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The Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP, literally "Politically Reformed Party") is a Dutch political party following the conservative Christian principles, in the tradition of the Dutch Reformed Church. It has been represented in the lower house of parliament (Tweede Kamer) continuously since 1922, but (at least since 1956) with only two or three of the 150 seats. The party was founded in 1918 out of dissatisfaction with the existing Christian political parties. The parliamentary faction cooperates in various areas with the ChristenUnie. The two parties together are often grouped as the "small right" (klein rechts).
The manifesto of the SGP for the 2002 elections took a "radical conservative" standpoint on morality and ethics. The position of women in the party has been controversial at times.
Development of the number of seats in the lower house:
1956 - 3
1959 - 3
1963 - 3
1967 - 3
1971 - 3
1972 - 3
1977 - 3
1981 - 3
1982 - 3
1986 - 3
1989 - 3
1991 - 3
1994 - 2
1998 - 3
2002 - 2
2003 - 2
The lower house faction chairman since 1986 has been Bas van der Vlies, who also acted as the lijsttrekker (head of the list of candidates) for the May 2002 elections. The other two house members for the period 1998-2002 were C. van der Staaij and J.T. van den Berg.
Previous faction chairmen in the lower house were:
- H. van Rossum, - 1981-1986
- H. G. Abma - 1971-1981
- C. N. van Dis - 1961-1971
- P. Zandt - 1945-1961
- G. H. Kersten - 1922-1945
External link
- SGP website: http://www.sgp.nl/ The SGP website is closed on Sundays, except for the conveying of this message, explaining that Sunday is a day of rest, which is a gift of God.
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