The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (, VVD ), often referred to in the English language press as the Liberals or by its initials from its official Dutch name, is a conservative-liberal political party in the Netherlands.

The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is an economically liberal party.

The VVD is currently the senior party in a centre-right minority government coalition together with the Christian Democratic Appeal ( CDA ) under the leadership of VVD party leader Mark Rutte.

In opinion polls held after Verdonk's exit, the VVD is set to lose close to ten parliamentary seats in the next elections.

After the Dutch general election of 2010 the VVD became the largest party with 31 seats and is currently the senior party in a centre-right minority cabinet with the Christian Democratic Appeal supported by the Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders to obtain a majority.

The VVD provides three of twelve Queen's Commissioners, former party-leader Ed Nijpels is Queen's Commissioner in Friesland.

The VVD is part of every college of Gedeputeerde Staten ( provincial executive ) except for Friesland.

It shows the areas where the VVD is strong, namely the Randstad urban area that consists out of the provinces North and South Holland, Utrecht and ( parts of ) Flevoland.

Consequently, the CDA is currently a junior coalition partner in a right-wing minority cabinet with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( VVD ), supported in parliament by the far-right Party for Freedom ( PVV ).

The Dutch Labour Party and the then ruling People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( VVD ) believed that this sanction was not enough and they called for more penalties such as economic sanctions, expulsion of the Surinamese ambassador ( who is the daughter of MP Rashied Doekhi, one of the 28 MP's who voted in favour of the law ) and a European travel ban for all the parliamentarians who voted for the amnesty law.

The current burgomaster is Mr. Gerrit Jan Kok ( VVD ).

The current College of Burgomaster and Aldermen ( the municipal executive ) is supported by the four coalition parties: CDA, VVD, ChristianUnion and Labour-each of which provides one alderman.

The current mayor is Pieter Litjens ( VVD ), who succeeded J. Hoffscholte ( VVD ) in May 2007.

At the moment, the college van burgemeester en wethouders ( the mayor plus the members of the municipal executive ) is formed by the VVD, CKenG, CDA and D66.

The VVD is currently the largest party in Alphen aan den Rijn with 15. 9 % of all votes.

Bas Eenhoorn of the VVD is the current acting Mayor.

On 24 January 1948, the PvdV was absorbed by the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ( VVD, Popular Party for Freedom and Democracy ), which is the country's most important Liberal party.

Frederik " Frits " Bolkestein () ( born 4 April 1933 ) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( VVD ).

Blue is used by the conservative-liberal VVD.

Hendrikus Johannes " Johan " Witteveen ( born June 12, 1921 ) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( VVD ).

The League is a predecessor of two of the major Dutch political parties, the conservatve-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( VVD ) and the social-democratic Labour Party ( PvdA ).

Neelie Kroes ( born 19 July 1941 ) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( VVD ).

* June 27 – Molly Geertsema, Dutch liberal politician, former leader of the VVD party ( b. 1918 )

After the fourth Balkenende cabinet was formed, the VVD was the second-largest opposition party in the Dutch House of Representatives.

In 1966, frustrated with their hopeless efforts, LDC-members departed the VVD altogether and went on now to form an entirely political party -- Democrats 66 ( D66 ).

This style was very successful and the VVD won seven seats in the 1998 elections becoming the second largest party in parliament with thirty-eight seats.

On September 2, 2004, VVD MP Geert Wilders left the party after a dispute with parliamentary leader Van Aartsen.

The Dutch general election of 2006 did not start off well for the VVD: top candidate Mark Rutte was criticized by his own parliamentary party for being invisible in the campaign, and he was unable to break the attention away from the duel between current Christian-Democratic Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Wouter Bos of the Labour Party.

In 2008, the VVD chose a new party chairman, Ivo Opstelten, the outgoing mayor of Rotterdam.

On election day, 12 September 2012, the VVD became once more the biggest party within Dutch Parliament, winning 41 seats, a gain of 10 seats.

Although a liberal party, the VVD did not openly call itself " liberal ", mainly because of the still lingering " negative " connotations of liberalism developed during the Great Depression and Second World War.

Together with the Freedom Party, they formed the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( VVD ), a conservative-liberal party.

After the election, a " Purple Coaliton " was considered-it would have required a fourth party in addition to the VVD, PvdA and D66-but talks broke down and the PvdA entered opposition.

Together with the CDA and the VVD, the party formed part of the governing coalition, and supplied several members for the Balkenende cabinet.

The newly established liberal VVD party campaigned for a hard-line policy against the nationalists.

* The Party for Freedom ( PVV ), an anti-Islam populist party founded and dominated by Geert Wilders, formerly of the VVD.

* The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( VVD ), a conservative liberal party.

The great losers were the coalition parties of the ruling " purple coalition " ( PvdA, labour party ; VVD, liberals ; D ' 66, leftist liberals ).

The VVD was founded in 1948 as a continuation of the Freedom Party, which was a continuation of the interbellum Liberal State Party, which in turn was a continuation of Liberal Union.

In 1962, a substantial group of disillusioned VVD-members founded the Liberal Democratic Centre ( Liberaal Democratisch Centrum, LDC ) which was intended to introduce a more twentieth-century liberal direction to the classical liberal VVD.

The unexpected cabinet with the VVD led to split within the newly founded CDA between more progressive and more conservative members.

However, due to slowly growing support for the VVD, an Urk affiliate of the conservative / liberal party was founded in early 2011, with the intention of entering 2014's local elections.