The Historic composition of the

House of Representatives of the Netherlands The House of Representatives (, pronounced ; commonly referred to as the ', literally "Second Chamber of the States General") is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Senate. ...

gives an overview of the composition of the House of Representatives (lower house) of the Dutch parliament. It shows the composition after

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

s, splits from parties are not included.

1815 to 1887

The House of Representatives of the Netherlands was created in 1815 when the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...

was created. Initially it consisted of 110 members, chosen by the

States-Provincial The provincial council (, PS), also known as the States Provincial, is the provincial parliament and legislative assembly in each of the provinces of the Netherlands. It is elected for each province simultaneously once every four years and has ...

. Each year, one third of the members were up for reelection, and each member was elected for three years. In 1830, the southern provinces declared their independence in the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

, to become

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 ...

. Initially the Netherlands did not accept this, but the 55 members of the House of Representatives chosen by these provinces were no longer present at meetings, so the de facto membership was reduced to 55 members.Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (1815-1861)
Historici.nl After the Treaty of London in 1839, the Dutch government accepted the separation of Belgium, and became the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

. In 1840 the constitution was changed; all southern provinces except the eastern half of the province of Limburg (with three representatives) had left the Kingdom of the Netherlands, so the size of the House of Representatives was fixed at 58 members. Following the

revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

, the constitution was changed. Elections for half of the house were held every two years, and each member held his seat for four years.Ontwikkeling Grondwet artikel 85
www.europa-nu.nl The total membership was set at one member for each 45000 Dutch citizens;Ontwikkeling Grondwet artikel 81
www.europa-nu.nl so the house increased to 68 members; in 1859 it grew further to 72 members.

1888 to 1946

The constitution of 1887 changed the system; election were held every 4 years for all members at the same time, using a district system, and the total membership was set at 100 members. In 1919, the constitution was changed: the districts system was abandoned, and

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

was used. *: In 1929 the CPH entered with two lists, which both won one seat.

1946 to 1998

Note: in 1956 the House of Representatives was enlarged from 100 to 150 members.

1998 to now

References

{{reflist House of Representatives (Netherlands) Netherlands politics-related lists Netherlands history-related lists

1815 to 1887

1888 to 1946

1946 to 1998

1998 to now

See also

References