Els Borst memorial

The memorial service for D66 politician and Minister of State, Els Borst, will begin at 10:30 in the Dom church in Utrecht, Saturday, February 15, according to her obituary. Following the service there will be a private funeral. The obituary also stated that Borst loved flowers, but she would've appreciated a donation to the Queen Wilhelmina Foundation as well.

Els Borst was found dead in the garage of her home in Bilthoven. A concerned friend went looking for her after she failed to show up at a living room concert the day before and didn't cancel. She also didn't answer her phone or return voice mails. Police immediately started a large-scale investigation, which led them to the conclusion Borst was likely the victim of a crime. On Thursday Borst' political party, D66, announced to halt all campaigning for City Council elections until Tuesday. Several other parties halted their campaigning in Utrecht as well, such as SP, VVD, and GroenLinks. Initially the police thought Els Borst was last seen Saturday at the D66 congress at the Beurs in Berlage in Amsterdam, but tips came in from people claiming they had seen Borst after Saturday evening. The Dom church is being readied for the memorial service. Crush barriers will be placed to facilitate important guests with security detail. The current government and fellow-ministers from her own cabinet are among the invited. The daughter of Els Borst, Andra Neefjes-Borst, Wim Kok, Alexander Pechtold, and Roger van Boxtel will be among the speakers during the memorial service. The funeral will be in Bilthoven. Parliament and Senate will commemorate Els Borst on Tuesday. Her family will be present on both occasions.