1.
Kingdom of the Netherlands
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The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known as the Netherlands, is a country and constitutional monarchy with territory in western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the kingdom—the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, in practice, however, most of the Kingdom affairs are administered by the Netherlands—which comprises roughly 98% of the Kingdoms land area and population—on behalf of the entire Kingdom. The constituent countries of Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten are located in the Caribbean as well, the Kingdom of the Netherlands originated in the aftermath of Napoleon’s defeat in 1815. In that year, the Netherlands regained its independence from France, in March 1815, amidst the turmoil of the Hundred Days, the Sovereign Prince adopted the style of King of the Netherlands. Following Napoleons second defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the Vienna Congress supplied international recognition of Williams unilateral move. The new King of the Netherlands was also made Grand Duke of Luxembourg, a part of the Kingdom that was, at the same time, in 1830, Belgium seceded from the Kingdom, a step that was recognised by the Netherlands only in 1839. At that point, Luxembourg became an independent country in a personal union with the Netherlands. Luxembourg also lost more than half of its territory to Belgium and that status was reversed when the German Confederation ceased to exist in 1867, and, at that point, Limburg reverted to its status as an ordinary Dutch province. The origin of the reform of 1954 was the 1931 Westminster Statute and the 1941 Atlantic Charter. Changes were proposed in the 7 December 1942 radio speech by Queen Wilhelmina, in this speech, the Queen, on behalf of the Dutch government in exile in London, expressed a desire to review the relations between the Netherlands and its colonies after the end of the war. After liberation, the government would call a conference to agree on a settlement in which the territories could participate in the administration of the Kingdom on the basis of equality. After Indonesia became independent, a construction was considered too heavy, as the economies of Suriname. Delegates of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles could participate in sessions of the First, an overseas member could be added to the Council of State when appropriate. According to the Charter, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles were also allowed to alter their Basic Laws, the right of the two autonomous countries to leave the Kingdom, unilaterally, was not recognised, yet it also stipulated that the Charter could be dissolved by mutual consultation. Suriname was a constituent country within the Kingdom from 1954 to 1975, Netherlands New Guinea was a dependent territory of the Kingdom until 1962, but was not an autonomous country, and was not mentioned in the Charter. In 1955, Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard visited Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles, the visit was a great success. The royal couple were welcomed enthusiastically by the population. Several other royal visits were to follow, in 1969, an unorganised strike on the Antillean island of Curaçao resulted in serious disturbances and looting, during which a part of the historic city centre of Willemstad was destroyed by fire
Kingdom of the Netherlands
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King
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, the reigning monarch of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At the time this picture was taken he was still the Prince of Orange.
Kingdom of the Netherlands
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Flag
2.
Constitution of the Netherlands
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The present constitution is generally seen as directly derived from the one issued in 1815, constituting a constitutional monarchy. A revision in 1848 instituted a system of parliamentary democracy, in 1983, a major revision of the constitution was undertaken, almost fully rewriting the text and adding new civil rights. The text is very sober, devoid of legal or political doctrine and it includes a bill of rights. The constitution prohibits the judiciary to test laws and treaties against the constitution, there is no constitutional court in the Netherlands, except for the Constitutional Court of Sint Maarten which only governs the Sint Maarten legislator. The constitution was empowered by the Union of Utrecht, thus by treaty, Article XIII of the treaty granted each inhabitant of the Republic freedom of conscience. The Union of Utrecht treaty inspired the American Articles of Confederation, after the French invasion of 1794 the Batavian Republic, a unitary state, was proclaimed. On 31 January 1795 it issued a Bill of Rights, the Verklaring der Rechten van den Mensch en van den Burger, the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland, a constitutional monarchy, was established by the Constitutie voor het Koningrijk Holland on 7 August 1806. In 1810 the kingdom was annexed by the French Empire and it included a limited unentrenched bill of rights, with freedom of religion, the principle of habeas corpus, the right of petition and freedom of the press as its main points. In the Treaty of London of 1814 the Allies had ordered that the original Dutch state would devise the new constitution and it had been approved by the new States General of the Northern Netherlands, but rejected by the majority of appointed electors of the Southern Netherlands. In all the administration was very monarchical, with the king appointing for life the members of the Senate, the First Chamber, that mockingly was called the Ménagerie du Roi. In 1840, when a new revision was necessary by the independence of Belgium. The constitution as it was revised on 11 October 1848 is often described as the original of the still in force today. Parliament was accorded the right to amend government law proposals and to hold investigative hearings, the States-Provincial, themselves elected by the voter, appointed by majorities for each province the members of the Senate from a select group of upper class citizens. A commission chaired by Johan Thorbecke was appointed to draft the new proposed constitution, suffrage was enlarged, as was the bill of rights with the freedom of assembly, the privacy of correspondence, freedom of ecclesiastical organisation and the freedom of education. In 1884 there was a minor revision, the election interval for the House of Representatives was changed from two to four years. Eligibility for the Senate was broadened, any penal measure not based on formal law was prohibited. The Senate continued to be elected by the States-Provincial, but now also employing a system of proportional representation, by the revision of 1922 universal suffrage was explicitly adopted in the constitution, after it had already been introduced by law in 1919. Each three years half of the members of the Senate were to be elected by the States-Provincial for a period of six years, within a system of proportional representation
Constitution of the Netherlands
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A plaque commemorating the actions of
William II during 1848.
Constitution of the Netherlands
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Kingdom of the Netherlands
3.
Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands
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It is the leading legal document of the Kingdom. The Constitution of the Netherlands and the Basic Laws of the three countries are legally subordinate to the Charter. The first version of the Charter, which described the relationship between the Netherlands, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles, was signed by Queen Juliana on 15 December 1954, the four countries mentioned in the Charter are the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. Until 1954 the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands was the document of the Kingdom. It remains, however, the document in which, according to Article 5 of the Charter and these institutions, as regulated in the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, govern the Netherlands proper. The Charter itself gives additional regulations for these institutions for the purposes of the Kingdom as a whole, the Netherlands is the only one of the four countries which conducts its business internally and externally as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Any matter not explicitly mentioned to be an affair of the Kingdom that involves Aruba, Curaçao, Affairs of the Kingdom that do not involve Aruba, Curaçao and/or Sint Maarten are dealt with according to the provisions of the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In practice by the Netherlands alone, in its capacity as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, responsibility for affairs of the Kingdom that involve Aruba, Curaçao and/or Sint Maarten rests with the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom. In addition, the Charter contains provisions on mutual assistance and co-operation between the four countries, all four countries are, per the Charter, obliged to promote the realisation of human rights and good governance. The Charter can only be amended with the approval of all four countries, the Netherlands Antilles were disbanded on October 10,2010. The idea of the Netherlands Antilles as a state never enjoyed the support of all of the islands. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986, the desire for secession had also been strong in Sint Maarten. Aruba Koninkrijksdag Netherlands Antilles Sint Maarten Curaçao Website of the Dutch ministry of Internal Affairs Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands
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Kingdom of the Netherlands
4.
Wet Algemene Bepalingen
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It is considered part of the body of constitutional law of the Netherlands, which is composed primarily of Constitution of the Netherlands and the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Wet algemene bepalingen was developed by an advisory committee instituted by the Dutch King William I in 1814. However,1815 saw the start of a period of political discord among the committee members. Despite attempts of several parties, the Southern Dutch dominated parliament rejected the new law in 1822, as part of this transformation of the civil law book the general precepts of law were split off into a new law, the 1829 Wet Algemene Bepalingen. This law was passed on 15 May 1829 but did not enter into force until October 1,1838 together with the Civil Law, ironically, the delay was caused by the Belgian Revolution in which the Southern Netherlands forcibly split off from the kingdom. The Wet algemene bepalingen has since proven to be quite a stable law and it is currently one of the oldest laws still in force in the Netherlands, and remains mostly unchanged from its first version. It has been changed three times in its existence, always to move precepts into the Constitution or another law, the Wet algemene bepalingen, or Law on general precepts and regulations introduces some basic rules for the applicability of laws throughout the Kingdom. It lays out the foundations for which laws relate to people and land, ex post facto and changing of the law Article 4 determines that the law is only applicable after it is passed, not before. Article 5 states that all remain in force until repealed or amended by a new law. Personal over territorial applicability of laws Article 6 determines that legal rights and responsibilities pertaining to Dutch citizens, territorial applicability of laws Article 8 determines that the criminal law of the Netherlands applies to all those who are within its borders. Universal and territorial applicability of civil law Article 9 determines that Dutch civil law applies equally to citizens and foreigners in the Netherlands, primacy of territories law Article 10 determines that any countries law is applicable to that country. No court-made law Article 11 determines that a judge must follow the law in his rulings, Article 12 states that judges may not render verdicts in the form of a general decree, disposition or regulation. Rule of international law Article 13a limits the power of judges, no law is valid unless it is publicly accessible Article 1 determined that no law would take effect before it had been properly proclaimed. Articles 1 and 2 were rescinded on February 17,1988, no common law Article 3 determined that there is no uncodified law in the Netherlands, there is law and not common law, unless the law explicitly leaves room for it. This article was rescinded on January 1,1992 and incorporated into the Civil Law books, public decency cannot be subverted Article 14 determined that laws pertaining to public decency or order cannot be subverted or undone by any manner of act or common agreement. This article was rescinded on January 1,1992 and incorporated into Book II of the Civil Law, real estate is ruled by territorial law Article 7 determined that the law applicable to real estate was the law of the territory in which that real estate was located. This article was rescinded on May 1,2008 and incorporated into other laws
Wet Algemene Bepalingen
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Kingdom of the Netherlands
5.
Human rights in the Netherlands
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The human rights of the Netherlands are codified in the Dutch constitution. Together with other European states, the Netherlands is often at or near the head in international civil liberties, the first chapter of the Dutch constitution codifies the rights of all inhabitants of the Netherlands. These are both negative and positive rights as well as democratic rights and this includes a ban on discrimination, the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of assembly and the right to privacy. These are limitations on government, which citizens can enforce these classical civil rights directly at the judge, additionally there are social rights such as the right to housing, social security, health care, education and employment. These are duties of the government towards its citizens, but these cannot be enforced by a judge, democratic rights include the passive and active right to vote. The Netherlands has banned capital punishment during peace time and war time, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is responsible for the constitution. In the Netherlands there are still some legacy laws conflicting with the freedom of speech, lèse-majesté and Blasphemy law, the latter was officially abolished on February 1,2014. Human trafficking is a recognised problem. The Netherlands is listed by the UNODC as a top destination for victims of human trafficking, in the Netherlands, it is estimated that there are from 1,000 to 7,000 trafficking victims a year. Most police investigations relate to legal sex businesses, with all sectors of prostitution being well represented, in 2008, there were 809 registered trafficking victims,763 were women and at least 60 percent of them were forced to work in the sex industry. All victims from Hungary were female and were forced into prostitution, an article in Le Monde in 1997 found that 80% of prostitutes in the Netherlands were foreigners and 70% had no immigration papers. According to the Council of Europe anti-torture Committee, there were violations of human rights committed by Dutch officials. In 2009, two officers from Bleiswijk approached a homeless man sleeping on the grass in a town park, detained him. They then told him to dig his own grave, whilst threatening him with guns, the homeless man was left there. The incident came up only one of the policemen has reported the incident to his superior. Both policemen were discharged and sentenced to six months in prison, people on welfare in the Netherlands can get a house visit by inspectors without any concrete suspicion of fraud required. Because forcing entry would be in conflict with the right to privacy, however, if entry is denied, they can be cut on their income. It is not accepted for the residents to make recordings of this event in their own home
Human rights in the Netherlands
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Kingdom of the Netherlands
6.
