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The Reformed Political Party ( nl, Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, SGP) is a conservative
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
These sources describe the SGP as a Calvinist political party: * * * * *
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
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 ...
. The term ''Reformed'' is not a reference to political reform but is a synonym for
Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
—a major branch of
Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
. The SGP is the oldest political party in the Netherlands existing in its present form, and has been in opposition for its entire existence. Since 1925, it has won between 1.6% and 2.5% of the votes in general elections. Owing to its orthodox political ideals and its traditional role in the opposition, the party has been called a
testimonial party A testimonial party () is a political party that focuses on its principles, instead of adapting them to local or temporal issues in the pursuit of coalition government participation. In the Netherlands It is a peculiar phenomenon in the Netherla ...
. Since the general election of 2012, it has held 3 of the 150 seats of the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
.


Party history


Foundation

The SGP was founded on 24 April 1918, by several conservative members of the Protestant
Anti-Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party ( nl, Anti-Revolutionaire Partij, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and mi ...
(ARP). They did not support
female suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
which the ARP had made possible. Furthermore, they were against the alliance the ARP had formed with the General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses. The leading figure in the party's foundation was
Yerseke Yerseke (, Zeelandic: ) is a village situated on the southern shore of the Oosterschelde (Eastern Scheldt) estuary in the Dutch province of Zeeland. A separate municipality until 1970, it today forms part of the municipality of Reimerswaal. As of ...
pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
Gerrit Hendrik Kersten Gerrit Hendrik Kersten (6 August 1882, Deventer – 6 September 1948, Waarde) was a Dutch Calvinist minister and politician. After briefly working as a primary school teacher Kersten was inducted into his first pastorate in Meliskerke in 1905 with ...
, who envisioned a Netherlands "without cinema, sports,
vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
and
social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
".


1922–1945

The party entered the 1918 general elections, but was unable to win any seats. In the 1922 election, the party entered Parliament when Kersten won a seat in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
. In this period the SGP became most noted for proposing, during the annual parliamentary debate on the budget of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, to abolish Dutch representation to the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
. Each year, the Protestant
Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union ( nl, Christelijk-Historische Unie, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged ...
(CHU) also voted in favour of this motion. The CHU was in cabinet with the Catholic General League, but many of its members and supporters still had strong feelings against the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. In 1925, the left-wing opposition (the Free-thinking Democratic League and Social Democratic Workers' Party) also voted in favour of the motion. They were indifferent to the representation at the Holy See, but saw the issue as an opportunity to divide the confessional cabinet. The cabinet fell over this issue, in what is known as the ''Nacht van Kersten'' ("Night of Kersten"). The party gained another seat in the 1925 election, and a third seat in the 1929 election. It retained three seats in the 1933 election, but lost a seat in the
1937 election The following elections occurred in the year 1937. Asia * 1937 Philippine local elections * 1937 Iranian legislative election * 1937 Soviet Union legislative election India * 1937 Indian provincial elections * 1937 Madras Presidency legislative ...
, in which the ARP led by prime minister
Hendrikus Colijn Hendrikus "Hendrik" Colijn (22 June 1869 – 18 September 1944) was a Dutch politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP; now defunct and merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from ...
performed particularly well. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Kersten cooperated with the German occupiers to allow his paper, the ''Banier'', to be printed. He also condemned the Dutch Resistance, saying the German invasion was divine retribution for desecrating the Lord's Day. After the war, he was branded a collaborator and permanently stripped of his seat in the House of Representatives.


