1.
Excellency
–
Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organisation or state. Generally people addressed as Excellency are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, and others holding equivalent rank and the FIFA President. It is sometimes misinterpreted as a title of office in itself, in reference to such an official, it takes the form His or Her Excellency, in direct address, Your Excellency, or, less formally, simply Excellency. The abbreviation HE is often used instead of His/Her Excellency, alternatively it may stand for His/Her Eminence, in most republican nations, the head of state is formally addressed as His Excellency. If a republic has a head of government, that official is often addressed as Excellency as well. If the nation is a monarchy, however, the customs may vary, in the case of Australia, all ambassadors, high commissioners, governors and the governor-general and their spouses are entitled to the use of Excellency. Governors of colonies in the British Empire were entitled to be addressed as Excellency, in various international organizations, notably the UN and its agencies, Excellency is used as a generic form of address for all republican heads of state and heads of government. Judges of the International Court of Justice are also called Your Excellency, in some monarchies the husbands, wives, or children, of a royal prince or princess, who do not possess a princely title themselves, may be entitled to the style. For example, in Spain spouses or children of a born infante or infanta are addressed as Excellency, also, former members of a royal house or family, who did have a royal title but forfeited it, may be awarded the style afterwards. Examples are former husbands or wives of a prince or princess, including Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. In some emirates, only the Emir, heir apparent and prime minister are called His Highness and their children are styled with the lower treatment of His/Her Excellency. In Spain members of the nobility, holding the dignity of grandee, are addressed as The Most Excellent Lord/Lady. Some of the high ranking counts, Excellency can also attach to a prestigious quality, notably in an order of knighthood. By a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Ceremonial of 31 December 1930 the Holy See granted bishops of the Roman Catholic Church the title of Most Reverend Excellency. In the years following the First World War, the title of Excellency. The adjective Most Reverend was intended to distinguish the title from that of Excellency given to civil officials. The instruction Ut sive sollicite of the Holy Sees Secretariat of State, dated 28 March 1969, cardinals, even those who were bishops, continued to use the title of Eminence. In some English-speaking countries, the honorific of Excellency does not apply to other than the nuncio
Excellency
–
Their Excellencies the
Lord Justices of England, for the administration of the Government during the absence of the
King by
Robert White
2.
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
–
He is the de facto head of government of the Netherlands and coordinates the policy of the government. The current prime minister is Mark Rutte, although he is the most important political figure in the Netherlands, the Prime Minister is not as powerful as his British and German counterparts. This is mainly because, due to the Dutch system of proportional representation, therefore, the government is always a coalition between two or more parties. Because of his powers, the prime minister is described as primus inter pares. As a result of the review of 1983, the position of Prime Minister was inscribed into the Dutch constitution for the first time. According to the constitution, the Government is constituted by the King, the constitution stipulates the Prime Minister chairs the council of ministers and is appointed by royal decree. The royal decree of their own appointment and those of the ministers are to be countersigned by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister chairs the meetings of the council of ministers and has the power to set the agenda of these meetings. The prime minister is also Minister of General Affairs, which takes an important role in coordinating policy and is responsible for the Government Information Service, the Prime Minister is also responsible for the royal house and has a weekly meeting with the King on government policy. Informally the Prime Minister functions as the face of the cabinet to the public, after the meetings of the cabinet on Friday, the Prime Minister hosts a press conference on the decisions of the cabinet and current affairs. The Prime Minister also has functions in international affairs, attending the European Council every six months. The Prime Ministers office is a hexagon shaped tower, named The Little Tower Het Torentje on the Binnenhof in The Hague, the official residence is the Catshuis. Conventionally, the party with the largest number of seats in the Second Chamber will initiate coalition talks after elections and these negotiations are concluded by means of a so-called government agreement. He or she usually appoints her/himself Prime Minister, a minister from the smaller coalition party usually becomes Deputy Prime Minister of the cabinet. If there is a party in the coalition, one of its ministers will become the second Deputy Prime Minister. For a list of historic Prime Ministers, see List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands, for a list of Prime Ministers by age, see List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands by age. For a list of Prime Ministers by religious affiliations, see Religious affiliations of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands, gradually the Prime Minister became an official function of government leader, taken by the political leader of the largest party. Since 1848 the role of the first minister has become relevant, until 1901 the position chair of the council of ministers officially rotated between ministers
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
–
Incumbent
Mark Rutte since 14 October 2010
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
–
State Coat of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
–
The Hague's
Binnenhof. The
Ministry of General Affairs is in the centre, with on the centre left a hexagonal tower, named The
Torentje, which is the office of the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
–
Living Prime Ministers of the Netherlands at a lunch organised by the incumbent Mark Rutte on 5 July 2011. From left to right: Wim Kok, Dries van Agt, Piet de Jong, Mark Rutte, Ruud Lubbers, and Jan Peter Balkenende.
3.
Juliana of the Netherlands
–
Juliana was Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry. From birth she was heir presumptive to the Dutch throne, in 1937, she married Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld with whom she had four children, Beatrix, Irene, Margriet, and Christina. She reigned for nearly 32 years and her reign saw the decolonization of Dutch East Indies and Suriname and their independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Upon her death at the age of 94, she was the former reigning monarch in the world. Juliana was born in The Hague on 30 April 1909, the daughter of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Prince Henry. She was the first Dutch royal baby since Wilhelmina herself was born in 1880, Wilhelmina had suffered two miscarriages and one stillbirth, raising the prospect that the House of Orange-Nassau would die with her. In all likelihood, this would have meant that the Dutch throne would have passed to Prince Heinrich XXXII Reuss of Köstritz, Julianas birth thus assured the royal familys survival. Her mother suffered two miscarriages after her birth, leaving Juliana as the royal couples only child. Juliana spent her childhood at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, and at Noordeinde Palace and these children were Baroness Elise Bentinck, Baroness Elisabeth van Hardenbroek and Jonkvrouwe Miek de Jonge. As the Dutch constitution specified that Princess Juliana should be ready to succeed to the throne by the age of eighteen, after five years of primary education, the Princess received her secondary education from private tutors. On 30 April 1927, Princess Juliana celebrated her eighteenth birthday, under the constitution, she had officially come of age and was entitled to assume the royal prerogative, if necessary. Two days later her mother installed her in the Raad van State, in the same year, the Princess enrolled as a student at the University of Leiden. In her first years at university, she attended lectures in sociology, jurisprudence, economics, history of religion, parliamentary history, and constitutional law. In the course of her studies she attended lectures on the cultures of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles, international affairs, international law, history. She graduated from the university in 1930 with a degree in international law. In the 1930s, Queen Wilhelmina began a search for a husband for her daughter. At the time, the House of Orange was one of the most strictly religious royal families in the world, princes from the United Kingdom and Sweden were vetted but either declined or were rejected by the princess
Juliana of the Netherlands
–
Juliana in 1981
Juliana of the Netherlands
–
Princess Juliana and Queen Wilhelmina in 1914.