Monarchy of the Netherlands
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The monarchy of the Netherlands is constitutional and as such, the role and position of the monarch are defined and limited by the constitution of the Netherlands. William became the leader of the Dutch Revolt and the independent Dutch Republic, as stadtholder, he was followed by several of his descendants. In 1747, the function of stadtholder became a position in all Provinces of the thus crowned Dutch Republic. The last stadtholder was William V and his son William I, became the first king. The cycle of monarchs is described in the first section of Chapter 2 of the constitution, the monarchy of the Netherlands passes by right of succession to the heirs of William I. The heir is determined through two mechanisms, absolute cognatic primogeniture and proximity of blood, the Netherlands established absolute cognatic primogeniture instead of male preference primogeniture by law in 1983. Proximity of blood limits accession to the throne to a person who is related to the current monarch within three degrees of kinship. For example, the grandchildren of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, have no succession rights because their kinship with Beatrix when she was queen was of the fourth degree. Also, succession is limited to heirs, precluding a claim to the throne by children born out of wedlock. A special case arises if the king dies while his wife is pregnant, so, if the old king dies while his wife is pregnant with their first child, the unborn child is immediately considered born and immediately becomes the new king. If the pregnancy ends in stillbirth, his or her reign is expunged, If the monarch is a minor, a regent is appointed and serves until the monarch comes of age. There are also a number of cases within the constitution. First, if there is no heir when the monarch dies the States-General may appoint a successor upon the suggestion of the government and this suggestion may be made before the death of the reigning monarch, even by the monarch himself. Second, some people are excluded from the line of succession and they are, Any heir who marries without the permission of the States-General loses the right of succession. A person who is or has become truly undesirable or unfit as monarch can be removed from the line of succession by an act of the States-General and this clause has never been executed and is considered an emergency exit. An example would be an heir apparent who commits treason or suffers a serious accident, as with most monarchies, the Netherlands cannot be without a monarch — the constitution of the Netherlands does not recognize a situation in which there is no monarch. This is because there must be a head of state in order for the government to function, for this reason the new monarch assumes his role the moment the previous monarch ceases to hold the throne. The only exception is if there is no heir at all, the monarch is expected to execute his duties and responsibilities for the good of the nation
Monarchy of the Netherlands
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King of the Netherlands
Monarchy of the Netherlands
Monarchy of the Netherlands
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The Dutch Court is still known for their old traditions
Monarchy of the Netherlands
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The throne of the
Ridderzaal, from which the Dutch monarch delivers the Throne Speech on
Prinsjesdag.
7.
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
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Willem-Alexander is the King of the Netherlands. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht and is the oldest child of Beatrix of the Netherlands and he became Prince of Orange as heir apparent upon his mothers accession on 30 April 1980, and succeeded her following her abdication on 30 April 2013. He went to primary and secondary schools, served in the Royal Netherlands Navy. He married Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in 2002 and they have three daughters, Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, Princess Alexia, and Princess Ariane, Willem-Alexander is interested in sports and international water management issues. At the age of 49, he is currently the second youngest monarch in Europe after Felipe VI of Spain, Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand was born on 27 April 1967 in the University Hospital Utrecht, Now is University Medical Center Utrecht in Utrecht, Netherlands. He is the first child of Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus, and he was the first male Dutch royal baby since the birth of Prince Alexander in 1851, and the first immediate male heir since Alexanders death in 1884. From birth, Willem-Alexander has held the titles Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau and he was baptised as a member of the Dutch Reformed Church on 2 September 1967 in Saint Jacobs Church in The Hague. He had two brothers, Prince Friso and Prince Constantijn. He lived with his family at the castle Drakensteyn in the hamlet Lage Vuursche near Baarn from his birth until 1981 and his mother Beatrix became Queen of the Netherlands in 1980, after his grandmother Juliana abdicated. He then received the title of Prince of Orange as heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander attended Nieuwe Baarnse Elementary School in Baarn from 1973 to 1979. After his military service from 1985 to 1987, Willem-Alexander studied History at Leiden University from 1987 onwards and his final thesis was on the Dutch response to Frances decision under President Charles de Gaulle to leave the NATOs integrated command structure. Willem-Alexander speaks English, Spanish and German in addition to his native Dutch, between secondary school and his university education, Willem-Alexander performed military service in the Royal Netherlands Navy from August 1985 until January 1987. He received his training at the Royal Netherlands Naval College and the frigates HNLMS Tromp and HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen, in 1988 he received additional training at the ship HNLMS Van Kinsbergen and became a lieutenant. As a reservist for the Royal Netherlands Navy, Willem-Alexander was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1995, Commander in 1997, Captain at Sea in 2001, and Commodore in 2005. As a reservist for the Royal Netherlands Army, he was made a Major in 1995, and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1997, Colonel in 2001, and Brigadier General in 2005. As a reservist for the Royal Netherlands Air Force, he was made Squadron Leader in 1995, as a reservist for the Royal Marechaussee, he was made Brigadier General in 2005. Before his investiture as king in 2013, Willem-Alexander was honorably discharged from the armed forces, the government declared that the head of state cannot be a serving member of the armed forces, since the government itself holds supreme command over the armed forces. As king, Willem-Alexander may choose to wear a uniform with royal insignia
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
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Willem-Alexander in 2015
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
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Prince Willem-Alexander (left) at age 14 and his brother
Constantijn in 1982
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
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Willem-Alexander in the navy uniform of
Sub-lieutenant in 1986
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
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Prince Willem-Alexander and
Princess Máxima meet
Michelle Obama, Susan Sher,
Barack Obama and
Fay Hartog-Levin at the
White House in 2009.
8.
Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba
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The Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba represents the constituent country of Aruba in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The current Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba is Alfonso Boekhoudt, the Minister Plenipotentiary and his cabinet are seated in the Arubahuis in The Hague. A significant difference between the Netherlands ministers and the Ministers Plenipotentiary is that the ministers are accountable for their politics. The Ministers Plenipotentiary, however, are accountable to their national governments, therefore, the Ministers Plenipotentiary usually do not resign in the event of a Dutch cabinet crisis. The following table lists the Ministers Plenipotentiary of Aruba that have been in office since Aruba gained its status aparte in 1986, Arubahuis
Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba
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Plate on the Arubahuis in
The Hague in the
Netherlands in 2011
9.
