View source for House of Representatives (Netherlands)

{{More citations needed|date=July 2024}}{{short description|Lower house of the States General}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox legislature
| background_color = #121469
| name = House of Representatives
| native_name = {{native name|nl|Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal|icon=no}}
| native_name_lang = 
| transcription_name = 
| legislature = [[States General of the Netherlands]]
| coa_pic = [[File:Logo of the Tweede Kamer.svg|150px]]
| coa_res = 
| coa_alt = 
| logo_pic = 
| logo_res = 
| logo_alt = 
| house_type = [[States General of the Netherlands|Lower house]]
| body = 
| houses = 
| term_limits = 
| foundation = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| disbanded = 
| preceded_by = 
| succeeded_by = 
| new_session = 
| leader1_type = [[Speaker of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)|Speaker]]
| leader1 = [[Thom van Campen]]
| party1 = [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy|VVD]]
| election1 = 18 November 2025
| leader2_type = First Deputy Speaker
| leader2 = 
| party2 = 
| election2 = 
| leader3_type = Second Deputy Speaker
| leader3 = 
| party3 = 
| election3 = 23 May 2025
| seats = 150
| house1 = 
| house2 = 
| structure1 = File:Dutch House of Representatives, 2025-2029.svg
| structure1_res = 250px
| structure1_alt = 
| structure2 = 
| structure2_res = 
| structure2_alt = 
| political_groups1 = '''Government (demissionary) (26)'''
* {{Color box|{{party color|People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (2020)}}|border=darkgray}} [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy|VVD]] (22)
* {{Color box|{{party color|Farmer-Citizen Movement}}|border=darkgray}} [[Farmer–Citizen Movement|BBB]] (4)
'''Opposition (124)'''
* {{Color box|{{party color|Democrats 66}}|border=darkgray}} [[Democrats 66|D66]] (26)
* {{Color box|{{party color|Party for Freedom}}|border=darkgray}} [[Party for Freedom|PVV]] (26)
* {{Color box|{{party color|GroenLinks–PvdA}}|border=darkgray}} [[GroenLinks–PvdA|GL–PvdA]] (20)
* {{Color box|{{party color|Christian Democratic Appeal (2021)}}|border=darkgray}} [[Christian Democratic Appeal|CDA]] (18)
* {{Color box|{{party color|JA21}}|border=darkgray}} [[JA21]] (9)
* {{Color box|{{party color|Forum for Democracy}}|border=darkgray}} [[Forum for Democracy|FvD]] (7)
* {{Color box|{{party color|Socialist Party (Netherlands)}}|border=darkgray}} [[Socialist Party (Netherlands)|SP]] (3)
* {{Color box|{{party color|Party for the Animals}}|border=darkgray}} [[Party for the Animals|PvdD]] (3)
* {{Color box|{{party color|Reformed Political Party}}|border=darkgray}} [[Reformed Political Party|SGP]] (3)
* {{Color box|{{party color|ChristianUnion}}|border=darkgray}} [[Christian Union (Netherlands)|CU]] (3)
* {{Color box|{{party color|DENK (political party)}}|border=darkgray}} [[DENK (political party)|DENK]] (3)
* {{color box|{{party color|50PLUS}}|border=darkgray}} [[50PLUS]] (2)
* {{Color box|{{party color|Volt Netherlands}}|border=darkgray}} [[Volt Netherlands|Volt]] (1)
| committees1 = 
| joint_committees = 
| voting_system1 = [[Elections in the Netherlands|Open party-list proportional representation]] ([[D'Hondt method]])
| last_election1 = [[2025 Dutch general election|29 October 2025]]
| next_election1 = [[Next Dutch general election]]
| session_room = Plenaire zaal Tweede Kamer - panorama.jpg
| session_res = 250px
| session_room2 = Tweede Kamer tijdelijke locatie plenaire zaal (3).jpg
| session_alt = 
| meeting_place = [[Binnenhof]], [[The Hague]]<br>(closed due to ongoing renovations)
| meeting_place2 = Bezuidenhoutseweg 67, The Hague<br>(temporary)
| website = {{URL|https://www.houseofrepresentatives.nl}}
| footnotes = 
| motto = 
}}