Juliana of the Netherlands
–
Princess Juliana in 1916.
Juliana of the Netherlands
–
Princess Emma and Princess Juliana in 1920.
4.
Beatrix of the Netherlands
–
Beatrix reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013, after a reign of exactly 33 years. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husband, upon her mothers accession in 1948, she became heir presumptive. Beatrix attended a primary school in Canada during World War II. In 1961, she received her law degree from Leiden University, in 1966, Beatrix married Claus von Amsberg, a German diplomat, with whom she had three children. When her mother abdicated on 30 April 1980, Beatrix succeeded her as queen, on Koninginnedag,30 April 2013, Beatrix abdicated in favour of her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, and resumed the title of princess. At the time of her abdication, Beatrix was the oldest reigning monarch of the Netherlands, Beatrix was born Princess Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld, on 31 January 1938 at the Soestdijk Palace in Baarn, Netherlands. She is the first child of Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, Beatrix was baptized on 12 May 1938 in the Great Church in The Hague. Beatrixs middle names are the first names of her grandmother, the then reigning Queen Wilhelmina. When Beatrix was one old, in 1939, her younger sister Princess Irene was born. World War II broke out in the Netherlands on 10 May 1940, on 13 May, the Dutch Royal Family evacuated to London, United Kingdom. One month later, Beatrix went to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with her mother Juliana and her sister Irene, while her father Bernhard, the family lived at the Stornoway residence. With bodyguards and ladies in waiting, the family summered at Bigwin Inn on Lake of Bays, while on Bigwin Island, the constitution of the Netherlands was stored in the cast iron safe of Bigwin Inns Rotunda building. In order to them with a greater sense of security, culinary chefs. Upon their departure, the musicians of the Bigwin Inn Orchestra assembled dockside, and at every public performance afterward through to the end of World War II. In the years following the shuttering and neglect of the island resort, the second sister of Beatrix, Princess Margriet, was born in Ottawa in 1943. During their exile in Canada, Beatrix attended nursery and Rockcliffe Park Public School, on 5 May 1945, the German troops in the Netherlands surrendered. The family returned to the Netherlands on 2 August 1945, Beatrix went to the progressive primary school De Werkplaats in Bilthoven. Her third sister Princess Christina was born in 1947, in April 1950, Princess Beatrix entered the Incrementum, a part of Baarnsch Lyceum, where, in 1956, she passed her school-graduation examinations in the subjects of arts and classics
Beatrix of the Netherlands
–
Beatrix in 2008
Beatrix of the Netherlands
–
Princess Beatrix in February 1938 with her parents
Princess Juliana and
Prince Bernhard
Beatrix of the Netherlands
–
Princess Beatrix and
Queen Juliana in 1960
Beatrix of the Netherlands
–
Queen Beatrix and President
Vladimir Putin during his state visit to the Netherlands in 2005
5.
Hans Wiegel
–
Hans Wiegel is a retired Dutch politician of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. Wiege, a director by occupation, was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives on 18 April 1967 after the Dutch general election of 1967. He became youngest leader of a party in Netherlands ever at the age of just twenty-nine on 1 July 1971. Wiegel became the Parliamentary leader of the Peoples Party for Freedom, for the Dutch general election of 1972 Wiegel was the Lijsttrekker and won six seats in the House of Representatives. Wiegel served as leader against then Prime Minister Joop den Uyl. Wiegel became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior serving from 19 December 1977 until 11 September 1981, Wiegel served as Queens Commissioner of Friesland from 16 June 1982 until 1 February 1994. After the Dutch Senate election of 1995, Wiegel became a Member of the Senate serving from 13 June 1995 until 1 April 2000, in 1999 Wiegel caused a short cabinet crisis by voting against the constitutional revision that would make national referendums possible. This crisis is called the Night of Wiegel, Wiegel retired from active politics at the age of fifty-eight. Following the end of his political career, Wiegel occupied numerous seats on supervisory boards in the business and industry world. Wiegel is known for his abilities as a leader and debater. Wiegel also has been active as a pundit and lobbyist. Wiegel continues to comment on political affairs as an elder statesman, hans Wiegel was born on 16 July 1941 in Amsterdam in the Province of North Holland in a secular family as the only son of Wilhelm Wiegel III and Sophia Maria Alberdina Smolenaars. After completing gymnasium in Hilversum in 1959, Wiegel started studying law at the University of Amsterdam, after a couple of months he switched his major to political science and earned a Bachelor of Social Science in 1965. He decided not to pursue a masters degree, instead, he became involved in politics. Wiegel has been active within the wing of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. In 1963 he was appointed to its board and served as Chairman from 1965 until 1966. In 1967 Wiegel was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives, in 1971, when he was only thirty years old, he became the Leader of his party. During the period of the Cabinet Den Uyl Wiegel acted as the main Leader of the Opposition against the Cabinet and Prime Minister Joop den Uyl
Hans Wiegel
–
Hans Wiegel in 2005
Hans Wiegel
–
Hans Wiegel as a
Member of the House of Representatives in 1968.
Hans Wiegel
–
Hans Wiegel as
Parliamentary leader of the
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the
House of Representatives in 1971.
Hans Wiegel
–
Hans Wiegel as
Minister of the Interior in 1978.
6.