1945–present

Kersten was succeeded by , under whose leadership the SGP was very stable, continually getting 2% of votes. In the 1956 election, the SGP profited from the enlargement of Parliament, and entered the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
for the first time. It lost that seat in 1960, but regained it in 1971. In 1961 Zandt died and was succeeded by , a chemist. After ten years he stood down in favour of Reverend Hette Abma, who also stepped down after ten years, in favour of Henk van Rossum, a civil engineer. In the 1984 European Parliament election, the SGP joined the two other orthodox Protestant parties (the
Reformatory Political Federation The Reformatory Political Federation ( nl, Reformatorische Politieke Federatie; RPF) was a minor Protestant Christian political party in the Netherlands. History The RPF was founded in 1975 by three groups of orthodox Christians. The first group ...
(RPF) and the Reformed Political League (GPV)). They won one seat in the European Parliament, which was taken by SGP member
Leen van der Waal Leendert van der Waal (23 September 1928 – 10 September 2020) was a Dutch engineer and politician. He was a member of the Reformed Political Party (SGP) and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Van der Waal was born in Ridderkerk, ...
, a mechanical engineer. In 1986, Van Rossum was succeeded by Bas van der Vlies, who led the party till March 2010, when he was succeeded by Kees van der Staaij. In the 1994 election the party lost one seat in the House, regained it in 1998, and lost it again in 2002. After the general election of 2003, the
Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutiona ...
(CDA) and the
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party i ...
(VVD) held talks with the SGP — the first time in memory that the SGP was seriously considered as a possible coalition partner. Ultimately, the
Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; abbreviated D66, ) is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the centre of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Demo ...
joined the second Balkenende cabinet instead of the SGP, mostly because of the ideological differences between VVD and SGP. On 7 September 2005, the district court of The Hague judged that the party could no longer receive subsidies from the government, because women were not allowed to hold positions in the party. This was found to be a violation of the 1981 UN Treaty on Women in which the Netherlands committed to fighting discrimination. It also was a violation of the first article of the Dutch constitution, the principle of non-discrimination. The Dutch Council of State overturned the decision nevertheless, maintaining that a party's political philosophy takes precedence, and that women have the opportunity to join other political parties where they can obtain a leadership role. Nevertheless, in two cassation cases brought by the State and the SGP, the Supreme Court confirmed the judgement of the district court on 9 April 2010. The complaint lodged by the SGP against the ruling of the Supreme Court with the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
was declared inadmissible in 2012. The Court considered further action against the SGP desirable, but could not rule on this, because this was not at issue in this case. Female members of the
Reformed Political Party Youth The Reformed Political Party Youth ( nl, Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij-jongeren), officially abbreviated as SGPJ or SGP-jongeren, is the youth wing of the Dutch Reformed Political Party, an orthodox Calvinist political party. The SGPJ is offi ...
(SGPJ), which did allow female membership, said however that they did not feel discriminated or repressed. During a party congress on 24 June 2006, the SGP lifted the ban on female membership. Political positions inside and outside the party are open to women. On 19 March 2014, the first female SGP delegate was elected to the municipal council in
Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river ...
.


Ideology and issues

As a Protestant fundamentalist party, the SGP draws much from its ideology from the
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
tradition, specifically the ecclesiastical doctrinal standards known as the
Three Forms of Unity The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism, which reflect the doctrinal concerns of continental Calvinism and are accepted as official statements of doctrine by many Ca ...
, including an unamended version of the
Belgic Confession The ''Confession of Faith'', popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a doctrinal standard document to which many of the Reformed churches subscribe. The Confession forms part of the Three Forms of Unity of the Reformed Church, which are stil ...
(''Nederlandse Geloofsbelijdenis''). The latter text is explicitly mentioned in the first principle of the party, where it is stated that the SGP strives towards a government totally based on the Bible. This first principle also states that the uncut version of the Belgic Confession is meant, which adds the task of opposing anti-Christian powers to the description of the government's roles and tasks. The party is a strict defender of the separation between church and state, rejecting "both the
state church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a ...
and church state". Both church and state are believed to have distinct roles in society, while working towards the same goal, but despite this, some accuse the SGP of advocating for theocracy. The SGP opposes
freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...
, but advocates
freedom of conscience Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. Overview Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency b ...
instead, noting that "the obedience to the Law of God cannot be forced". The SGP opposes
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and concludes, on Biblical grounds, that men and women are of equal value (''gelijkwaardig'') but inherently different (''verschillend''). Men and women, so the party claims, have different places in society. This belief led to restricting party membership to men until 2006, when this restriction became subject to controversy and was eventually removed. It has traditionally opposed
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political sta ...
, seeking to replace this with a form of "organic suffrage" ( nl, huismanskiesrecht, "suffrage of the
pater familias The ''pater familias'', also written as ''paterfamilias'' (plural ''patres familias''), was the head of a Roman family. The ''pater familias'' was the oldest living male in a household, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his ext ...
") restricted to male heads of households. In the 2018 local elections, the party for the first time allowed several women to lead
lists A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
. In controversial discussions in the Dutch House of Representatives ''(Tweede Kamer)'', the SGP often stresses the importance of the rule of law,
parliamentary procedure Parliamentary procedure is the accepted Procedural law, rules, ethics, and Norm (sociology), customs governing meetings of an deliberative assembly, assembly or organization. Its object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of interest ...
and
rules of order Parliamentary procedure is the accepted rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings of an assembly or organization. Its object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of interest to the organization and thus to arrive at the sense or t ...
, regardless of ideological agreement. The party favours the re-introduction of the death penalty in the Netherlands. They base this on the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
, specifically on Genesis 9:6, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man", and Exodus 21:12, "He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death." The party also supports a ban on the
burqa A burqa or a burka, or , and ur, , it is also transliterated as burkha, bourkha, burqua or burqu' or borgha' and is pronounced natively . It is generally pronounced in the local variety of Arabic or variety of Persian, which varies. Examp ...
in certain public places, but argues this from a security rather than religious standpoint. In foreign policy, the SGP calls for a radical reform of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
and opposes any further political or geographical expansion of the EU. It also calls for only the Dutch flag to be flown from official government buildings, a cut in Dutch financial contributions to the EU and opposes the potential
accession of Turkey to the European Union Turkey is negotiating its accession to the European Union (EU) as a member state, following its application to become a full member of the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the EU, on 14 April 1987. After the ten founding ...
.