The '''House of Representatives''' ({{Langx|nl|Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal}} {{IPA|nl|ˈtʋeːdə ˈkaːmər dɛr ˈstaːtə(ŋ) ɣeːnəˈraːl||2e_kamer.ogg}}, literally "Second Chamber of the States General", or simply the {{Lang|nl|'''Tweede Kamer'''}}) is the [[lower house]] of the [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[parliament]] of the [[Netherlands]], the [[States General of the Netherlands|States General]], the other one being the [[Senate (Netherlands)|Senate]]. It has 150 seats, which are filled through [[Elections in the Netherlands|elections]] using [[party-list proportional representation]]. The house is located in the [[Binnenhof]] in [[The Hague]]; it has temporarily moved to the former building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Bezuidenhoutseweg 67 in The Hague while the Binnenhof is being renovated.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-02-27|title=Renovatie van het Binnenhof en de tijdelijke verhuizing van de Tweede Kamer|url=https://www.tweedekamer.nl/contact-en-bezoek/renovatie-van-het-binnenhof-en-de-tijdelijke-verhuizing-van-de-tweede-kamer|access-date=2021-08-23|website=www.tweedekamer.nl|language=nl}}</ref>

==Name==
Although the body is officially called the "House of Representatives" in English, it is not a direct translation of its official Dutch name, the "Second Chamber of the States General", "Second Chamber" or more colloquially just the "Chamber". Rather than "representative" (''afgevaardigde''), a member of the House is referred to as ''(Tweede) Kamerlid'', or "member of the (Second) Chamber".

==Functions==
The House of Representatives is the primary legislative body of the States General, where proposed [[legislation]] is discussed and the actions of the [[Cabinet of the Netherlands|cabinet]] are reviewed. Both the Cabinet and the House of Representatives itself have the right to propose legislation; the House of Representatives discusses it and, if adopted by a majority, sends it on to the [[Senate (Netherlands)|Senate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Democracy in the Netherlands |url=https://www.houseofrepresentatives.nl/how-parliament-works/democracy-netherlands |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=www.houseofrepresentatives.nl |language=nl}}</ref> Both individual [[cabinet ministers]] and the cabinet as a whole must have parliament’s confidence. Therefore, a minister, or the whole cabinet, must resign if a majority of parliament expresses it no longer has confidence in them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The cabinet |url=https://www.houseofrepresentatives.nl/how-parliament-works/democracy-netherlands/cabinet |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=www.houseofrepresentatives.nl |language=nl}}</ref> Review of the actions of the cabinet takes the form of formal interrogations in plenary and committee meetings, which may result in [[motion (parliamentary procedure)|motions]] urging the cabinet to take, or refrain from, certain actions. No individual may be a member of both parliament and cabinet, except in a [[cabinet of the Netherlands#Formation|caretaker]] cabinet that has not yet been succeeded when a new House is sworn in.

=== EU decision making ===
Through functions like the scrutiny and political discussions before meetings of the [[Council of the European Union]], the appointment of EU-rapporteurs, and participation in the [[Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs]] the House of Representatives also plays a role in [[European Union|EU]] policy making.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Europe at The House of Representatives and the Senate |url=https://www.houseofrepresentatives.nl/how-parliament-works/europe-house-representatives-and-senate |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=www.houseofrepresentatives.nl |language=nl}}</ref>

=== Appointment of functionaries ===
The House of Representatives is also responsible for the first round of selection for [[judge]]s to the [[Supreme Court of the Netherlands]]. It submits a list of three names for every vacant position to the Government. Furthermore, it elects the Dutch [[Ombudsman#Netherlands|Ombudsman]] and their deputies.

==Elections==
The normal term of the House of Representatives is four years. Elections are called when the government loses the parliament's confidence, the governing coalition breaks down, the term of the House of Representatives expires, or when no governing coalition can be formed.