Joop den Uyl
–
Johannes Marten den Uijl, known as Joop den Uyl was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 11 May 1973 until 19 December 1977, Den Uyl previously served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 6 November 1956 until 5 June 1963. He became Minister of Economic Affairs from 14 April 1965 until 22 November 1966 in the Cabinet Cals, Den Uyl became Prime Minister of the Netherlands, leading the Cabinet Den Uyl. He served as a Member of the House of Representatives for the last time from 16 September 1982 until his death on 24 December 1987 and he was seen as an idealistic, but also polarizing politician. Throughout history, Dutch political leaders have tended to soothing manners - Den Uyl was one of a few exceptions. People either loved him or hated him, followers of his idealistic policies called him Ome Joop. He was criticized for creating a deficit and polarizing Dutch politics. Associated with Den Uyl was the maakbare samenleving, another idea associated with Den Uyl was de verbeelding aan de macht. Johannes Marten den Uijl was born on 9 August 1919 in the town of Hilversum and he was born in a Calvinist reformed family. His father, Johannes den Uyl, was a shopkeeper and a basketweaver who died when Den Uyl was only 10, Den Uyl attended the Christian Lyceum in Hilversum from 1931 to 1936. Following this he studied economics at the University of Amsterdam, during this period in his life he left the church. In 1942 he attained the doctorandus degree, until 1945 he was a civil servant at the National Bureau for Prices of Chemical Products, part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. During that period he was part of the newspaper group that published the clandestine Het Parool. After the Second World War he worked for Het Parool, Vrij Nederland, from January 1949 to 1963 he was head of the Wiardi Beckman Stichting, the think tank of the Partij van de Arbeid. In 1953, at the invitation of the American government, Den Uyl stayed for a few months in the United States, in 1953 Den Uyl was elected to the city council of Amsterdam and in 1956 he was elected to the House of Representatives. In 1963 he became administrator for economic affairs in Amsterdam. He resigned that post in 1965 to become minister of economic affairs in the Cals administration, as the responsible minister, he decided to close the uneconomic coal mines of Limburg, causing high local unemployment. Following the parliamentary elections of 1967, he became leader of the Labour Party in parliament, Den Uyls Labour Party won the 1973 elections in alliance with the progressive liberal Democrats 66 and radical Christian Political Party of Radicals, but failed to achieve a majority in parliament
Joop den Uyl
–
Joop den Uyl in 1975
Joop den Uyl
–
Signature
Joop den Uyl
–
Joop den Uyl with
Henry Kissinger in 1976.
Joop den Uyl
–
1977 election poster calling for people to "Vote for the Prime Minister"
7.
Jan Terlouw
–
Jan Cornelis Terlouw is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 party. Terlouw a physicist by occupation, worked as a physics researcher for the research institute Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter from 1958 until 1971. Terlouw also worked as a researcher for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1960 until 1962, Terlouw was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the Dutch general election of 1971 serving from 11 May 1971 until 11 September 1981. Terlouw was elected to succeed him and became Leader of the Democrats 66, for the Dutch general election of 1977 Terlouw became the Lijsttrekker, with the Democrats 66 winning two seats. Terlouw was born in Kamperveen, Overijssel and grew up in the Veluwe and he was the eldest son a family of five, having two younger brothers and two sisters. After high school, Terlouw studied at Utrecht University, where he obtained an MSc degree in mathematics and physics, after graduating from Utrecht University, he worked as a physics researcher in the Netherlands, the United States, and Sweden. After working for thirteen years, he became a politician, joining the Dutch House of Representatives as a member of the Democraten 66 political party in 1967. Terlouw acted as party leader from 1973–1982, was minister of Economic Affairs from 1981-1982, and was Queens Commissioner of Gelderland from 1991-1996 and he joined the Dutch Senate in 1999. Terlouw is married to Alexandra van Hulst, Terlouw is a father of four and grandfather of ten. Terlouw wrote 24 childrens books, most notably Winter in Wartime and How to Become King, J. C. Terlouw Parlement & Politiek Dr. J. C. Terlouw Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal
Jan Terlouw
–
Jan Terlouw
8.
Ruud Lubbers
–
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Ruud Lubbers is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 4 November 1982 until 22 August 1994, Lubbers, a businessman and economist by occupation, worked for the Hollandia Corporate as a corporate director from 1963 until 1973. After the Dutch general election of 1972, Lubbers was asked by the Catholic Peoples Party to become Minister of Economic Affairs in the Cabinet Den Uyl, he accepted, taking office on 11 May 1973. After the 1977 election, he was elected as Member of the House of Representatives, serving from 8 June 1977 until 8 September 1977 and again from 22 December 1977 until 4 November 1982. The first Lubbers cabinet was formed by a coalition with the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, on 29 January 1994, Lubbers announced his retirement from national politics and resigned as Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal. Lubbers remained Prime Minister until the first Kok cabinet was installed on 22 August 1994, Lubbers served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1 January 2001 until 20 February 2005, and finally retired from active politics at the age of sixty-five. Following the end of his political career, Lubbers occupied numerous seats on supervisory boards on international non-governmental organizations. Lubbers is known for his abilities as a leader and consensus builder. He holds the distinction of being both the longest-tenured and the youngest serving Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Lubbers also has been active as a conservation and humanitarian activist and as an advocate in promoting sustainable development. Lubbers continues to comment on political affairs as a statesman, on 31 January 1995, he was granted the honorary title of Minister of State. Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Lubbers was born on 7 May 1939 in Rotterdam in the Province of South Holland and he studied economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, and was a student of the first Nobel Prize in Economics laureate Jan Tinbergen. He originally planned a career, but was compelled by family circumstances to join the management of Lubbers Construction Workshops. From 11 May 1973 to 19 December 1977, Ruud Lubbers was Minister of Economic Affairs in the Den Uyl-government and he was an effective, if sometimes somewhat bad-tempered minister. Lubbers succeeded him and suddenly found himself in a political position. In 1982, after the election won by Prime Minister Dries van Agt. He was the youngest prime minister in Dutch history, he had turned 43 only six months earlier, after leaving office in 1994, Lubbers was put forward as a candidate for the head of NATO, but the US vetoed his appointment. He is on the board of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. Lubbers was regarded by many during his time in office as an heir to Margaret Thatcher
Ruud Lubbers
–
Ruud Lubbers in 2011
Ruud Lubbers
–
Ruud Lubbers as
Prime Minister of the Netherlands in 1982.
Ruud Lubbers
–
Ruud Lubbers with then
United States Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger in 1983.
Ruud Lubbers
–
Ruud Lubbers and then
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher in 1983.
9.
List of diplomatic missions of the European Union
–
The member states of the European Union speak with the same voice on many issues. The EU also represents shared political and security viewpoints held by its states, as articulated in the Common Foreign. A US ambassador to the ECSC was accredited soon thereafter, the number of delegates began to rise in the 1960s following the merging of the executive institutions of the three European Communities into a single Commission. Until recently some states had reservations accepting that EU delegations held the status of a diplomatic mission. Management of the EU External Relations is conducted by the European External Action Service which reports to the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, delegates are generally sent only to capital cities and cities hosting multilateral bodies. The EU missions work separately from the work of the missions of its member states, in Abuja, the EU mission shares its premises with a number of member states. The European Commission also maintains representation in each of the member states, for details on diplomatic representation, see Foreign relations of the European Union#Diplomatic representation. C. These upgraded delegations have taken on the role carried out by the national embassies of the member state holding the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union
List of diplomatic missions of the European Union
–
European Commission's
Eastern Caribbean branch office in Barbados.
