The Netherlands

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Netherlands Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... Image File history File links Coat_of_arms_of_the_Netherlands. ... The Politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy and a constitutional monarchy. ...

Kingdom of the Netherlands Constitution Monarchy Queen Beatrix Cabinet Present cabinet Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende Ministry of General Affairs Coalition: CDA, VVD Parliament First Chamber Second Chamber Political parties Politicians Elections: 2006 Council of State Supreme Court Provinces EU Politics Drugs policy Foreign relations Terminology

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The Third Balkenende cabinet is the current cabinet of the Netherlands. It was formed on 7 July 2006 after a crisis in and the subsequent resignation of the second Balkenende cabinet. This minority cabinet of CDA and VVD was negotiated by former prime minister Ruud Lubbers^[1]. The main tasks for this interim cabinet are the preparations for the early general election on 22 November 2006 and the preparation of the 2007 budget. The Netherlands have been an independent monarchy since March 16, 1815, and have been governed by members of the House of Orange-Nassau since. ... Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (born as Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard prinses der Nederlanden, prinses van Oranje-Nassau, prinses van Lippe-Biesterfeld) (born January 31, 1938), has been the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since April 30, 1980. ... The cabinet of the Netherlands or council of ministers plans and implements government policy. ... The Prime Minister of the Netherlands (Minister-President in Dutch) is the chairman of the council of ministers and active executive authority of the Dutch government. ... (L to R): Silvio Berlusconi, Romano Prodi, António Vitorino and Jan Peter Balkenende. ... The Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) (Dutch: Christen Democratisch Appèl) is a Dutch christian-democratic political party. ... The Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) (Dutch: Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) is a Dutch liberal political party. ... The Estates-General (Staten-Generaal) is the parliament of the Netherlands. ... The Eerste Kamer (literally First Chamber in Dutch) is the Upper House or Senate of the Netherlands parliament, the States-General. ... The Tweede Kamer (second chamber) is the lower house of the Staten-Generaal, the parliament in the Netherlands. ... This article lists political parties in the Netherlands. ... Elections in the Netherlands gives information on election and election results in the Netherlands. ... The next Dutch general election were originally scheduled for May 15, 2007 as the parlimament was to be dissolved on April 2, 2007. ... In the Netherlands, the Council of State is a constitutionally established advisory body to the government which consists of members of the royal family and Crown-appointed members generally having political, commercial, diplomatic, or military experience. ... Hoge Raad der Nederlanden is the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, situated in The Hague. ... The modern day Netherlands are divided into twelve provinces (provincies in Dutch), listed below with their capital city: Map of the Netherlands, with provinces and capital cities See also the ranked list of Dutch provinces // Structure A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Image File history File links European_flag. ... The drug policy of the Netherlands is based on two principles: Drug use is a public health issue, not a criminal matter A distinction between hard drugs and soft drugs exists It is a pragmatic policy. ... The Netherlands abandoned its traditional policy of neutrality after World War II. The Dutch have since become engaged participants in international affairs. ... There are several terms used in Dutch politics which are not easily translated into English. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ... July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 177 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The second cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende has been in office in the Netherlands from May 27, 2003. ... A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when no political party has won a majority of seats in the parliament, typically by the party that does have a plurality. ... The Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) (Dutch: Christen Democratisch Appèl) is a Dutch christian-democratic political party. ... The Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) (Dutch: Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) is a Dutch liberal political party. ... Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Lubbers or Ruud Lubbers (born May 7, 1939) was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, from 2001 until February 20, 2005, when he resigned because of continuous press attention about an allegation of sexual harassment. ... The next Dutch general election were originally scheduled for May 15, 2007 as the parlimament was to be dissolved on April 2, 2007. ... November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Although only a minority of members of parliament will be represented in the cabinet, the cabinet will have full power to propose laws, each of which needs to be supported by an ad hoc majority in parliament. The constituent parties of the third Balkenende cabinet do have a majority (of one seat) in the senate. The Tweede Kamer (second chamber) is the lower house of the Staten-Generaal, the parliament in the Netherlands. ... The Eerste Kamer (literally First Chamber in Dutch) is the Upper House or Senate of the Netherlands parliament, the States-General. ...

Minority cabinets are rare in Dutch politics: the previous minority cabinet was the 1982-1983 third cabinet Van Agt. The Netherlands cabinet Van Agt-3 (1982-1983) was a minority coalition between the christian-democrats, CDA and liberals, D66. ...

