Alexander Pechtold

Alexander Pechtold, born in 1965, studied Art History and Archaeology in Leiden. From 1992 until 1997 he was an auctioneer and deputy director at Van Stockum in The Hague. In those years he started his career in politics. From 1994 until 2002 he was councillor for his party, D66, in Leiden, and from 1997 until 2002 he was alderman in the same city on, amongst others, Education and Environment. From 2002 until 2005 he was the party chairman of D66.

Pechtold swapped his position of alderman in 2003 for mayor of the city Wageningen. In 2005 he became minister for Administrative Renewal and Kingdom Relationships in the cabinet Balkenende II. At the parliamentary elections of 2006 Pechtold was chosen by the members of his party to become frontrunner. Since those elections he is the political leader of D66 and the chairman of the D66 members in the parliament. Before this year’s elections he was chosen as the frontrunner again. Pechtold got his party ten seats in the parliament last june.