Second Kok cabinet

Second Kok cabinet in 1998

The Second cabinet of Wim Kok was the government of the Netherlands headed by Prime Minister Wim Kok during 1998 to 2002.

After the elections to the House of Representatives on 6 May 1998, the allocation of the 150 seats was:

Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) 45
Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) 38
Christen Democratisch Appèl (CDA) 29
Democraten 66 (D66) 14
GroenLinks (GL) 11
Socialistische Partij (SP) 5
ChristenUnie (CU) 5
Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP) 3

ChristenUnie was formed from the combination of two parties, GPV and RPF, which had contested the elections separately.

The new cabinet was the successor of the first cabinet of Wim Kok and was formed from the same coalition of PvdA, VVD and D66. It was also known as the 'tweede paarse kabinet' ('second purple cabinet') called such because it contained both the social-democratic PvdA (red) and the liberal VVD (blue). The aim of the cabinet was to continue the policy of cabinet Kok I, which was concerned with economizing, tax reduction and making an end to unemployment. Wim Kok was the prime minister, Annemarie Jorritsma as the vice-prime minister for the VVD, and Els Borst for D66. The cabinet was considered boring, because both left-wing and right-wing political parties were a part of it. There was no strong opposition in the parliament.

The cabinet completed processes of liberalisation which were started by the previous cabinet: the legalisation of prostitution in 2000, same-sex marriage in 2001 and Euthanasia in 2002.

This cabinet was notable for resigning twice. The first time was in May 1999, when D66 stepped out of the coalition when proposed legislation entered by this party was blocked; through negotiations the crisis was solved and the cabinet stayed together. The second and final time was on 16 April 2002, just one month before the next election, when prime minister Kok wished to resign over the NIOD report into the genocide of Srebrenica in 1995 and the other ministers had no choice but to follow him. The Second Kok cabinet remained in place as a caretaker cabinet until 22 July 2002, when it was replaced by the first Balkenende cabinet.

Ministers Title/Portfolio Term of office Party
Wim Kok
(born 1938)
Prime Minister General Affairs 22 August 1994 –
22 July 2002
Labour Party
Annemarie Jorritsma
(born 1950)
Deputy Prime Minister /
Minister
Economic Affairs 3 August 1998 –
22 July 2002
People's Party for
Freedom and Democracy
Els Borst
(1932–2014)
Deputy Prime Minister /
Minister
Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport 22 August 1994 –
22 July 2002
Democrats 66
Bram Peper
(born 1940)
Minister Interior and Kingdom Relations 3 August 1998 –
13 March 2000 [Res]
Labour Party
Roger van Boxtel
(born 1954)
13 March 2000 –
24 March 2000 [Ad interim]
Democrats 66
Klaas de Vries
(born 1943)
24 March 2000 –
22 July 2002
Labour Party
Jozias van Aartsen
(born 1947)
Minister Foreign Affairs 3 August 1998 –
22 July 2002
People's Party for
Freedom and Democracy
Gerrit Zalm
(born 1952)
Minister Finance 22 August 1994 –
22 July 2002
People's Party for
Freedom and Democracy
Benk Korthals
(born 1944)
Minister Justice 3 August 1998 –
22 July 2002
People's Party for
Freedom and Democracy
Frank de Grave
(born 1955)
Minister Defence 3 August 1998 –
22 July 2002
People's Party for
Freedom and Democracy
Loek Hermans
(born 1951)
Minister Education, Culture and Science 3 August 1998 –
22 July 2002
People's Party for
Freedom and Democracy
Tineke Netelenbos
(born 1944)
Minister Transport, Public Works and Water Management 3 August 1998 –
22 July 2002
Labour Party
Haijo Apotheker
(born 1950)
Minister Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries 3 August 1998 –
7 June 1999 [Res]
Democrats 66
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
(born 1937)
7 June 1999 –
22 July 2002
Klaas de Vries
(born 1943)
Minister Social Affairs and Employment 3 August 1998
24 March 2000 [Appt]
Labour Party
Willem Vermeend
(born 1948)
24 March 2000 –
22 July 2002
Jan Pronk
(born 1940)
Minister Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment 3 August 1998 –
22 July 2002
Labour Party
Ministers without portfolio Title/Portfolio/Ministry Term of office Party
Roger van Boxtel
(born 1954)
Minister Urban Policy and Integration
(within Interior and Kingdom Relations)
3 August 1998 –
22 July 2002
Democrats 66
Eveline Herfkens
(born 1952)
Minister Development Cooperation
(within Foreign Affairs)
3 August 1998 –
22 July 2002
Labour Party
Source: (Dutch) Kabinet-Kok II Rijksoverheid
Appt Appointment: De Vries appointed Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.
Res Resigned.
Ad interim Van Boxtel served ad interim following the resignation of Peper.

Undersecretaries

See also Undersecretaries for a detailed description of the function.

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