List of diplomatic missions of the European Union
–
European Union
List of diplomatic missions of the European Union
–
European Union Delegation in
Washington, D.C.
List of diplomatic missions of the European Union
–
Europe House in Dili, East Timor
10.
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
–
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Democrats 66 party. Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst was born in the city of Zwolle, after getting his high school diploma he studied law at the University of Leiden. He got his MA in Public Law and Government at Columbia University in New York City, afterwards he worked at Shearman & Sterling in New York City. He married Jantien Heringa, daughter of Ewardus Heringa and wife Petronela Johanna Roskam and they are the parents of Marius Brinkhorst and the Dutch princess Laurentien Brinkhorst, who married Prince Constantijn in 2001. From 1962, and from 1965 as a director, he worked at the Europe-institute at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden where he became a Reader in 1965 as well, during the period 1967-1973 he was Professor of European Law at the University of Groningen. On 11 May 1973, he became Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of Den Uyl, in 1977 he was again a member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch parliament for D66 and in 1981 became the leader of his party in parliament. From 1983-1987 he was Ambassador of the European Community in Japan, in 1987 he became a correspondent of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1994 Brinkhorst became a member of the European Parliament, serving there until 1999, on 8 June 1999 he became the minister of agriculture, environmental control and fishery in the cabinet Kok-II. Afterwards he became an Adviser of European Affairs at NautaDulith in Brussels and was awarded a professorship in transnational, after the electoral defeat of D66 he became a minister of economic affairs in the second Balkenende cabinet. Brinkhorst, as well as Alexander Pechtold, resigned from his minister post after the second Balkenende cabinet lost the confidence of parliament on 29 June 2006, the next day, Balkenende offered the resignation of the full cabinet to the Dutch Queen. Since 1 November 2006, Brinkhorst is a professor at the Leiden University. Brinkhorst is also a member of the Bilderberg Group. In addition, he is the vice-chairman of the Executive Committee of the Institute for Historical Justice, also, he is on the advisory board of OMFIF where he is regularly involved in meetings regarding the financial and monetary system. Official Mr. L. J. Brinkhorst Parlement & Politiek
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
–
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
–
Staatssecretaris Brinkhorst talks with the second chamber members of his party during the cabinets formation of 1977.
11.
North Brabant
–
Noord Brabant, also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the west, the northern border follows the Meuse river westward to its mouth in the Hollands Diep strait, part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. The Duchy of Brabant was a state of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183 or 1190. Until the 17th century, the area that now makes up the province of North Brabant was mostly part of the Duchy of Brabant, of which the southern part is now in Belgium. In the 14th and 15th century, the experienced a golden age, especially the cities of Brussel, Mechelen, Leuven, Antwerpen, Breda, Bergen op Zoom. After the Union of Utrecht was signed in 1579, Brabant became a battlefield between the Protestant Dutch Republic and Catholic Spain, which occupied the southern Netherlands, attempts to introduce Protestantism into the region were largely unsuccessful, North Brabant remained strongly Roman Catholic. For over a century, North Brabant served mainly as a buffer zone. In 1796, when confederate Dutch Republic became the unitary Batavian Republic and this status ended with the reorganisation by the French, and the area was divided over several departments. This boundary between the Netherlands and Belgium is special in that it does not form a contiguous line, a few of these irregularities were corrected, Huijbergen became totally Dutch, but some remain, notably Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau. The period from 1900 until the late 1960s is called Het Rijke Roomse Leven, in those days every village in North Brabant had a convent from which the nuns operated. Politically, the province was dominated by Catholic parties, the Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij and its successor, the Katholieke Volkspartij. The influence of Het Rijke Roomse Leven remains in the form of education where some schools are still Roman Catholic, a cultural divide is still found between the Catholic south and the Protestant north, but with a total of 1. In the province of North Brabant Catholics are no longer a majority of the population as of 2010, only 1–2% of the total population of Catholic area attend mass, and these churchgoers consist mostly of people over 65 years old. With a population density of 501/km², North-Brabant is above average urbanized, the urbanization is at the center of the province at largest, where the kite is located, the rest of the province has a more rural character. The province has preserved some of its scenic nature well, also, south of Eindhoven named De Kempen is a beautiful area with farmlands and forests. In Heeze, also south of Eindhoven, are the areas the Groote Heide. The Strabrechtse Heide holds also the largest fen of the Netherlands, like most of the Netherlands, North Brabant is mostly flat but nearly every part of North Brabant is above sea level, therefore, there are not as many canals as in the lower parts of The Netherlands. Although most of the lives in urban areas, the province is scattered with villages around which most of the land is cultivated
North Brabant
–
De Groote
Peel, National Park
North Brabant
North Brabant
–
A sign saying, "Welcome to Brabant". North Brabant is often just referred to as "Brabant".
North Brabant
–
Map of North Brabant (2012)
12.
Frank Houben
–
Previously he was mayor of Luyksgestel, Vessem, Wintelre en Knegsel, and Etten-Leur. On 20 September 2003 the mayors of the province of North Brabant planted trees in Houben Forest as a tribute to his work, the Houben forest is located near Nemelaer Castle in the municipality of Haaren in the province of North Brabant. Houben attended the Radboud University Nijmegen and the University of Pittsburgh and he is married with four children
Frank Houben
–
Frank Houben (1987)
13.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)
–
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a Dutch Ministry responsible for foreign relations and international development. Although the Dutch Republic already engaged in diplomatic activity, the present Ministry was created in 1798 as the Department of Foreign Affairs of the then Batavian Republic. It was renamed in 1876 to become the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the head of the Dutch Foreign Ministry is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, currently Bert Koenders. To help developing countries accelerate their social and economic development through international cooperation, to promote the interests of Dutch nationals and the Netherlands abroad. To collect information on other countries and international developments for the Government, to provide information on Dutch policy and the Netherlands position on international issues and developments. To present the Netherlands to the world, to deal with applications from and the problems of foreigners living in the Netherlands or seeking to enter or leave the country. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Development Cooperation, currently Lilianne Ploumen, the ministry consists of four directorates-general, which deal with a particular policy area, The Directorate-General for Political Affairs is concerned with peace, security and human rights. This includes the EUs Common Foreign and Security Policy, the role of NATO. The Directorate-General for European Cooperation concerns itself with the European Union and it is responsible for Dutch relations with EU members and candidate countries. The Directorate-General for Foreign Economic Relations promotes the interests of Dutch businesses abroad, the Netherlands has about 140 diplomatic missions abroad, see list of diplomatic missions of the Netherlands. The Ministry was formed in 1798 as the Department of Foreign Affairs, since 1965 a special Minister for International Development has been appointed in each government with the exception of the First Balkenende cabinet and the First Rutte cabinet). See List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)
–
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)
–
Coat of arms of the Netherlands
14.