===Registration and eligibility===
All citizens over the age of 18 are eligible to vote. Eligible citizens residing in the Netherlands are [[Automatic voter registration|automatically registered]] through the [[Resident registration|municipal population register]], while expatriates can permanently register at the municipality of [[The Hague]] provided they have a current Dutch passport or [[national ID]]. Residents of [[Aruba]], [[Curaçao]], and [[Sint Maarten]] can only vote if they have spent at least ten years residing in the Netherlands or work for the Dutch civil service.<ref>{{citation |title=Kiesgerechtigdheid |date=22 April 2016 |url=https://www.kiesraad.nl/verkiezingen/tweede-kamer/stemmen/kiesgerechtigdheid |access-date=2 December 2018 |publisher=Government of the Netherlands}}</ref>{{Efn|Residents of these countries are eligible to vote for their own parliaments instead.}}

Prisoners serving a term of more than one year are not eligible to vote. From 2009 onwards, mentally incapacitated citizens have regained the right to vote.<ref>{{citation |title=Uitsluiting kiesrecht |date=22 April 2016 |url=https://www.kiesraad.nl/verkiezingen/tweede-kamer/stemmen/uitsluiting-kiesrecht |access-date=3 September 2023 |publisher=Government of the Netherlands}}</ref>

=== Electoral system ===
{{See also|Political parties in the Netherlands|Elections in the Netherlands}}
The Netherlands uses a system of [[party-list proportional representation]]. Seats are allocated among the parties using the [[D'Hondt method]]<ref name="wetten.nl 20193">{{cite web |date=22 February 2019 |title=Kieswet, Hoofdstuk P |url=https://wetten.overheid.nl/jci1.3:c:BWBR0004627&afdeling=II&hoofdstuk=P&z=2019-02-22&g=2019-02-22 |access-date=7 July 2019 |website=wetten.nl |language=nl}}</ref> with an [[election threshold]] of 0.67% (a [[Hare quota]]).<ref name="Kiesraad.nl 20163">{{cite web |date=22 April 2016 |title=Kiesdrempel, kiesdeler en voorkeurdrempel |url=https://www.kiesraad.nl/verkiezingen/tweede-kamer/uitslagen/kiesdrempel-kiesdeler-en-voorkeurdrempel |access-date=7 July 2019 |website=Kiesraad.nl |language=nl}}</ref> Parties may choose to compete with different candidate lists in each of the country's twenty electoral circles. If a party competes with different candidate lists, the seats allocated to the party are subsequently allocated among its different candidate lists using the [[largest remainders method]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kiesraad.nl/verkiezingen/tweede-kamer/kandidaatstelling/kieskringen |title=Kieskringen |website=Kiesraad.nl |date=26 April 2016 |language=nl |accessdate=3 July 2024}}</ref> The seats won by a list are first allocated to the candidates who, in preferential votes, have received at least 25% of the Hare quota (effectively ¼ of a seat or 0.17% of the total votes), regardless of their placement on the electoral list. If multiple candidates from a list pass this threshold, their ordering is determined based on the number of votes received. Any remaining seats are allocated to candidates according to their position on the electoral list.<ref>{{cite report|title=Nederland, Parlementsverkiezingen, 15 maart 2017: Eindrapport|url=http://www.osce.org/nl/odihr/elections/netherlands/322761?download=true|publisher=OSCE/ODIHR|date=7 June 2017|access-date=28 October 2017|archive-date=24 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024093005/http://www.osce.org/nl/odihr/elections/netherlands/322761?download=true|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kiesraad.nl/verkiezingen/tweede-kamer/uitslagen/zetelverdeling-over-kandidaten |title=Zetelverdeling over kandidaten |website=Kiesraad |date=22 April 2016 |language=nl |accessdate=9 July 2023 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709100008/https://www.kiesraad.nl/verkiezingen/tweede-kamer/uitslagen/zetelverdeling-over-kandidaten |url-status=live}}</ref>

<!--Anyone eligible to vote in the Netherlands also has the right to establish a [[political party]] and contest elections for the House of Representatives. Parties wanting to take part must register 43 days before the elections, supplying a nationwide list of no more than 50 candidates, or no more than 80 if the party won at least 15 seats in the previous election. Parties that did not contest or did not win any seats in the previous election must also pay a deposit (€11,250 for the March 2021 election, for all districts together) and provide thirty signatures of support from residents of each of the twenty electoral districts in which they want to collect votes.{{Cn|date=June 2025}}-->From 1973 until 2017, parties were able to form [[Apparentment|electoral alliances]] to increase their share of seats in parliament, allowing parties to overcome some of the bias of the D'Hondt method; however, this practice has since been discontinued.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/fenomeen-politieke-lijstverbinding-sneuvelt-in-eerste-kamer~a4501654/ | title=Fenomeen politieke lijstverbinding sneuvelt in Eerste Kamer | author=Gijs Herderscheê | date=20 June 2017 | publisher=Volkskrant}}</ref>

