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 Charter Constitution Monarchy Queen Beatrix Cabinet (list) Present cabinet Coalition: CDA, PvdA, CU Prime Minister (list) Jan Peter Balkenende Parliament First Chamber (list) Second Chamber (list) Political parties Politicians Elections: 2nd Chamber: 2006 1st Chamber: 2007 Council of State Supreme Court Provinces Municipalities EU Politics Foreign relations Terminology

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The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands (in Dutch: Statuut voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; in Papiamentu: Statuut pa e Reino di Hulanda) describes the political relationship between the three different countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands: the Netherlands in Europe and the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in the Caribbean. The different constitutions of these three countries are legally subjected to the Statute. 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 van Oranje-Nassau, 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. ... This is a list of cabinets of the Netherlands Note: first party mentioned provided prime minister. ... The fourth Balkenende cabinet or Balkenende IV is the current Dutch coalition cabinet. ... The Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) (Dutch: Christen Democratisch Appèl) is a Dutch Christian-democratic political party. ... The Labour Party (in Dutch: Partij van de Arbeid, PvdA) is a Dutch social-democratic political party. ... The ChristianUnion (in Dutch: ChristenUnie, CU) is a relatively young Dutch orthodox Protestant political party. ... The prime minister of the Netherlands is the head of the cabinet, and, as such, coordinates the policy of the government. ... 3 November 1877: Jan Kappeyne van de Coppello (liberal) 19 August 1879: Theo graaf van Lynden van Sandenburg (conservative-protestant) 22 April 1883: Jan Heemskerk Abrahamzoon (conservative) 20 April 1888: Aeneas baron Mackay (ARP) 21 August 1891: Gijsbert van Tienhoven (liberal) 8 May 1894: Joan Röell (old liberal) 26... Dr. Jan Peter Balkenende   (born on 7 May 1956), has served as Prime Minister of The Netherlands since 22 July 2002. ... 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 Historic composition of the Eerste Kamer gives an overview of the composition of the Higher House of the Dutch parliament. ... The Tweede Kamer (second chamber) is the lower house of the Staten-Generaal, the parliament in the Netherlands. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Template:List of cabinets of the Netherlands. ... This article lists political parties in the Netherlands. ... Elections in the Netherlands gives information on election and election results in the Netherlands. ... Dutch Tweede Kamer seats as of 2006 The 2006 Dutch general elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday, November 22, 2006, and followed the call for new elections after the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet. ... An indirect election to the Eerste Kamer will be held in the Netherlands on 29 May 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... All provinces of the Netherlands are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), together 458 (2006); among these we can distinguish: those comprising one main city, town or village with the same name as the municipality, and possibly some additional villages; for example Utrecht, comprising the city Utrecht and the villages De Meern... The European Union or EU is a supranational and international organization of 27 member states. ... 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. ... West Indian redirects here. ...

Affairs of the Kingdom

The Charter states explicitly which elements of lawmaking and policy are to be dealt with on the level of the Kingdom and are thus valid for all three countries. Any matter not explicitly mentioned to be an affair of the Kingdom, is considered to be an affair of the different countries. Responsibility for affairs of the Kingdom rests with the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom. The affairs of the Kingdom are: The cabinet of the Netherlands or council of ministers plans and implements government policy. ...

• maintenance of the independence and the defense of the Kingdom;
• foreign relations;
• Netherlands nationality;
• regulation of the orders of chivalry, the flag and the coat of arms of the Kingdom;
• regulation of the nationality of vessels and the standards required for the safety and navigation of seagoing vessels flying the flag of the Kingdom, with the exception of sailing ships;
• supervision of the general rules governing the admission and expulsion of Netherlands nationals and aliens;
• extradition.

The military of the Netherlands is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix Koninklijke (Royal): Koninklijke Landmacht (KL), the Royal Netherlands Army, the regular, land based army branch. ... The Netherlands abandoned its traditional policy of neutrality after World War II. The Dutch have since become engaged participants in international affairs. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... An Order is a decoration, awarded by a government to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity. ... Flag ratio: 2:3 The national flag of the Netherlands, with its three equal horizontal bands coloured red (top), white and blue is the oldest tricolour still in use today. ... The Coat of Arms of The Netherlands (click for larger image) The Coat of Arms of The Netherlands (click for larger image) The Greater Coat of Arms of the Realm, (or “Grote Rijkswapen”), is the personal Coat of Arms of the Monarch (Queen Beatrix). ... In law, an alien is a person who is not a native or naturalized citizen of the land where they are found. ... Extradition is the official process by which one nation or state requests and obtains from another nation or state the surrender of a suspected or convicted criminal. ...

Other provisions

In addition, the Charter contains provisions on mutual assistance and co-operation between the three countries. All three countries are, as 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 three countries. Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... The terms governance and good governance are being increasingly used in development literature. ...

New relations within the Kingdom

Since 2005, the governments in the three countries within the Kingdom are negotiating a renewal of their relationship. These negotiations are expected to finish sometime in 2008. The probable outcome will be that three of the islands of the Netherlands Antilles, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba will become part of the country of the Netherlands; Curaçao and Sint Maarten are expected to become separate countries within the Kingdom. The Netherlands Antilles will in that case cease to exist as a political entity. Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe (national and royal anthem) Capital Amsterdam (not the seat of the government) 1 Largest city Amsterdam Official languages Dutch 2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime Minister of the Netherlands Jan Peter Balkenende  - Prime Minister of Aruba Nelson O. Oduber  - Prime Minister of the... Anthem: Tera di Solo y suave biento Capital (and largest city) Kralendijk Official languages Dutch Government See Politics of the Netherlands Antilles  - Bonaire Administrator  - Governor of N.A. Frits Goedgedrag Constitutional monarchy part of the Netherlands Antilles  Area  - Total 288 km² 111 sq mi  Population  - 2001 census 10,791  - Density... Map showing location of Sint Eustatius relative to Saba and Sint Maarten/Saint Martin. ... Motto: Remis Velisque. ... Anthem: Himno di Kòrsou Capital (and largest city) Willemstad Official languages Dutch Government See Politics of the Netherlands Antilles  - Prime Minister of N.A. Emily de Jongh-Elhage  - Governor of N.A. Frits Goedgedrag Constitutional monarchy part of the Netherlands Antilles  Area  - Total 444 km² 171. ... St. ...

References

• Website of the Dutch ministry of Internal Affairs
• Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands