Second Balkenende cabinet

Second Balkenende cabinet
Cabinet of the Netherlands
The installation of the second Balkenende cabinet on 27 May 2003
Date formed	27 May 2003 (2003-05-27)
Date dissolved	7 July 2006 (2006-07-07) (Demissionary from 30 June 2006 (2006-06-30))
People and organisations
Head of state	Queen Beatrix
Head of government	Jan Peter Balkenende
Deputy head of government	Gerrit Zalm Thom de Graaf (2003–2005) Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (2005–2006)
No. of ministers	16
Ministers removed	4
Total no. of members	18
Member party	Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) Democrats 66 (D66)
Status in legislature	Centre-right Majority government
History
Election	2003 election
Outgoing election	2006 election
Legislature terms	2003–2007
Incoming formation	2003 formation
Outgoing formation	2006–2007 formation
Predecessor	First Balkenende cabinet
Successor	Third Balkenende cabinet

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The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) after the election of 2003. The cabinet was a centre-right coalition and had a slim majority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Jan Peter Balkenende serving as Prime Minister. Liberal Leader Gerrit Zalm, a former Minister of Finance, served as Deputy Prime Minister and returned as Minister of Finance, while former Progressive-Liberal Leader Thom de Graaf served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio for the Interior.

The cabinet served during the unstable 2000s. Domestically, immigration was a major point of attention and it had to deal with the murder of controversial filmmaker and critic Theo van Gogh, while internationally, it dealt with the war on terror and the government support for the Iraq War. The cabinet suffered several major internal and external conflicts including multiple cabinet resignations, such as that of Deputy Prime Minister De Graaf following the failed introducing of a new referendum system. The cabinet fell prematurely on 30 June 2006 after the Democrats 66 supported a motion of no confidence against Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk and withdraw its support with the Democrats 66 cabinet members resigning on 3 July 2006 and the cabinet continuing in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the caretaker third Balkenende cabinet on 7 July 2006.^[1]