Electoral results


House of Representatives


Provincial government

In provincial governments, the party participates in the
Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...
provincial executive The provincial executive (, GS) is the executive branch of government of a province in the Netherlands. It is the equivalent of the municipal executive at the provincial level. The provincial executive consists of the King's Commissioner (chair) ...
. There, the party is the strongest, with over 10% of the vote. It has 18 members of
provincial legislature In South Africa, a provincial legislature is the legislative branch of the government of a province.'' Chapter 6: Provinces'', Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The provincial legislatures are unicameral and vary in size from 30 ...
independently, while another two seats were won by combined lists with the
Christian Union Christian Union may refer to: * Christian Union (Lithuania), a Lithuanian Christian democratic political party (''Krikščionių sąjunga'' in Lithuanian) * Christian Union (Netherlands), a Dutch Christian democratic political party (''ChristenUn ...
. The table below shows the election results of the 2019 provincial election in each province. It shows the areas where the Reformed Political Party is strong, especially in the
Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's av ...
, which is a string of
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
stretching from Zeeland, via parts of South Holland, Utrecht and Gelderland, up to Overijssel. * result of combined
ChristianUnion The Christian Union ( nl, ChristenUnie, CU) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CU is a centrist party, maintaining more progressive stances on economic, immigration and environmental issues while holding more soci ...
/SGP lists.


Municipal government

6 of the 342
mayors 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 as ...
of the Netherlands are members of the SGP, and the party participates in several local executives, usually in municipalities located within the Bible Belt. The party has 40
aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members th ...
and 244 members of local legislature. In many municipalities where the SGP is weaker, it cooperates with the ChristenUnie, presenting common lists.


Representation

This is a list of representations of Reformed Political Party in the Dutch parliament, as well as the provincial, municipal and European elections. The party's '' lijsttrekker'' has been the same as the '' fractievoorzitter'' (parliamentary group leader) of that year in every election.


Leadership


House of Representatives

The party has three representatives in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
: * Kees van der Staaij,
Parliamentary group leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are thei ...
* Roelof Bisschop * Chris Stoffer)


Senate

Since the 2015 Senate elections, the party has had two representatives in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
: * Peter Schalk, Senate group leader * Diederik van Dijk


European Parliament

Since the
1984 European Parliament election Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
the party has one elected representative in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adop ...
. From 1984 to 1997
Leen van der Waal Leendert van der Waal (23 September 1928 – 10 September 2020) was a Dutch engineer and politician. He was a member of the Reformed Political Party (SGP) and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Van der Waal was born in Ridderkerk, ...
was the representative, from
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...
Bas Belder was the party's representative, succeeded by
Bert-Jan Ruissen Bert-Jan Ruissen (born 22 March 1972) is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the Netherlands. He is a member of the Reformed Political Party (SGP), part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). Ruiss ...
in the
2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peopl ...
. In the European elections, the SGP formed one parliamentary candidate list with the
Christian Union Christian Union may refer to: * Christian Union (Lithuania), a Lithuanian Christian democratic political party (''Krikščionių sąjunga'' in Lithuanian) * Christian Union (Netherlands), a Dutch Christian democratic political party (''ChristenUn ...
, called Christian Union-SGP. Currently the SGP is in the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament. *
Bert-Jan Ruissen Bert-Jan Ruissen (born 22 March 1972) is a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the Netherlands. He is a member of the Reformed Political Party (SGP), part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). Ruiss ...
, member


Electorate

The SGP has had a very stable electorate since first entering the States-General in 1922. Since winning a second seat in 1926, it has usually varied between two and three seats in the House of Representatives. The party has been called “an almost perfect illustration of Duverger's category of 'fossilised' minor party." Most of its electorate is formed by so-called "bevindelijk gereformeerden", Reformed Christians for whom personal religious experience is very important. This group is formed by several smaller churches such as the Christian Reformed Churches, Reformed Congregations, Restored Reformed Church, and
Old-Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands The Old-Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands (Dutch: ''Oud Gereformeerde Gemeenten in Nederland'') is a pietistic Reformed denomination in the Netherlands. Characteristics The characteristics of the denomination is the loose structure com ...
, as well as the conservative wing of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, the Reformed Association. However, not all members of these churches / church wings vote SGP. The SGP's support is concentrated geographically in the Dutch bible belt, a band of strongly Reformed and mostly rural municipalities ranging from
Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...
in the South via Goeree-Overflakkee and the
Alblasserwaard The Alblasserwaard () is a polder in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, located near the village of Kinderdijk in the polder's northwestern part. History The first human inhabitant ...
in
South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...
and the
Veluwe The Veluwe () is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km2) in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes, including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts. The Ve ...
in
Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
to the Western part of Overijssel, around Staphorst. The SGP also performs well on the former island Urk as well as in Uddel; in both places it received an outright majority of the vote in 2017, as well as in 2021.


