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Netherland: Netherland Government Profile 2012

2012/03/21

Netherland Government Profile 2012

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy, governed under the 1814 constitution with its many revisions. The kingdom is composed of the Netherlands proper and the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, in the West Indies. Although the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba are considered integral parts of the kingdom, they have autonomy in local affairs.

The official capital is Amsterdam; the investiture of the monarch and other official ceremonies take place there. The actual seat of government, however, is The Hague, site of the royal residence and the meeting place of the legislature.

Executive power is vested in the crown, and legislative power is vested in the crown and legislature, called States-General. The sovereign is assisted by the council of state, a permanent advisory body appointed by the sovereign. Real executive power rests with the council of ministers, or cabinet, responsible to the States-General Members of the States-General give up their seats on becoming ministers.

The States-General is composed of two houses: the upper, or First Chamber, and the lower, or Second Chamber. The First Chamber consists of 75 members elected for four years by the provincial legislatures. The Second Chamber consists of 150 members elected to four-year terms by the people under proportional representation. There is universal suffrage for citizens aged 18 and over.

The First Chamber votes on bills passed by the Second Chamber, and must approve or reject them without making amendments. The monarch signs all bills passed by the States-General.

The judiciary consists of the High Court of the Netherlands (five judges), 5 courts of appeal, 19 district courts, and 62 cantonal courts, judges are appointed for life.

There are 12 provinces. Each has a legislative body and a six-member executive commission. A commissioner of the sovereign presides over both bodies. All provincial ordinances must be approved by the crown.

There are more than 750 municipalities, varying from rural areas to the great cities. Each municipality has a council elected by the people and a burgomaster (mayor) appointed by the crown.
Monarchs of the Netherlands

Country name

Conventional long form:

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Conventional short form:

Netherlands

Local long form:

Koninkrijk der Nederlanden

Local short form:

Nederland

Government type:

constitutional monarchy

Capital

Name:

Amsterdam

Geographic coordinates:

52 23 N, 4 54 E

Time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Daylight saving time:

（ +）1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:

12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland (Fryslan), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant (North Brabant), Noord-Holland (North Holland), Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland (Zealand), Zuid-Holland (South Holland)

Independence:

23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581 they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence)

National holiday:

Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980)

Constitution:

adopted 1815; amended many times, most recently in 2002

Legal system:

based on civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Chief of state:

Queen BEATRIX (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), son of the monarch

head of government:

Prime Minister Jan Peter BALKENENDE (since 22 July 2002); Deputy Prime Ministers Wouter BOS (since 22 February 2007) and Andre ROUVOET (since 22 February 2007)

Cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch

Elections:

the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch

Note:

there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to the cabinet on legislative and administrative policy

Legislative branch:

bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils to serve four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: First Chamber - last held 29 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2011); Second Chamber - last held 22 November 2006 (next to be held by early 2011) election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 21, PvdA 14, VVD 14, Socialist Party 11, Christian Union 4, Green Left Party 4, D66 2, other 5; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - CDA 26.5%, PvdA 21.2%, Socialist Party 16.6%, VVD 14.6%, Party for Freedom 5.9%, Green Party 4.6%, Christian Union 4.0%, other 6.6%; seats by party - CDA 41, PvdA 33, Socialist Party 25, VVD 22, Party for Freedom 9, Green Party 7, Christian Union 6, other 7

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch)

Political parties and leaders :

Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Pieter VAN GEEL]; Christian Union Party [Arie SLOB]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Alexander PECHTOLD]; Green Left Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Mariette HAMER]; Party for Freedom or PVV [Geert WILDERS]; Party for the Animals or PvdD [Marianne THIEME]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Mark RUTTE]; Reformed Political Party of SGP [Bas VAN DER VLIES]; Socialist Party [Agnes KANT]; plus a few minor parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Christian Trade Union Federation or CNV [Bert VAN BOGGELEN]; Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers or VNO-NCW [Bernard WIENTJES]; Federation for Small and Medium-sized businesses or MKB [Loek HERMANS]; Netherlands Trade Union Federation or FNV [Agnes JONGERIUS]; Social Economic Council or SER [Alexander RINNOOY KAN]; Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel or MHP [Richard STEENBORG]

International organization participation:

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Flag description:

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; the colors were those of WILLIAM I, Prince of Orange, who led the Dutch Revolt against Spanish sovereignty in the latter half of the 16th century.

Netherland News

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HUNGARY: Hungary recalls its Dutch ambassador following diplomatic clash
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NETHERLAND: Netherlands Netherlands unemployment rate
NETHERLAND: The Netherlands: Europe’s Under-The-Radar Tax Haven
NETHERLAND: Dip in household consumption, but more jobs in the Netherlands

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