Politics of the Netherlands
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The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state, Dutch politics and governance are characterized by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole. The constitution lists the civil and social rights of the Dutch citizens and it describes the position and function of the institutions that have executive, legislative. It should be noted that the constitution of the Netherlands is only applicable in the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Netherlands does not have a Constitutional Court and judges do not have the authority to review laws on their constitutionality. International treaties and the Statute of the Kingdom, however, overrule Dutch law, furthermore, all legislation that is not a law in the strict sense of the word can be tested on their constitutionality. Amendments to the constitution must be approved by both Houses of the States General twice, the first time around, this requires a majority vote. After parliament has been dissolved and general elections are held, both Houses must approve the proposed amendments with a two-thirds vote, major political institutions are the monarchy, the cabinet, the States General and the judicial system. There are three other High Colleges of state, which stand on equal foot with parliament but have a political role. Other levels of government are the municipalities, the waterboards and the provinces, although not mentioned in the constitution, political parties and the social partners organised in the Social Economic Council are important political institutions as well. It is important to realise that the Netherlands does not have a separation of powers, according to the constitution the States General. All legislation has to pass through the Council of State for advice, the executive power is reserved for government. Note however that the Social-Economic Council has the right to make and enforce legislation on several sectors. The judicial power is divided two separate systems of courts. For civil and criminal law the independent Supreme Court is the highest court, for administrative law the Raad van State is the highest court, which is ex officio chaired by the King. The present monarchy was founded in 1813, after the expulsion of the French, the Prince of Orange was proclaimed Sovereign Prince of The Netherlands. The new monarchy was confirmed in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna as part of the re-arrangement of Europe after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, the House of Orange-Nassau were given the present day Netherlands and Belgium to govern as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890, the King of the Netherlands was also Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the heir apparent is the Princess of Orange, Catharina-Amalia. Constitutionally, the King is head of state and has a role in the formation of government and he has to co-sign every law to make it valid
Politics of the Netherlands
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Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, the current Dutch monarch
Politics of the Netherlands
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Kingdom of the Netherlands
Politics of the Netherlands
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Prime Minister
Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (1849-1853; 1862-1866)
Politics of the Netherlands
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Prime Minister
Abraham Kuyper (1901-1905)
10.
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
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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
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Incumbent
Mark Rutte since 14 October 2010
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
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State Coat of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
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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
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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.
11.
Mark Rutte
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Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician who has been the Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 14 October 2010, and the Leader of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy since 31 May 2006. At the 2006 general election, the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, already under Rutte, lost six seats, and he became the opposition leader. At the following election in 2010, the VVD won the highest number of votes cast. After a long period, Rutte became Prime Minister and formed a Cabinet. When Rutte was sworn in on 14 October 2010, he became the first liberal Prime Minister of the Netherlands in 92 years, on 5 November 2012, the Second Rutte cabinet was installed by Queen Beatrix. Izaäk Rutte worked for a company, first as an importer in the Dutch East Indies. Rutte attended a high school from 1979 until 1985, specialising in the arts. Although Ruttes original ambition was to attend a conservatory and become a concert pianist, he went to study history at Leiden University instead, where he obtained a MA degree in 1992. Rutte combined his studies with a position on the board of the Youth Organisation Freedom and Democracy, after his studies, Rutte entered the business world, working as a manager for Unilever and Calvé. Until 1997, Rutte was part of the human resource department of Unilever, between 1997 and 2000, Rutte was staff manager for Van den Bergh Nederland, a subsidiary of Unilevers. In 2000, Rutte became a member of the Corporate Human Resources Group, between 1993 and 1997, Rutte was a member of the national board of the VVD. Rutte also served as a member of the VVD candidate committee for the election of 2002. Rutte was elected as Member of Parliament in 2003, Rutte served as Undersecretary in the Social Affairs and Employment ministry from 22 July 2002 to 17 June 2004 in the first and second Balkenende cabinets. Rutte was responsible for fields including bijstand and arbeidsomstandigheden, after the 2003 elections Rutte was briefly also a member of the House of Representatives, from 30 January to 27 May 2003. In office, Rutte showed particular interest in making the Dutch higher education system more competitive internationally, Rutte would have been succeeded by former The Hague alderman Bruno Bruins. Before Bruins could be sworn into office, the second Balkenende cabinet fell, in the subsequently formed third Balkenende cabinet Bruins succeeded Rutte as Undersecretary. Rutte resigned as Undersecretary in June 2006 to return to the House of Representatives, Rutte became an important figure within the VVD leadership. Rutte was campaign manager for the 2006 municipal elections, on 31 May 2006, it was announced that Mark Rutte would be the next front-runner of the VVD
Mark Rutte
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His Excellency Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte
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Rutte as
Undersecretary in 2006
Mark Rutte
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Rutte with
Henk Kamp (left) and
Rita Verdonk (right) during the campaign in 2006
Mark Rutte
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Mark Rutte at the inauguration of his
Cabinet on October 14, 2010
12.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
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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
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Incumbent
Lodewijk Asscher since 5 November 2012
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
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State Coat of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
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Willem Drees (1886–1988)
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
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Josef van Schaik (1882–1962)
13.