Organisation


Organisational structure

The highest organ of the SGP is the congress, which is formed by delegates from the municipal branches. It convenes once every year. It appoints the party board and decides the order of the Senate, House of Representatives, European Parliament candidates list and has the last say over the party program. The SGP chairman is always a
minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
. Since 2001 this position is ceremonial, as the general chair leads the party's organisation. The party has 245 municipal branches and has a provincial federation in each province, except for Limburg.


Linked organisations

The party publishes the Banner two-weekly since 1921. The scientific institute of the party is called the , which publishes the magazine Zicht (Sight). The youth organisation of the SGP is called the
Reformed Political Party Youth The Reformed Political Party Youth ( nl, Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij-jongeren), officially abbreviated as SGPJ or SGP-jongeren, is the youth wing of the Dutch Reformed Political Party, an orthodox Calvinist political party. The SGPJ is offi ...
(SGPJ), which with its approximately 12,000 members is the largest political youth organization in the Netherlands. The SGP participates in the
Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD; Dutch: ''Nederlands Instituut voor Meerpartijendemocratie'') works to promote peaceful, just and inclusive politics worldwide. NIMD's approach is characterized by dialogue, which it facili ...
, a democracy assistance organisation of seven Dutch political parties.


Pillarised organisations

The SGP has close links with several other orthodox Protestant organisations, such as several reformed churches and the newspaper ''
Reformatorisch Dagblad The ''Reformatorisch Dagblad'' (; " Reformed Daily") is a Dutch Protestant newspaper with a circulation of around 60,000, headquartered in Apeldoorn. The conservative newspaper was founded in 1971 and is associated with the Reformed Political Par ...
''. Together they form a small but strong orthodox-reformed
pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
.


Relationships to other parties

Until 1963, the SGP was relatively isolated in parliament. The strongly antipapal SGP refused to cooperate with either the Catholic People's Party or the secular
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party i ...
(VVD) and Labour Party (PvdA). The also Protestant, larger
Anti-Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party ( nl, Anti-Revolutionaire Partij, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and mi ...
(ARP) had some sympathy for the SGP, but cooperated more tightly with the KVP and the other Protestant party, the
Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union ( nl, Christelijk-Historische Unie, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged ...
(CHU). In 1963 another orthodox Protestant party, the Reformed Political League (GPV) entered parliament, in 1981 they were joined by the
Reformatory Political Federation The Reformatory Political Federation ( nl, Reformatorische Politieke Federatie; RPF) was a minor Protestant Christian political party in the Netherlands. History The RPF was founded in 1975 by three groups of orthodox Christians. The first group ...
(RPF). Together these three parties formed the "Small Christian parties". They shared the same orthodox Protestant political ideals and had the same political strategy, as testimonial parties. They cooperated in municipalities, both in municipal executives, where the parties were strong, as well as in common municipal parties, where the parties were weak. In the 1984 European Parliamentary election the parties presented a common list and they won one seat in parliament. After 1993 the cooperation between the GPV and the RPF intensified, but the SGP's position at the time on
female suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
prevented the SGP joining this closer cooperation. However, in 2000 the GPV and RPF merged to form the
ChristianUnion The Christian Union ( nl, ChristenUnie, CU) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CU is a centrist party, maintaining more progressive stances on economic, immigration and environmental issues while holding more soci ...
(CU). Traditionally the SGP and the CU worked together closely as they were both based on Protestant Christian
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
. Recently however, as the CU has moved more towards the centre-left, discernible differences of philosophy between the SGP and CU have caused the parties to not join in elections. The most notable example was the 2011 senate election where the SGP and CU did not combine their votes. Prime Minister
Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006. After a business career working for Unileve ...
's first government depended on the SGP's support in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
to pass legislation where it fell one seat short of a majority in the 2011 provincial elections. As a result, the party was able to achieve a number of its own political objectives: continuing child support for larger families, and restricting business hours on Sundays. As previously mentioned, it was seriously considered as a coalition partner in 2003. These are among the few times in recent memory that the SGP has had any national impact.


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{{Authority control Anti-suffragist organizations European Conservatives and Reformists member parties Calvinism in the Netherlands Confessional parties in the Netherlands Conservative parties in the Netherlands Dutch Reformed Church Political parties established in 1918 Political parties in the Netherlands Protestant political parties Social conservative parties 1918 establishments in the Netherlands Monarchist parties in the Netherlands Eurosceptic parties in the Netherlands Organisations based in South Holland Gouda, South Holland