Composition

The third Balkenende cabinet consists of 16 ministers and 7 junior ministers (staatssecretaris). These positions are divided among the coalition members according to their size in parliament: CDA supplies 9 ministers and 4 junior ministers and VVD supplies 7 ministers and 3 junior ministers. All members of this cabinet also served in the second Balkenende cabinet, except for junior minister for Education Bruno Bruins, who was scheduled to succeed former junior minister Mark Rutte, when the second Balkenende cabinet fell unexpectedly. Joop Wijn (economic affairs) and Atzo Nicolaï (governmental reform and kingdom relations) were promoted from junior minister to full minister to replace the D66 ministers in the second Balkenende cabinet^[2]. A minister or a secretary is a politician who heads a government ministry or department (e. ... There are several terms used in Dutch politics which are not easily translated into English. ... Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (born The Hague, February 14, 1967) is a Dutch Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) politician and State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science in the second Balkenende cabinet. ... d66 may refer to Democrats 66, a Dutch political party d66 (die), a dice roll used in some old wargames and RPGs This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

October 27th 2005, a fire erupted in the Schiphol prison which resulted in the death of 11 inmates. From the start doubts were shed on the organisation of the involved government agencies. 21st September 2006 the final report was presented on the problems in the Schiphol prison. The report explicitly stated that 'fewer or even no casualties' would have occurred if the government had upheld the legal safety standards. Based on these harsh conclusions ministers Donner (Justice), responsible for prisons, and Dekker, responsible for government buildings resigned immediately.

22nd September 2006 two new ministers were assigned to the posts left by Donner and Dekker. Ernst Hirsch Ballin of the CDA is the new justice minister. During the earlier third Lubbers cabinet he held the same position; from which he resigned in 1994 after the IRT-affair. The former minister of environment in the first Lubbers cabinet, Pieter Winsemius of the VVD, has replaced Dekker. ^[3] The Netherlands cabinet Lubbers-3 (1989-1994) was formed by a coalition of the christian-democrats, CDA and the labour party, PVDA. Coal of the cabinet was to come to social renewing. ... The Netherlands cabinet Lubbers-1 (1982-1986) was formed by the right-wing political parties CDA and VVD. The aim of the cabinet was cuting government spending and privatizations. ...

Ministers

The Prime Minister of the Netherlands (Minister-President in Dutch) is the chairman of the council of ministers and active executive authority of the Dutch government. ... (L to R): Silvio Berlusconi, Romano Prodi, António Vitorino and Jan Peter Balkenende. ... The finance minister is a cabinet position in a government. ... Gerrit Zalm (born May 6, 1952) is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Netherlands. ... The Interior Minister is a member of a Cabinet in a Government. ... Johannes Wijnandus (Johan) Remkes (born in Oosterbroek (Groningen) on 15 June 1951) became a member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch parlement in 1993, for the right-wing liberal party VVD. From 1998 to 2002 he was a State Secretary in the Second cabinet of Wim Kok. ... A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the governmental foreign policy of a sovereign nation. ... Dr. Bernard Bot November 21, 1937 is the current Minister of Foreign affairs of The Netherlands. ... A justice minister is a ministerial position in the governments of some countries, with general responsibility for policing and the maintenance of public order. ... Jan Piet Hein Donner (born 20 October 1948 in Amsterdam) is the current Dutch Minister of Justice in the second Balkenende cabinet as member of the Dutch Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). ... The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands is housed in the Hoftoren, the tallest building of The Hague. ... Maria van der Hoeven (born September 13, 1949 in Meerssen) is a Dutch politician and the current Minister of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands. ... Hans Hoogervorst (19 April 1956) is the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports of the Netherlands since May 2003. ... A defence minister (Commonwealth English) or defense minister (American English) is a cabinet portfolio (position) which regulates the armed forces in a sovereign nation. ... Kamp with Donald Rumsfeld Henricus Gregorius Jozeph (Henk) Kamp (born in Hengelo, July 23, 1952) is a Dutch politician who is the current Minister of Defense in the Second Balkenende cabinet for the right-wing liberal party VVD. External links Official site Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Henk Kamp... Cees Veerman (full name: Cornelis Pieter Veerman). ... Aart Jan de Geus (born July 28, 1955 in Doorn) is a Dutch politician and the current Minister of Social Affairs and Employment of the Netherlands. ... Rita Verdonk Drs. ...

Junior Ministers

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands is housed in the Hoftoren, the tallest building of The Hague. ...

References

External links

• Who's who in Balkenende III