Lodewijk Asscher
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Lodewijk Frans Asscher is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party. He has been the Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Social Affairs and he previously served as acting Mayor of Amsterdam from 12 March 2010 to 7 July 2010 after Job Cohen resigned as mayor to become the Labour Party leader for the Dutch general election of 2010. Lodewijk Frans Asscher was born on 27 September 1974 in Amsterdam in a religious family, his father is of Jewish descent. His father is a member of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, Asscher went to the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet in The Hague. He studied psychology and Dutch law at the University of Amsterdam in Amsterdam, in 2002, he received his PhD in law from the University of Amsterdam. Asscher entered the city council after the Dutch municipal elections of 2002, besides his role as the group leader of the Labour Party in the Amsterdam city council, he took part in the commission on General Affairs. Until 1 January 2006, Asscher taught information law at the University of Amsterdam, in his book New Amsterdam, Asscher advocated the eventual disappearance of the red light district. A few days after the release of the book, Asscher revoked that statement, stating that he was not against prostitution, after the Dutch municipal elections of 2006, where he led the Labour Partys campaign in Amsterdam, Asscher was installed as an alderman on 26 April. He served as alderman of Economics, Airport and Harbour, and served as Acting Mayor of Amsterdam from 12 March 2010 to 7 July 2010. He then became alderman of Finances serving until 5 November 2012, on 5 November 2012, he became Minister of Social Affairs and Employment and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Rutte II. In Amsterdam he was succeeded by Pieter Hilhorst, in September 2014, Asscher announced heightened scrutiny of four Dutch Turkish organisations that he suspected of hindering integration, including a religious group, Millî Görüş. This led to the expulsion of 2 Dutch Turkish MPs from the Labour Party after they harshly criticised the move, on 9 December 2016 Asscher won the leadership of the Labour Party in an election against Diederik Samsom. He obtained 54, 5% of the vote, lodewijk Asscher is married to Jildau Piena, with whom he has three sons
Lodewijk Asscher
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Lodewijk Asscher in 2015
14.
Cabinet of the Netherlands
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The cabinet of the Netherlands is the main executive body of the Dutch government. The current cabinet of the Netherlands is the Second Rutte cabinet, the cabinet consists of the ministers and state secretaries. The cabinet is led by the Prime Minister, for instance there has for some time been a minister for development cooperation, who works within the ministry of Foreign Affairs. Most ministries also have a secretary who is responsible for part of the relevant portfolio. Most significantly, state secretaries are not members of the Council of Ministers, the policy of a cabinet is coordinated by the Council of Ministers, in which all ministers, including ministers without portfolio, take part. The Council initiates laws and policy, State secretaries do not attend the Council of Ministers unless invited, and even then they have no voting rights in the Council. The Council meets every Friday in the Trêveszaal in the Binnenhof, meetings are chaired by the Prime Minister, or an acting Prime Minister if necessary. The Council makes decisions in a manner, all ministers. Behind the closed doors of the Trêveszaal, ministers can freely debate proposed decisions, once a decision is made by the Council, all individual members are bound by it and are obliged to support it publicly. A member of Cabinet who is not prepared to support a decision of the Council is obliged to step down. Typically, a deal of effort is put into reaching relative consensus on any decision. A process of voting within the Council does exist, but is ever used. Together with the King, the Council of Ministers forms the Government, in practice, the King does not participate in the daily decision-making of government, although he is kept up to date by weekly meetings with the Prime Minister. It should be noted that the Dutch constitution does not speak of cabinet, the ministers, individually and collectively, are responsible to the States-General for government policy and must enjoy its confidence. It is not possible for a minister to be a member of parliament, Ministers or state secretaries who are no longer supported by a parliamentary majority are also expected by convention to step down. An important question is whether the relationship between the cabinet and parliament should be dualistic or monistic and that is, whether ministers and leaders of governing parliamentary parties should prepare important political decisions. According to the position, members of parliament of governing parties should function independently of the Cabinet. The monistic position, by contrast, is that the Cabinet plays an important role in proposing legislation, after a general election held generally every 4 years, or if a cabinet resigns during a parliamentary term, the process of cabinet formation starts
Cabinet of the Netherlands
–
The Hague's
Binnenhof. The Ministry of General Affairs, where the cabinet meets every Friday, is in the centre.
Cabinet of the Netherlands
–
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Cabinet of the Netherlands
–
Mark Rutte (born 1967)
Cabinet of the Netherlands
–
Lodewijk Asscher (born 1974)
15.
Second Rutte cabinet
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The Second Rutte cabinet, also called the Rutte–Asscher cabinet has been part of the executive branch of the Dutch Government since 5 November 2012. The cabinet was formed by a coalition of the political parties Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. Shortly before the election in March 2017, the cabinet was declared demissionary. Title Allowed to use a title while on foreign business. Appt Appointment, Timmermans appointed as First Vice President of the European Commission, Blok appointed as Minister Security and Justice. Dijksma appointed as Undersecretary for Infrastructure and the Environment, ad interim Blok served ad interim following the resignation of Opstelten and the medical leave of absence of Plasterk. Note Plasterk took a leave of absence on 29 June 2016. 2012 Dutch cabinet formation Official Kabinet-Rutte-Asscher Rijksoverheid Kabinet-Rutte II Parlement & Politiek
Second Rutte cabinet
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The Second Rutte cabinet on 5 November 2012
Second Rutte cabinet
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Mark Rutte (born 1967)
Second Rutte cabinet
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Lodewijk Asscher (born 1974)
Second Rutte cabinet
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Ronald Plasterk (born 1957)
16.
States General of the Netherlands
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The States General is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets at the Binnenhof in The Hague, the States General originated in the 15th century as an assembly of all the provincial states of the Burgundian Netherlands. The States General were replaced by the National Assembly after the Batavian Revolution of 1795, only to be restored in 1814, the States General was divided into a Senate and a House of Representatives in 1815, with the establishment of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. On exceptional occasions, the two form a joint session known as the United Assembly. The President of the Senate serves as President of the States General during a United Assembly, ankie Broekers-Knol has been President of the Senate since 2013. The archaic Dutch word staten originally related to the classes in which medieval European societies were stratified, the clergy, the nobility. The word eventually came to mean the political body in which the estates were represented. Each province in the Habsburg Netherlands had its own staten and these representative bodies in turn were represented in the assembly that came to be known as Staten-Generaal, or Algemene Staten. The English word states may have a meaning as the Dutch word staten. The English phrases States General is probably a translation of the Dutch word. Historically, the term was used for the name of other national legislatures as, for example, the Catalan and Valencian Generalitat. Several geographic place names are derived from the States General, in 1609, Henry Hudson established Dutch trade in Staten Island, New York City and named the island Staaten Eylandt after the States General. Isla de los Estados, now an Argentine island, was named after this institution. Abel Tasman originally gave the name Staten Landt to what would become New Zealand, Staaten River is a river in the Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Later, regular sessions were held at Coudenberg in Brussels, Brabant, the next important event was the convocation of the States General by the ducal Council for 3 February 1477 after the death of Charles the Bold. In this session the States General forced the grant of the Great Privilege by Mary of Burgundy in which the right of the States General to convene on their own initiative was recognised, in 1576 the States General as a whole, however, openly rebelled against the Spanish crown. In 1579 the States General split as a number of provinces, united in the Union of Arras returned to obedience, while other provinces. After the Act of Abjuration in 1581 the northern States General replaced Philip II as the authority of the northern Netherlands
States General of the Netherlands
States General of the Netherlands
States General of the Netherlands
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The
Dutch senate (Eerste Kamer)
States General of the Netherlands
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The
Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede kamer)
17.