Max van der Stoel
–
Maximilianus Max van der Stoel was a Dutch politician and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. He served as the first High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security, on 17 May 1991, he was granted the honorary title of Minister of State. Van der Stoel studied law at Leiden University where he obtained an LL. M. degree, from 1953 to 1958 he worked for the Wiardi Beckman Stichting, the scientific bureau of the Partij van de Arbeid and became international secretary for the PvdA in 1963. From 1973 to 1977 and 1981 to 1982 he was the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs, in 1977, during his visit to communist Czechoslovakia, he met with philosopher and dissident Jan Patočka, and they discussed Charter 77 and human rights in Czechoslovakia. This provoked harsh criticism by the Czechoslovak authorities and president Gustáv Husák cancelled scheduled meeting with van der Stoel and he was appointed as the first High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in December 1992 and took up his functions in January 1993. He remained in office until 2000, Max van der Stoel was a member of the Bilderberg Group. He later served as President of the University Board until 2004 and he was awarded the Universitys first honorary Doctorate and the University named its Library in his honour. Van der Stoel was a member of the Advisory Board of the European Association of History Educators, in 2017, forty years after Van der Stoels meeting with Jan Patočka, a memorial created by Dominik Lang is unveiled in Parku Maxe van der Stoel. Media related to Max van der Stoel at Wikimedia Commons
Max van der Stoel
–
Max van der Stoel in 1981
Max van der Stoel
–
Van der Stoel with Zambian President
Kenneth Kaunda, 1977
15.
Hans van den Broek
–
Henri Hans van den Broek is a former Dutch politician. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Commissioner for External Relations, henri van den Broek was born on 11 December 1936 in Paris in France. His father was Hendrik Johannes van den Broek and his mother was Maria Alberta Antonia Roest, van den Broek went to the Roman Catholic secondary school Lyceum voor het Gooi in Hilversum. He studied Dutch law at Utrecht University in Utrecht, where he received his masters degree in 1965, van den Broek began his career as a lawyer. He joined the Katholieke Volkspartij and was member of the council of Rheden between 1970 and 1974. Between 1976 and 1981 he was member of the House of Representatives, on 6 January 1993 he became a member of the European Commission, once again with responsibility for foreign relations, especially the Enlargement of the European Union. He remained in that post until March 1999, when he retired from European politics, on 25 February 2005, he was granted the honorary title of Minister of State. Van den Broek is president of the Netherlands Institute of International Relations and he is a Member of the Board of Advisors of the Global Panel Foundation, a respected NGO that works behind the scenes in crisis areas around the world. He is a signatory of Global Zero, an international initiative for the elimination of all nuclear weapons worldwide. Van den Broek is married with Josee van den Broek-van Schendel and they have two daughters, one of whom is Princess Marilène, the wife of Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven. Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Minister of State Official Website of the Global Panel Foundation
Hans van den Broek
–
His Excellency Hans van den Broek
16.
Christian Democratic Appeal
–
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Sybrand van Haersma Buma has been the party leader since 18 May 2012, the party suffered severe losses in the 2010 general election, losing half of its seats and falling to fourth place in the House of Representatives. Subsequently, the CDA again lost a number of seats in the 2012 general election. Since 1880 the sizeable Catholic and Protestant parties had worked together in the so-called Coalitie and they shared a common interest in public funding of religious schools. In 1888 they formed the first Christian-democratic government, led by the Anti-Revolutionary Æneas Baron Mackay, the cooperation was not without problems and in 1894 the more anti-papist and aristocratic conservatives left the Protestant Anti Revolutionary Party, to found the Christian Historical Union. The main issues dividing Protestants and Catholics was the position of the Dutch Representation at the Holy See, the General League evolved into the Roman Catholic State Party by 1926, and the Catholic Peoples Party in 1945. From 1918 to 1967, the three Christian Democratic parties had a majority in both houses of the States General, and at least two of them were included in every cabinet, the KVP and its antecedents had been in government without interruption since 1918. In the sixties, the Dutch society became more secularized and the pillars faded, in 1963 general election the three parties held 51% of the vote, whilst in 1972 general election they held only 32%. This decline forced the three parties to work closer together, in 1967 the Group of Eighteen was formed, it was a think-tank of six prominent politicians per party that planned the future cooperation of the three parties. In 1968 the three leaders of the parties (Norbert Schmelzer, Barend Biesheuvel and Jur Mellema made a public appearance. This caused progressive forces within the three parties, especially the ARP and KVP, to regret their political affiliation, in 1968 they founded the Political Party of Radicals, a left-wing party that sought cooperation with the Labour Party. Locally and provincially however the three parties had long cooperated well, in areas they formed one Christian-democratic parliamentary party. In the 1971 general election, the three presented a common political program, which lay the foundation for the first Biesheuvel cabinet. After the disastrous elections of 1972 the cooperation was given new momentum, in 1973 this federation was officially formed, with Steenkamp as chairperson. The cooperation was frustrated by the formation of the Den Uyl cabinet, established by the leader of the social-democratic PvdA, Den Uyl refused to allow members of the CHU in the cabinet that he would lead. This led to a situation where the CHU, ARP and KVP sat as a faction in both houses of parliament, but only the KVP and ARP supplied ministers and junior ministers. The cabinet Den Uyl was riddled with political and personal conflicts, another issue that split the three parties was the place that the Bible would take in the new party. In 1976, the three announced that they would field a single list at the 1977 general election under the name Christian Democratic Appeal
Christian Democratic Appeal
–
Piet Steenkamp, co-founder and honorary chair
Christian Democratic Appeal
–
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Christian Democratic Appeal
–
Piet Bukman, party chair from 1980 until 1986
Christian Democratic Appeal
–
Dries van Agt, party leader from 1976 until 1982
17.
