- Source: Loosduinen (electoral district)
Loosduinen was an electoral district of the House of Representatives in the Netherlands from 1888 to 1918.
Profile
The electoral district of Loosduinen was created in 1888, mostly out of part of the Delft district, which was reduced from two seats to one. Fully located in the province of South Holland, it included the municipality of Loosduinen, today a part of The Hague, as well as the modern municipalities of Westland, Maassluis, Midden-Delfland, Rijswijk and Zoetermeer, and the villages of Nootdorp, Voorburg, Stompwijk and Benthuizen. It was a predominantly agricultural district.
The district's population increased considerably during its existence, from 44,115 in 1888 to 63,093 in 1909. A plurality of around 44% the population was Reformed. Catholics formed a significant majority in the district, though dropping slightly from 36% in 1888 to 33% in 1909. Another 19% of the population was Gereformeerd. The share of "Others" rose from 1.6% in 1888 to 3.6% in 1909.
The district of Loosduinen was abolished upon the introduction of party-list proportional representation in 1918.
Members
Loosduinen was a safe seat for the parliamentary right, though as a result of the district's religiously mixed population, it was contested between the Catholics and the Protestant Anti-Revolutionary Party in its early elections. In 1888, the district elected the Catholic Arnoldus van Berckel. In 1897, Van Berckel was defeated in the second round by the Anti-Revolutionary Anthony Brummelkamp Jr., who would continue to represent Loosduinen for the following two decades, until its abolition in 1918.