Senate of the Netherlands
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The Senate is the upper house of the States General, the legislature of the Netherlands. Its 75 members are elected by the members of the twelve States-Provincial every four years, members of the Senate are part-timers who often hold other positions as well. They receive an allowance which is about a quarter of the salary of the members of the House of Representatives, unlike the politically more significant House of Representatives, it meets only once a week. Its members tend to be veteran politicians or part-time politicians at the national level and it has the right to accept or reject legislative proposals but not to amend them or to initiate legislation. Directly after a bill has passed by the House of Representatives. The committee decides whether the bill can be put on the agenda of the full chamber or there should first be preparatory study of the bill. If a bill is immediately put on the agenda of the full chamber, the Senate was instituted by King William I in 1815. When the Netherlands and Belgium were united in 1815, the Belgians in particular pressed for the introduction of a bicameral system, in its early years, the Senate served as a bulwark of the Crown since it was still able to block bills that displeased the king. Such bills were usually private members bills from the House of Representatives, at that time, the members of the House of Representatives too were elected indirectly. The members of the Senate were not elected, but were confidants of the king and were appointed for life, the Senate remained in existence after the separation from Belgium in 1830. Much changed in the sphere as a result of the introduction of a new constitution in 1848. The position of the Senate and the criteria governing eligibility to stand for election were among the changes, monitoring the quality of legislation gradually came to be the main function of the Senate after 1848. * Reformatory Political Federation and Reformed Political League Historic composition of the Senate of the Netherlands List of Presidents of the Senate Official website Official website
Senate of the Netherlands
Senate of the Netherlands
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First Chamber or Senate Eerste Kamer
18.
Ankie Broekers-Knol
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Anneke Ankie Broekers-Knol is a Dutch politician of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. She is the President of the Senate since 2 July 2013 and she used to be director of the Department of Moot Court and Advocacy of the Leiden University. She was also a member of the council of Bloemendaal. Broekers-Knol was chair of the Senate’s standing committee for Security and Justice, official Mr. A. Broekers-Knol Parlement & Politiek Mr. A. Broekers-Knol Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal
Ankie Broekers-Knol
–
Ankie Broekers-Knol
19.
House of Representatives of the Netherlands
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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 of the Netherlands
House of Representatives of the Netherlands
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The House of Representatives Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal
House of Representatives of the Netherlands
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Exterior of the House of Representatives
House of Representatives of the Netherlands
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Halbe Zijlstra (born 1969)
20.
Khadija Arib
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Khadija Arib is a Moroccan-Dutch politician of the Labour Party. She has been Member of the House of Representatives in the Netherlands since 2007, khadija Arib was born on 10 October 1960 in Hedami near Casablanca in Morocco. She came to the Netherlands when she was 15 years old, Arib studied sociology at the University of Amsterdam. Before her political career, she was a servant, educator. Arib is a member of the Dutch Labour Party and has been a Member of Parliament from 19 May 1998 to 29 November 2006, as an MP, she focussed on matters of racism, discrimination control, womens abuse, domestic violence and youth care. While in the House of Representatives, she has been criticised for her dual citizenship. In 2012, she made an attempt to become Speaker. She was elected Speaker in an election on 13 January 2016. On 29 March 2017 Arib was re-elected as Speaker, she was the candidate for the position. In 1989, she was held prisoner in Morocco with her 3 children, after intervention by the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs, she was allowed to return to the Netherlands. 1992, Marokkaanse vrouwen in Nederland with Essa Reijmers and Mieke Goudt 2009, Couscous op zondag 2011, Allah heeft ons zo gemaakt House of Representatives biography Labour Party website
Khadija Arib
–
Khadija Arib
21.
Supreme Court of the Netherlands
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The Supreme Court of the Netherlands is one of the highest courts of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Aruba. The Court was established on 1 October 1838 and sits in The Hague, the Court has exclusive final jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters. The Court is a court of cassation, which means that it has the competence to quash or affirm rulings of lower courts and it only considers whether the lower courts applied the law correctly and the rulings have sufficient reasoning. In so doing it establishes case law, according to Article 120 of the Constitution, courts may not rule on the constitutionality of laws passed by the States General and treaties. With the exception of constitutional Court of Sint Maarten courts have no competence for judicial review with respect to the Constitution. The Supreme Court currently consists of 36 judges, a president,6 vice-presidents,25 justices and 4 justices in exceptional service, all judges are appointed for life, until they retire at their own request or mandatorily at the age of 70. The development of cassation in the Netherlands was heavily influenced by the French during the Batavian Revolution at the end of 18th century, in the Netherlands a case is first heard by one of the ten district courts. Afterwards, either side may appeal to one of the four courts of appeal, finally, either party may file a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court. Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by decree, chosen from a list of three, advised by the House of Representatives on the advice of the Court itself. The justices are, like every other judge in the Netherlands, appointed for life, upon reaching the age of 60, a justice may change status to exceptional service, with the effect that the justice no longer plays a full role at the Court. The Supreme Court is divided into four chambers, the first or civil chamber, the second or criminal chamber, the third or tax chamber, the members of the fourth chamber are chosen ad hoc, but will include the President of the Court. As of January 2016, the first three chambers are composed as follows, During the German occupation, the Supreme Court kept functioning, in November 1940 the occupiers forced the president, Judge L. E. Visser, to resign because he was Jewish. The members who remained also signed a declaration about Aryans. After the liberation, people reproached the Court for a weak, the Court wished above all to guarantee the continuity of its jurisdiction and not to become involved in politics. However such chances as there were to take a stand on principle against the Germans were largely missed, the Justices either omitted to give a moral example or felt they were not in a position to do so. In this the Supreme Court followed the advice of the barrister-general A. Rombach, the judgment concerned a case in which a man was sentenced by the economic judge for an economic offence. The counsel for the accused, P, when the Supreme Court denied the possibility of contesting rules issued by the German government, the Netherlands followed what was the rule in Germany and Italy too. On the basis of two emergency measures Hitler had the authority to issue incontestable rules, and the legal establishment acknowledged not it was not allowed to challenge political measures, political in this case was what the political authorities considered to be political
Supreme Court of the Netherlands
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Hoge Raad,
Lange Voorhout,
The Hague
22.