House of Representatives (Netherlands)
–
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Senate. It has 150 seats which are filled through elections using a party-list proportional representation and it sits in the Binnenhof in The Hague. Although this body is called the House of Representatives in English, this is not a translation of its Dutch name. Rather than representatives, members of the House are referred to as Tweede Kamerlid, the House of Representatives is the main chamber of parliament, where discussion of proposed legislation and review of the actions of the cabinet takes place. Both the Cabinet and the House of Representatives itself have the right to propose legislation, review of the actions of the cabinet takes the form of formal interrogations, which may result in motions urging the cabinet to take, or refrain from, certain actions. No individual may be a member of parliament and cabinet, except in a caretaker cabinet that has not yet been succeeded when a new House is sworn in. The House of Representatives is also responsible for the first round of selection for judges to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands and it submits a list of three names for every vacant position to the Government. Furthermore, it elects the Dutch Ombudsman and his subsidiaries, the normal term of the House of Representatives is four years. Anybody eligible to vote in the Netherlands also has the right to establish a political party, parties wanting to take part must register 43 days before the elections, supplying a nationwide list of at most 50 candidates. The candidate lists are placed in the hands of the voters at least 14 days before the election, each candidate list is numbered, with the person in the first position known as the lijsttrekker. The lijsttrekker is usually appointed by the party to lead its election campaign, two or more parties can agree to combine their separate lists, which increases the chance of winning a remainder seat. Only large parties usually have some regional candidates at the bottom of their lists, a single vote can be placed on any one candidate. Many voters select one of the lijsttrekkers, but alternatively a preference vote may be made for a lower down the list. Once the election results are known, the seats are allocated to the parties, the number of valid national votes cast is divided by 150, the number of seats available, to give a threshold for each seat, 1/150th is approximately 0. 67% of the valid votes. Each partys number of votes is divided by this threshold to give a number of seats. Any party that received fewer votes than the threshold fails to gain representation in the House of Representatives, the threshold is one of the lowest for national parliaments in the world, and there are usually multiple parties winning seats with 2% or less of the vote. Any party that received more than 75% of the threshold will have its deposit refunded, after the initial seats are allocated, the remainder seats are allocated using the DHondt method of largest averages. This system slightly favours the larger parties, list combinations compete for the remainder seats as one list of the combined size of all parties in the combination, thus having more chance to gain remainder seats
House of Representatives (Netherlands)
House of Representatives (Netherlands)
House of Representatives (Netherlands)
–
Exterior of the House of Representatives
House of Representatives (Netherlands)
–
Halbe Zijlstra (born 1969)
18.
Willem Aantjes
–
Willem Wim Aantjes was a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal. Aantjes a nonprofit director by occupation, was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives on 26 May 1959 after the Dutch general election of 1959, willem Aantjes was born on 16 January 1923 in Bleskensgraaf in the Netherlands Province of South Holland. His father, Klaas Aantjes, was alderman in Bleskensgraaf and from 1 October 1950 to 14 January 1951 mayor of Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht and his brother Jan Aantjes was also mayor of several municipalities. Aantjes attended the Marnix Gymnasium in Rotterdam, on 8 February 1940, Aantjes started to work for the postal mail company PTT. On 19 July 1943, he was selected for Arbeitseinsatz and sent to Güstrow to deliver mail, Aantjes would later say he had not refused selection, because the board of PTT would otherwise have sent a married employee in his place. In September 1944, Aantjes wanted to return to the Netherlands, other Dutch forced laborers told him that if one joined the Germaanse-SS, one could ask for an assignment in the Netherlands and be trained as a police officer on the Avegoor estate near Ellecom. Aantjes decided he would follow this route, and enlisted in the SS, to his dismay, he was assigned to Landstorm Nederland, a division of the Waffen-SS and he received a uniform. After being transferred to Hoogeveen, Aantjes refused to wear the uniform and he was arrested and imprisoned in Port Natal near Assen, an abandoned psychiatric hospital that had been turned into a work camp by the Nazis. After the war ended in May 1945, Aantjes enrolled at the University of Utrecht to study law and he never mentioned his enlisting in the Germaanse-SS to anyone. Aantjes became a member of the House of Representatives for the Anti-Revolutionary Party in 1959 and he was offered the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in 1967. He turned it down, because several party members knew enough about his war past to object to his candidacy in public, on 6 July 1971, Aantjes became leader of the ARP group. Aantjes played an important part in the merger of the Anti-Revolutionary Party, the Christian Historical Union and his address to the first joint congress of the three parties, which was held in 1975, has become known as the Sermon on the Mount. After the Dutch general election of 1977, Aantjes was offered the Ministry of Justice in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Dries van Agt, again, Aantjes refused, and used his continuing involvement in the development of the CDA party as reason for his refusal. He then became the first leader of the CDA party in the House of Representatives on 20 December 1977, in 1978, Loe de Jong of the Dutch Institute for War Documentation was confronted with stories about Aantjess alleged sympathies for National Socialism. Although the Institute usually did not respond to rumors, De Jong - considering the high position of Aantjes - believed that further investigation was necessary. His staff discovered a note, which showed that Aantjes was mobilized in October 1944 as part of the Waffen-SS. Aantjes, at that leader of the CDA party in the House of Representatives. Aantjes argued he had joined the Germaansche SS because he believed that this was the legal way to escape from forced labor in Güstrow
Willem Aantjes
–
Willem Aantjes
Willem Aantjes
–
Wim Aantjes as a
Member of the House of Representatives in 1965.
Willem Aantjes
–
Wim Aantjes (left) as the
Parliamentary leader of the
Anti-Revolutionary Party in the
House of Representatives in 1972.
19.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
–
The Vice Minister-President of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in English as the Deputy Prime Minister, is the official Deputy of the Head of Government of the Netherlands. Conventionally, all of the partners in the coalition get one deputy. They are ranked according to the size of their respective parties, incumbent Lodewijk Asscher is the sixth Deputy Prime Minister of the Labour Party. Official Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands Government of the Netherlands
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
–
Incumbent
Lodewijk Asscher since 5 November 2012
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
–
State Coat of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
–
Willem Drees (1886–1988)
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
–
Josef van Schaik (1882–1962)
20.
