 Voorhoeve was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1982 and took office on 16 September 1982 serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.After the Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Ed Nijpels announced he was stepping down after losing in the election of 1986, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy leadership approached Voorhoeve as a candidate to succeed him.Voorhoeve won against fellow frontbencher Loek Hermans and took office on 9 July 1986.