When a vacancy arises, the seat is offered to the next candidate on the candidate list to which the seat was originally allocated.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kiesraad.nl/verkiezingen/tweede-kamer/benoemingen/tussentijdse-benoemingen |title=Tussentijdse benoemingen |website=Kiesraad.nl |date=22 April 2016 |language=nl |accessdate=3 July 2024}}</ref>

===Formation of governing coalition===
{{Main|Dutch cabinet formation}}

After all seats are allocated, a series of negotiations take place in order to form a government that, usually, commands a majority in the chamber. Since 2012, the House of Representatives appoints a "scout" to ask the major party leaders about prospective coalitions. On basis of the scout's interviews, the House of Representatives then appoints an ''[[Formateur|informateur]]'', who checks out possible coalitions, and a ''[[formateur]]'', who leads negotiations. Before 2012, the informateur and formateur were appointed by the [[Monarchy of the Netherlands|monarch]]. It typically takes a few months before the ''formateur'' is ready to accept a royal invitation to form a government and become prime minister. All cabinet members must resign from parliament, as the constitution does not allow a cabinet member to simultaneously hold a seat in the House of Representatives.

Due to the nationwide party-list system and the low election threshold, a typical House of Representatives has ten or more parties represented. Such fragmentation makes it nearly impossible for one party to win the 76 seats needed for a majority in the House of Representatives. Since the current party-list proportional representation system was introduced in 1917, no party has approached the number of seats needed for an outright majority. This fragmentation also makes it almost prohibitively difficult to win enough seats to govern alone. The highest number of seats won by a single party since then has been 54 out of 150, by the CDA in 1986 and 1989. Between 1891 and 1897, the [[Liberal Union (Netherlands)|Liberal Union]] was the last party to have an absolute majority of seats in the House of Representatives.{{citation needed|reason=I believe this is not true.|date=December 2023}} All Dutch cabinets since then have been coalitions of two or more parties.

==Meeting place==
Between 1815 and 1992, the House of Representatives was seated in the former ballroom of [[stadtholder]] [[William V, Prince of Orange|William V]] in the Binnenhof. This room had first been used as a meeting chamber in 1796 by the [[National Assembly of the Batavian Republic]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Slotboom |first1=Ruud |last2=Verkuil |first2=Dik |date=2010 |title=De Nederlandse politiek in een notendop |location=Amsterdam |publisher=Uitgeverij Bert Bakker |isbn=978-90-351-3561-1 |language=nl |trans-title=Dutch politics in a nutshell |pages=12–13}}</ref> In 1992 it moved to the newly constructed expansion of the Binnenhof complex by [[Pi de Bruijn]]. This allowed more spacious seating arrangements, better public access and changed the layout from a classroom layout to a semi-circular layout. During the renovations of the Binnenhof complex (starting 2021) the House temporarily moved a few hundred metres to the former building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Bezuidenhoutseweg 67 where a temporary meeting room resembling the Binnenhof room.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-02-27|title=Renovatie van het Binnenhof en de tijdelijke verhuizing van de Tweede Kamer|url=https://www.tweedekamer.nl/contact-en-bezoek/renovatie-van-het-binnenhof-en-de-tijdelijke-verhuizing-van-de-tweede-kamer|access-date=2021-08-23|website=www.tweedekamer.nl|language=nl}}</ref>

==Composition==
To be elected to the House of Representatives, a person must be over 18 and hold a Dutch passport.<ref>{{cite book |last=Habben Jansen |first=Eddy |date=2021 |title=Nederlandse politiek voor Dummies |location=Amersfoort |edition=2nd |publisher=BBNC Uitgevers |isbn=978-90-453-5791-1 |language=nl |trans-title=Dutch politics for dummies |page=31}}</ref>

===Historical compositions===
{{Main|Historic composition of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands}}

[[File:Dutchparlseats2.png|thumb|Representation per party, between 1946 and 2025]]

Historically, there have been 100 seats in the House of Representatives. In 1956, this number was increased to 150, at which it remains today.

To give an overview of the history of the House of Representatives, the figure on the right shows the seat distribution in the House from the first general elections after World War II (1946) to the most recent election. The left-wing parties are located towards the bottom, while the Christian parties are located in the center, and the right-wing parties towards the top. Occasionally, single-issue (or narrow-focus) parties have arisen, and these are shown at the extreme top. Vertical lines indicate general elections. Although these are generally held every four years, the resulting coalition governments do not always finish their term without a government crisis, which is often followed by new elections.