Gaius de Gaay Fortman
–
Wilhelm Friedrich Gaius de Gaay Fortman was a Dutch politician of the Anti Revolutionary Party. Wilhelm Friedrich Gaius de Gaay Fortman was born in Amsterdam on 8 May 1911 to an orthodox Reformed Protestant family and he was a Public servant, secretary of the government labour negotiation team and a teacher at the CNV-school. Later he became a professor at the Vrije Universiteit and its Rector Magnificus, in 1956 he was unsuccessful as informateur during the long 1956 cabinet formation. However, he was able in 1960 to quickly resolve a cabinet crisis, in 1973 he, together with Boersma, were persuaded to become a minister in the Cabinet Den Uyl. He had a relationship with the formerly Reformed social-democrat party leader Joop den Uyl. As Minister of Home Affairs he proposed a plan to divide the Netherlands into 24 mini-provinces, in 1981 he again acted in a cabinet formation as informateur and managed to pave the way for a government of CDA, PvdA and D66. De Gaay Fortman was in favor of co-operation of the ARP and he refuted offered positions in Christian Democrat – Liberal coalitions. De Gaay Fortman became a member of the CDA, but he alienated from the party mainstream. In his view the CDA too much emphasised policies that resulted in the dismantling of social security, in the parliamentary elections of 1994 he endorsed Gert Schutte, the leader of the Reformed Political League. He is buried at Zorgvlied cemetery
Gaius de Gaay Fortman
–
De Gaay Fortman in 1981
21.
Ministry of Security and Justice (Netherlands)
–
The Ministry of Security and Justice is the Dutch Ministry responsible for Justice and Public safety. The Ministry was headed by the Minister of Security and Justice and it is also responsible for the coordination of counter-terrorism policy. Because it shares so many responsibilities, and has twin buildings with the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, the ministry is currently headed by one minister, Stef Blok and one State Secretary, Klaas Dijkhoff. It employs almost 30,000 civil servants, located at the ministry in the Hague, the ministrys main office is located in the centre of the Hague in the same building as the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. The Netherlands Forensic Institute is a division of the Ministry of Justice, falling under the Directorate-General for the Administration of Justice. The Custodial Institutions Agency is an agency of the ministry, official Ministry of Security and Justice Rijksoverheid
Ministry of Security and Justice (Netherlands)
–
Former building of the Ministry of Justice (1977–2012)
Ministry of Security and Justice (Netherlands)
–
Coat of arms of the Netherlands
22.
Barend Biesheuvel
–
Barend Willem Biesheuvel was a Dutch politician of the defunct Anti Revolutionary Party now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from July 6,1971 until May 11,1973. A Civil servant and Trade Union Leader by occupation, he was General Secretary of the Christian Farmers and Gardeners Association of the Netherlands from 1952 until 1959, Biesheuvel became a Member of the House of Representatives on November 6,1956 after the Dutch general election of 1956. On March 7,1961 he was selected as a Member of the European Parliament, Biesheuvel became the lijsttrekker of the Anti Revolutionary Party for the Dutch general election of 1963 and served as Party leader from July 1,1963 until March 7,1973. For the Dutch general election of 1967 Biesheuvel again as lijsttrekker won two seats, primarily due to the popularity of Prime Minister Jelle Zijlstra, however Zijlstra announced he didnt wanted the serve a full term as Prime Minister and endorsed his Party leader Biesheuvel. The following cabinet formation failed to result in an agreement to form a Cabinet Biesheuvel. Biesheuvel became the Parliamentary leader of the Anti Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives on February 16,1967, Biesheuvel became Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of General Affairs. On July 19,1972 the Cabinet Biesheuvel I fell and a rump Cabinet Biesheuvel II was formed on August 9,1972, Biesheuvel remained as Prime Minister until the Cabinet Den Uyl was installed on May 11,1973. Biesheuvel had three brothers and two sisters, after completing his secondary education at local schools, he graduated in law at the Free University of Amsterdam in September 1945. For the next two years Biesheuvel worked in Alkmaar as secretary to the Food Commissioner for the Province of North Holland, in 1947 he became secretary to the Foreign Division of the Agricultural Society. In 1952 Mr Biesheuvel became general secretary of the Christian Farmers and Gardeners Association of the Netherlands, from the same year he was also a member of the Agricultural Board, the Labour Foundation and the boards of the Centrale Raifeissen Bank and Heidemij. Between 1956 and 1963 he represented the Anti Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives, from 1957 to 1961 he held a seat on the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe and from 1961 to 1963 in the European Parliament. In 1967 he returned to the House of Representatives and became leader of the parliamentary Anti Revolutionary Party, during the same period he also chaired the Shipbuilding Board and the Committee on Government Information Reform. Following his political career, Biesheuvel went on to many other positions in the public. On November 22,1945 Biesheuvel married his longtime girlfriend Wilhelmina Jacoba Mies Meuring and they had two daughters and one son. Mies Meuring died on January 17,1989 at the age of sixty-nine, barend Biesheuvel died in a hospital in Haarlem after a long illness on April 29,2001 at the age of eighty-one. Biesheuvel and his wife were buried at the cemetery in Bloemendaal. Netherlands Order of Orange-Nassau Officer Grand Officer Knight Grand Cross Order of the Netherlands Lion Commander Mr. B. W
Barend Biesheuvel
–
Barend Biesheuvel
Barend Biesheuvel
–
Barend Biesheuvel at the inauguration of his
First cabinet in 1971.
23.
Geldrop
–
Geldrop is a town in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Geldrop-Mierlo, Geldrop was a separate municipality until 2004, when it merged with Mierlo. Mainly to keep out of the municipality of Eindhoven and it is also known for having a neighbourhood with streets named after characters and elements from the works of JRR Tolkien. The spoken language is Geldrops, a dialect within the East Brabantian dialect group and is very similar of colloquial Dutch. Road, Geldrop is linked with Eindhoven to the east by A67 motorway, Geldrop has proven a fertile ground for archaeological digs, with finds from various historical and prehistorical eras. The exact age of Geldrop isnt known, through the years, several archaeological finds were made which testify to prehistoric occupants. Where over 10.000 years ago reindeer hunters of the so-called Ahrensburg culture placed their tents, on one of them a reindeer horn was represented, on the other one a dancing little girl who got nicknamed The Venus of Mierlo. Finds in the south of Zesgehuchten indicate small settlements from the New Stone Age, finds from the Roman Period and the early Middle Ages have been found off Genoenhuis and Hoog Geldrop. Dries van Agt, former prime minister Ernest Faber, footballer for PSV, kuyper, Gemeente Atlas van Nederland, 1865-1870, Geldrop. Map of the municipality, around 1868. Website Geldrop Website Geldrop Centrum Graffiti in the Coevering, Geldrop
Geldrop
–
Geldrop, church: Sint Brigidakerk
Geldrop
–
Geldrop in 1866
Geldrop
–
Geldrop, castle: kasteel Geldrop
Geldrop
–
Geldrop, windmill: korenmolen 't Nupke
24.
