Government > Leaders Stats: compare key data on Netherlands & Tonga

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STAT	Netherlands	Tonga	HISTORY
Head of state	King Willem-Alexander	King George Tupou VI
Head of state > Profile	<p>King Willem-Alexander became the first Dutch male monarch in more than a century in April 2013 when his mother Beatrix abdicated to end a 33-year reign. </p> <p>The generational change in the House of Orange-Nassau gave the Netherlands a moment of celebration and pageantry at a time of recession brought on by the European economic crisis. </p> <p>The much-loved Beatrix ended her reign in a nationally televised signing ceremony as thousands of orange-clad people cheered outside. Her retirement followed in the tradition of her mother and grandmother.</p> <p>Willem-Alexander&#039;s popular Argentine-born wife became Queen Maxima and their eldest daughter, Catharina-Amalia, became Princess of Orange and first in line to the throne.</p> <p>The king, a water management specialist, has said he will bring a less formal touch to the monarchy.</p>	<p>George Tupou VI succeeded to the throne on the death of his elder brother, the bachelor George Tupou V, in March 2012. </p> <p>The new King was Tonga&#039;s High Commissioner (ambassador) to Australia from 2008, having served as prime minister in 2000-2006. He quit as prime minister in the face of violent pro-democracy protests in February 2006, and was succeeded by Tonga&#039;s first non-royal and non-aristocratic head of government, Feleti Sevele.</p> <p>The late King George Tupou V ushered in parliamentary democracy in 2010, ending centuries of feudal dominance of government.</p>
Head of state > Summary	King Willem-Alexander with former queen Beatrix and Queen Maxima	George Tupou VI became king following the death of his brother
Prime minister	Mark Rutte	Lord Tu&#039;ivakano
Prime minister > Profile	<p>Mark Rutte won a second term in October 2012 when his liberal People&#039;s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) formed a coalition with the centre-left Labour Party after narrowly beating it in parliamentary elections.</p> <p>The VVD won 41 seats in the 150-member lower house - a lead of just two seats over Labour - in the September vote.</p> <p>Mr Rutte&#039;s previous cabinet - a minority coalition with the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal - had collapsed after only two years in office.</p> <p>It resigned in April 2012 when populist politician Geert Wilders&#039; eurosceptic, anti-immigration Freedom Party, which had been propping up the government without joining it, refused to back a tough austerity package.</p> <p>The cuts were intended to comply with EU deficit targets.</p> <p>Mark Rutte&#039;s new cabinet was seen as more pro-austerity and pro-EU than his last one.</p> <p>The new coalition warned that tough measures would be needed to weather the financial crisis and secure the Netherlands&#039; economic future.</p> <p>The Freedom Party, which had held the balance of power in the previous parliament, suffered heavy losses in the September 2012 poll and came a distant third, tying with the left-wing Socialist Party.</p>	<p>Lord Tu&#039;ivakano became the country&#039;s first prime minister to be elected by parliament rather than appointed by the king in December 2010. </p> <p>Tu&#039;ivakano, a former speaker of Parliament, won 14 votes - two more than pro-democracy leader Akalisi Pohiva - in the ballot among the 26 members of the Tongan house of representatives. </p> <p>Tu&#039;ivakano, the minister for education and training in the former government, replaced Feleti Seveli. </p> <p>Under Tonga&#039;s new constitution, voters directly elected 17 seats in parliament, while nine were reserved for nobles. </p> <p>Previously, the tiny Pacific kingdom was run by a parliament dominated by a clique of nobles selected by the king, who also chose the prime minister and cabinet. </p> <p>The swing towards democracy followed riots in the capital Nuku&#039;alofa in 2006, which claimed eight lives and destroyed much of the business centre as people protested against the slow pace of political reform. </p>
Prime minister > Summary	Mark Rutte won a fresh mandate in September 2012	Lord Tu&#039;ivakano is a former speaker of Parliament

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