===Current composition===
{{Main|List of members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2025–present}}

The composition of the House of Representatives as of the [[2025 Dutch general election|2025 general election]] is shown in the table below.

{{Politics of the Netherlands}}
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan=2 | Group
! Leader
! Seats
|-
| {{party name with color|Democrats 66|full=yes}}
| [[Rob Jetten]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|26|150|{{party color|Democrats 66}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|Party for Freedom|full=yes}}
| [[Geert Wilders]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|26|150|{{party color|Party for Freedom}}}}
|-
| {{party color cell|People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (2020)}}
| [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]]
| [[Dilan Yeşilgöz]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|22|150|{{party color|People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (2020)}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|GroenLinks–PvdA|full=yes}}
| [[Jesse Klaver]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|20|150|{{party color|GroenLinks–PvdA}}}}
|-
| {{party color cell|Christian Democratic Appeal (2021)}}
| [[Christian Democratic Appeal]]
| [[Henri Bontenbal]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|18|150|{{party color|Christian Democratic Appeal (2021)}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|JA21|full=yes}}
| [[Joost Eerdmans]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|9|150|{{party color|JA21}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|Forum for Democracy|full=yes}}
| [[Lidewij de Vos]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|7|150|{{party color|Forum for Democracy}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|Farmer–Citizen Movement|full=yes}}
| [[Caroline van der Plas]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|4|150|{{party color|Farmer–Citizen Movement}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|DENK (political party)|full=yes}}
| [[Stephan van Baarle]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|3|150|{{party color|DENK (political party)}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|Reformed Political Party|full=yes}}
| [[Chris Stoffer]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|3|150|{{party color|Reformed Political Party}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|Party for the Animals|full=yes}}
| [[Esther Ouwehand]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|3|150|{{party color|Party for the Animals}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|Christian Union (Netherlands)|full=yes}}
| [[Mirjam Bikker]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|3|150|{{party color|Christian Union (Netherlands)}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|Socialist Party (Netherlands)|full=yes}}
| [[Jimmy Dijk]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|3|150|{{party color|Socialist Party (Netherlands)}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|50Plus|full=yes}}
|[[Jan Struijs]]
| style="text-align: right;" |{{Composition bar compact|2|150|{{party color|50Plus}}}}
|-
| {{party name with color|Volt Netherlands|full=yes}}
| [[Laurens Dassen]]
| style="text-align:right" | {{Composition bar compact|1|150|{{party color|Volt Netherlands}}}}
|}

==Parliamentary committees==
{{Main|Parliamentary committee of the Dutch parliament}}

Parliamentary committees are set up for a specific substantive or procedural subject. The committees consult in so-called committee meetings. A standing committee is a committee set up to monitor a policy area of a ministry. They are defined in the {{ill|Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)|lt=Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives|nl|Reglement van Orde van de Tweede Kamer|WD=}}. Standing committees were established in 1953 to relieve the plenary of overly detailed discussions. In the period from the [[2023 Dutch general election]], there are a total of fifteen standing committees. Except for the [[Ministry of General Affairs]], there is a permanent committee for each ministry that deals with subjects in the field of that ministry. For some ministries, the portfolio is divided over several committees. In addition, there are standing committees without a ministry for European Affairs and Digital Affairs.

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Tweede Kamer|House of Representatives of the Netherlands (Tweede Kamer)}}
* [[doi:10.7910/DVN/UXIBNO|Dutch Parliamentary Behaviour Dataset, 1922 to 2024]]
* {{official website|http://www.houseofrepresentatives.nl }}
* {{in lang|nl}} [http://www.tweedekamer.nl Official site]

{{Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2023–present}}
{{Members of the States-General of the Netherlands}}
{{Political parties in the Netherlands}}
{{Netherlands topics}}
{{National lower houses}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|52|4|47|N|4|18|53|E|source:nlwiki_region:NL_scale:29000_type:city|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:House of Representatives of the Netherlands}}
[[Category:House of Representatives (Netherlands)| ]]
[[Category:States General of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Dutch political institutions]]
[[Category:High Councils of State]]
[[Category:National lower houses|Netherlands]]
[[Category:Organisations based in The Hague]]