Dutch Council of State
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The Council of State must be consulted by the cabinet on proposed legislation before a law is submitted to parliament. The Council of State Administrative Law division also serves as one of the four highest courts of appeal in administrative matters, the King is president of the Council of State but he seldom chairs meetings. The Vice-President of the Council of State chairs meetings in their absence, under Dutch constitutional law, the Vice-President of the Council is acting head of state when there is no monarch such as if the royal family were to become extinct. Members of the council were the nobles of the realm. The latter faction felt themselves pushed aside and resigned in 1567, before he could arrive the members of the Council were arrested in a coup by the Brussels garrison. Soon afterwards the Pacification of Ghent was concluded pitting the States-General of the Netherlands against the Spanish crown, when the latter retreated to Namur in early 1577 the Council of State split in two rumps, one joining Don Juan the other remaining close to the rebellious States-General. These members were discharged by king Philip in 1578, formally ending the Council as a Habsburg institution in what was to become the Dutch Republic. This Council soon split in two councils, one for the area West of the river Meuse, the other for the area East of that river. The first, residing in Antwerp where the States-General also convened, played the role up to the departure of the Duke. After his departure the Council followed the States-General to Middelburg, Delft, after the assassination of the Prince of Orange in 1584 the Council was given new executive powers and temporarily assumed full executive authority in the place of the Prince. The States-General meanwhile took the lead in the search for another protecting sovereign and this resulted in the Treaty of Nonsuch of 1585 with Elizabeth I of England that explicitly assumed a leading role of the Council in the evolving constitution of the provinces of the Union of Utrecht. Article XIV of the treaty authorised Elizabeth to appoint two English representatives on the Council, besides the Governor-General, who would preside the council, the next articles gave far-reaching authority to the Governor-General, acting with the council, in matters of defense, finance and government. This was the first instance of the way the mighty province of Holland frustrated the policies of Leicester and his attempt to found a new Council of Finances, which was supposed to take a number of the financial powers of the Council of State, was quietly thwarted. These tasks and this influence of the Council did not return after Leicester had left the Netherlands at the end of 1587, by 1588 the Council had therefore reached the structure and functions it would possess during the entire existence of the Dutch Republic. The Council was henceforth made up of members appointed by the States-General on the nomination of the Provincial States, the stadtholders of the provinces were ex officio members, at least outside the First Stadtholderless Period and Second Stadtholderless Period. The executive powers of the Council were limited to policy, administering the Dutch States Armys financial aspects. The Council usually played a role, as laid down in its Instruction of 1651. However, the secretary of the Council, Simon van Slingelandt played a role in an attempt at constitutional reform in 1717
Dutch Council of State
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Main building of the Dutch Council of State at Kneuterdijk,
The Hague. At the far left a part of
Paleis Kneuterdijk is visible
23.
Elections in the Netherlands
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Apart from elections, referenda are also held occasionally, a fairly recent phenomenon in Dutch politics. The most recent national election results and an overview of the resulting seat assignments, at the national level, legislative power is invested in the States General, which is bicameral. The House of Representatives has 150 members, elected for a term by proportional representation. Elections are also called after a dissolution of the House of Representatives, all elections are direct, except for the Senate, which has 75 members, elected for a four-year term by provincial councillors on the basis of proportional representation at the provincial elections. Candidates to the elections of the House of Representatives are chosen from party lists according to a system of proportional representation, the threshold is 1/150th of the total number of valid votes. During the municipal elections of 2006, elections were electronic throughout the country, as a result, results were known before the end of the day, a mere two hours after the closing of the poll stations. For the national elections in November of that year, however, several polling stations decided to return to paper. Since then, most elections have been held using paper and pencil, the most recent election was the general election on 15 March 2017. The maximum parliamentary term is five years and elections are held about four years after the previous one. Normal elections, i. e. after the House of Representatives has fulfilled its term, if municipal or provincial elections are already taking place in March of that year, the parliamentary elections are postponed to May. The elections are planned for spring to ensure that a new cabinet is formed in time to present its plans on the most important day in the Dutch Parliament, Prinsjesdag. The term of the next House can be shortened or prolonged by almost a year to ensure the next normal elections again happen in March or May, city councils and States-Provincial cannot be dissolved, so no dissolution elections can occur. An exception to the term is made when two or more municipalities merge and new elections take place for the merged municipality. Senate elections also take place four years, in May following the provincial elections. The Senate can be dissolved, and subsequently dissolution elections take place, but since the States-Provincial remain the same, a Senate chosen by dissolution elections sits out the remainder of its predecessors term. Elections usually take place on Wednesdays, but the government can decide to change this to a Tuesday, Thursday or Friday if there are reasons to do so. Elections for the European Parliament always take place on a Thursday, every Dutch citizen who has reached the age of 18 is eligible to vote or to stand for election as a member of the House of Representatives. A notable exception is municipal elections, in persons younger than 18 can be elected
Elections in the Netherlands
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Voting using "paper and red pencil": the voter colours in the box preceding the name of his or her favoured candidate
Elections in the Netherlands
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Kingdom of the Netherlands
Elections in the Netherlands
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Voting at Dutch elections in 1918
Elections in the Netherlands
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Vote counting at Dutch elections in 1913
24.
