mainly known for founding the Apenheul Primate Park near Apeldoorn of which he was the director until 1997. When he had found a successor he mo ...

, 67, photographer, founder of

Apenheul Apenheul Primate Park is a zoo in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. It specializes in apes and monkeys. It opened in 1971 and was the first zoo in the world where monkeys could walk around freely in the forest and between the visitors. It started with just ...

April

*April 6: Jeu Sprengers, 69, chairman of the

Royal Dutch Football Association The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and women ...

August

*August 14:

Percy Irausquin Joseph Gregory Percy Irausquin (26 June 1969 – 14 August 2008) was an Aruban-born Netherlands, Dutch fashion designer and couturier based in Amsterdam. He was described by the Dutch media as "one of the most talented young designers in the N ...

, 39, fashion designer.

References

{{Commons category, 2008 in the Netherlands

Years of the 21st century in the Netherlands 2000s in the Netherlands

Incumbents

Events

January

February

May

June

July

September

October

November

Sports

See also

Deaths

January

February

March

April

August

See also

References