Netherlands
–
The Netherlands is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
Netherlands
–
The Netherlands in 5500 BC
Netherlands
–
Flag
Netherlands
–
The Netherlands in 500 BC
Netherlands
–
An oak figurine found in
Willemstad, North Brabant (4500 BC).
25.
Nijmegen
–
Nijmegen, historically anglicized as Nimeguen, is a municipality and a city in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is situated on the Waal river, close to the German border, Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands, the first to be recognized as such in Roman times, and in 2005 celebrated 2,000 years of existence. The municipality is part of the Stadsregio Arnhem-Nijmegen, an area with 736,107 inhabitants. By 69, when the Batavians, the inhabitants of the Rhine and Maas delta, revolted. This village was destroyed in the revolt, but when it had ended the Romans built another, bigger camp where the Legio X Gemina was stationed, soon after, another village formed around this camp. In 98, Nijmegen was the first of two settlements in what is now the Kingdom of the Netherlands to receive Roman city rights. In 103, the X Gemina was re-stationed to Vindobona, modern day Vienna, in 104 Emperor Trajan renamed the town, which now became known as Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum, Noviomagus for short. Beginning in the half of the 4th century, Roman power decreased. It also appeared around this time on the Peutinger Map and it has been contended that in the 8th century Emperor Charlemagne maintained his palatium in Nijmegen on at least four occasions. During his brief deposition of 830, the emperor Louis the Pious was sent to Nijmegen by his son Lothar I, thanks to the Waal river, trade flourished. The powerful Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor was born at Nijmegen in 1165, in 1230 his son Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor granted Nijmegen city rights. In 1247, the city was ceded to the count of Guelders as collateral for a loan, the loan was never repaid, and Nijmegen has been a part of Gelderland ever since. This did not hamper trade, Nijmegen even became part of the Hanseatic League in 1364, the arts also flourished in this period. Famous medieval painters like the Limbourg brothers were born and educated in Nijmegen, during the Dutch Revolt, trade came to a halt and even though Nijmegen became a part of the Republic of United Provinces in 1585, it remained a border town and had to endure multiple sieges. In 1678 Nijmegen was host to the negotiations between the European powers that aimed to put an end to the constant warfare that had ravaged the continent for years, the result was the Treaty of Nijmegen that, unfortunately, failed to provide for a lasting peace. In the second half of the 19th century, the fortifications around the city became a major problem, there were too many inhabitants inside the walls, but the fortifications could not be demolished because Nijmegen was deemed as being of vital importance to the defence of the Netherlands. When events in the Franco-Prussian war proved that old-fashioned fortifications were no more of use, this policy was changed, the old castle had already been demolished in 1797, so that its bricks could be sold. Through the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the Waal was bridged in 1878 by a rail bridge and in 1936 by a car bridge, which was claimed to be Europes biggest bridge at the time
Nijmegen
–
Nijmegen city centre
Nijmegen
–
Historical buildings at the "Grote Markt" ("Great Market").
Nijmegen
–
Historical watchtower (nowadays restaurant) "Belvedère" back in 1900
Nijmegen
–
The Waal river near Nijmegen, 1641.
26.
Alma mater
–
Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can also denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele, Venus, and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press. In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, Austria, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website
Alma mater
–
The Alma Mater statue by
Mario Korbel, at the entrance of the
University of Havana in
Cuba.
Alma mater
–
John Legate's Alma Mater for Cambridge in 1600
Alma mater
–
Alma Mater (1929, Lorado Taft),
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
27.
Radboud University Nijmegen
–
Radboud University Nijmegen is a public university with a strong focus on research located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. It was established on 17 October 1923 and is situated in the oldest city of the Netherlands, the RU has seven faculties and enrolls over 19,900 students. It was internationally ranked 156th by the QS World University Rankings, the first Nijmegen University was founded in 1655 and terminated around 1680. The Radboud University Nijmegen was established in 1923 as the Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen and it was founded because the Roman Catholic community wanted its own university. At the time, Roman Catholics in the Netherlands were disadvantaged and occupied almost no higher posts in government, after fierce competition with the cities of Den Bosch, Tilburg, The Hague, and Maastricht, Nijmegen was chosen to house the university. The subsequent Second World War hit the university hard, many prominent members were lost, among them professors Robert Regout and Titus Brandsma. They were deported to Dachau concentration camp, in 1943, rector Hermesdorf refused to cooperate with the Germans. On 22 February 1944, the university lost many buildings in a bombardment, since then, student numbers rose steadily from 3,000 in 1960 to 15,000 in 1980. In 2004, the university changed its name to Radboud University Nijmegen, after Saint Radboud of Utrecht, the Erasmus Tower and the Erasmusgebouw which contain the Faculty of Arts are situated at the south end of the campus next to the sports centre. Recent building projects included new on-campus residence halls, the sports centre, the new Grotiusgebouw is recently built and will offer more room to the Faculty of Law. The university campus is located next to Heyendaal train station, frequent shuttle buses connect the university to Nijmegen Central Station and the city centre. Radboud University is noted for its campus, often listed among the most attractive in the Netherlands. Radboud University has seven faculties and enrols over 19.900 students in 112 study programs, as of September 2013, the university offers 36 international masters programs taught in English and several more taught in Dutch. There are two bachelors programs taught fully in English, International Economics & Business and International Business Administration, all other bachelors are in Dutch, although most of the required literature is in English. Some exams, papers and even classes may be in English as well, all masters programs have been internationally accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders. All English-taught Masters programmes are research-based programmes, Faculty members Anne Cutler, Henk Barendregt, Peter Hagoort, Theo Rasing, Heino Falcke, Mike Jetten, Ieke Moerdijk, and Mikhail Katsnelson won the Spinoza Prize. Visiting professor Sir Andre Geim and former Ph. D. student Sir Konstantin Novoselov were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics, the QS World University Rankings ranked the university 177th in the world in 2015. The university scored 45th in a 2012 ranking of European research universities, in 2016, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings put the university in 125th place worldwide
Radboud University Nijmegen
–
Heyendaal castle (now serving as the Faculty Club of the university) is of old the center of Heyendaal estate, where later on most Radboud University buildings have been established.
Radboud University Nijmegen
–
Contemporary Radboud University buildings
Radboud University Nijmegen
–
O'42 (nl) (after its address Oranjesingel 42) of old has played a significant role in the history of the Radboud University, especially of the social and administrative aspects of studying there.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