Dutch general election, 2010
–
General elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday,9 June 2010. It was triggered by the fall of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenendes fourth cabinet on 20 February with Queen Beatrix accepting the resignation of the Labour Party ministers on 23 February. It was also noted for the rise of the controversial politician Geert Wilders and the Party for Freedom, on the other hand, the election was a poor result for Balkenende and his Christian Democratic Appeal, which lost half its seats and dropped from first to fourth place. The Socialist Party also lost seats, notably, the 31 seats won by the VVD is the fewest in years, and the one-seat margin between the VVD and PvdA is the closest on record. After the election, it took 127 days to form a new government and it was the first coalition government not to be led by a Christian democratic or socialist party in 92 years, as well as the first to be led by the VVD. Rutte was sworn in as Prime Minister on 14 October, becoming the first liberal to hold that post since 1918, the 150 seats of the House of Representatives were contested, and were filled using party-list proportional representation for a nominal four-year term. The election follows the PvdAs withdrawal in February from the coalition over the contribution of Dutch soldiers to the War in Afghanistan, according to the Dutch constitution new elections had to be held within 83 days. The first radio debate was held on 21 May 2010. The first television debate, held on 23 May was, according to instant polls, won by Mark Rutte on 36%, with Job Cohen second on 24%, polls indicated that the elections were too close to call. Turnout was reported to be over 5% less than the elections due to heavy rain. Expectations were that the formation of a new government would take some time, the international media also read this as a slim victory for the austerity-minded Liberals amidst the 2010 European sovereign debt crisis. On 14 October, Mark Rutte was sworn in as prime minister, ruttes government resigned on 24 April 2012 over austerity measures. Some international media speculated that for the first time in this nations history, a Jewish man, albeit a secular one, is on the verge of becoming the next prime minister
Dutch general election, 2010
–
All 150 seats to the
House of Representatives 76 seats were needed for a majority
Dutch general election, 2010
Dutch general election, 2010
Dutch general election, 2010
25.
Dutch general election, 2012
–
Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 12 September 2012 after Prime Minister Mark Rutte handed in his governments resignation to Queen Beatrix on 23 April. The 150 seats of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands were contested using party-list proportional representation, the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy received a plurality of the votes, followed by the Labour Party. The Party for Freedom and Christian Democratic Appeal both lost seats, after 49 days of negotiations, a new VVD-PvdA centrist government was formed on 5 November 2012, comprising Mark Rutte as prime minister along with 7 VVD ministers and 6 PvdA ministers. It was the first Netherlands-wide election in which the Caribbean Netherlands participated and this called for a new early election to be held in September 2012. Early elections were held in January 2003, November 2006, June 2010. And during that time a total of five governments ended prematurely, in addition to the established parties of Dutch politics, the pensioners party 50PLUS, founded in 2009, won its first seats in the election. The Pirate Party claimed that it may enter parliament for the first time with 2 or 3 seats, however, the party achieved only 0. 3% of the national vote and no seats. Hero Brinkman, elected on the Party for Freedoms list, split from the party in March 2012, in June 2012, the party merged with Proud of the Netherlands to form the Democratic Political Turning Point, with Brinkman as leader. The party achieved 0. 1% of the vote and no seats. The two largest eurosceptic parties, PVV and SP, are not interested in building a coalition. On 27 April, the two governing parties, VVD and CDA negotiated a deal to reduce the national deficit in 2013 to an acceptable level below 3% of GDP. This deal was supported by the three opposition parties, D66, GL and the CU. A ratification of the newly signed Fiscal Compact is unconditionally supported by the four parties, VVD, CDA, D66, a final television debate took place on 11 September, with the economy reportedly the most important issue amongst voters. The day before the debate, Rutte said that he would stop delegating ever increasing powers to the European Union saying, conversely, Samsom said that he was in coordination with Hollande over dealing with the economic crisis. Support for him and the PvdA grew after he was perceived as having the performance in the debates. He also rejected taking cabinet posts in a coalition government saying, I will either be prime minister, the vote was also seen as a test of the EUs popularity within the country. Political analyst Anno Bunnik said that voters were not keen on repeated early elections. He also pointed to PVVs Geert Wilders declining popularity after he was viewed as a political opportunist not looking out for the national interest in forcing a snap election
Dutch general election, 2012
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Polling station in
Silvolde, Gelderland
Dutch general election, 2012
26.
Dutch provincial elections, 2007
–
Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands, on March 7,2007. The election also determined the members of the Senate, since the 564 members of the twelve States-Provincial elect its 75 members and this election took place on May 29,2007. Only a few weeks before the elections, a new cabinet has been installed. The provincial elections will be the first test for this new cabinet, since the provincial councils elect the members of the Senate, it is possible that the CDA, PvdA and CU will not obtain a majority in the Senate. Since the members of the Senate can reject new laws, the outcome of the elections can seriously hamper the strength of the new cabinet. In recent years, the turnout for elections were low. On 13,00, only 14% of the 12.1 million eligible voters had cast a vote. On 16,00, about 25% had cast a vote, of the cities, The Hague was on the low side with less than 20%. The Socialist Party, ChristianUnion and Party for the Animals showed the largest gains, the CDA, PvdA, D66, the LPF and SGP showed the largest losses, while the VVD and GreenLeft only had a marginal loss. The current government of CDA, PvdA and CU are expected to hold on to a majority in the Senate, with 41 out of the 75 seats. Geert Wilders had already announced in January 2007 that his Party for Freedom would not take part in the elections, since it had not succeeded to be able to participate in all provinces. One important factor in comparing the 2003 and 2007 results is the fact that the number of members of provincial legislature was lowered. Notes - *)2003 election calculated for the 2007 number of seats, - **) The difference between 2007 and the recalculated 2003 seats
Dutch provincial elections, 2007
–
Kingdom of the Netherlands
![Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or. [The seven arrows stand for the seven provinces of the Union of Utrecht.] The shield is crowned with the (Dutch) royal crown and supported by two lions Or armed and langued gules. They stand on a scroll Azure with the text (Or) "Je Maintiendrai" (French for "I will maintain".)](/wiki/File:State_coat_of_arms_of_the_Netherlands.svg)
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