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the Netherlands

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Netherlands Politics, sometimes defined as the art and science of government. ... Image File history File links Coat_of_arms_of_the_Netherlands. ... Politics of the Netherlands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy and a constitutional monarchy, where the prime minister of the Netherlands is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system with about 15 parties at national elections. ...

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The Netherlands have been an independent monarchy since March 16, 1815, and have been governed by members of the House of Orange-Nassau since. ... Beatrix of the Netherlands (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard van Oranje-Nassau) (born January 31, 1938), Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld, styled HM The Queen is the Queen of The Netherlands, having acceded to the throne in 1980. ... The cabinet of the Netherlands or council of ministers plans and implements government policy. ... The second cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende has been in office in the Netherlands from May 27, 2003. ... 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. ... Dr. Jan Peter Balkenende (help· info) (* May 7, 1956) has served as Prime Minister of The Netherlands since July 22, 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 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. ... 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 European Union or EU is a supranational and intergovernmental union of 25 European states. ... 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. ...

The Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP, literally "Constitutional Reformed Party") is a Dutch constitutional theocratic political party following conservative Christian principles, in the tradition of the Dutch Reformed Church. It has been represented in the lower house of parliament (Tweede Kamer) continuously since 1922, but (at least since 1956) with only two or three of the 150 seats. The party was founded in 1918 out of dissatisfaction with the existing Christian political parties. It is the oldest Dutch political party still in existence. The parliamentary faction cooperates in various areas with the ChristenUnie. The two parties are often grouped together as the "small Christian" (klein Christelijk) parties, as there is also a large Christian party, the Christian Democratic Appeal. Both party share the same ideals, but also the same political strategy: they are testimonial parties. Constitutional theocracy is a form of government in which within the context of a modern democracy a particular religion is granted a central role in the legal and political system. ... A political party is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... The Dutch Reformed village church of St. ... The Tweede Kamer (second chamber) is the lower house of the Staten-Generaal, the parliament in the Netherlands. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The ChristenUnie (Christians Union) is a relatively young political party in the Netherlands. ... The Christen Democratisch Appèl (Abbriviated: CDA, English: Christian-Democratic Appeal) is a Dutch christian-democratic political party. ... There are several terms used in Dutch politics which are not easily translated into English. ...

Manifesto and political position

The manifesto of the SGP for the 2002 elections took a "radical conservative" standpoint on morality and ethics. Women are not allowed to become full members of the party, a position which has been controversial at times. In 2005 the court ruled that this practice was discriminatory and that the party should not receive any funding from the state. [1]. For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... Morality, in the strictest sense of the word, deals with that which is regarded as right or wrong. ... Ethics (from Greek ἦθος meaning custom) is the branch of axiology, one of the four major branches of philosophy, which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to distinguish that which is right from that which is wrong. ...

Other controversial issues include their strict adherence to the old text of the Belgic Confession (Nederlandse Geloofsbelijdenis) that mentions the striving "to avert and exterminate all idolatry and false religions, and to bring to ruin the empire of the antichrist". The chairman of the party replied to this quote saying: The Confession of Faith, popularly known as the Belgic Confession, following the seventeenth-century Latin designation Confessio Belgica. ...

"The Protestant tradition did not execute atheists or people with deviant opinions. Besides, that has never been the intention of the drafter of the Belgic Confession, Guido de Brès. The Bible mentions that this will not happen through force or violence, but through God's spirit."

Representation

The SGP has held a small but consistent number of seats in the lower house of the Dutch parliament:

• 1956: 3
• 1959: 3
• 1963: 3
• 1967: 3
• 1971: 3
• 1972: 3
• 1977: 3
• 1981: 3
• 1982: 3
• 1986: 3
• 1989: 3
• 1991: 3
• 1994: 2
• 1998: 3
• 2002: 2
• 2003: 2

The lower house faction chairman since 1986 has been Bas van der Vlies, who also acted as the lijsttrekker (head of the list of candidates) for the May 2002 elections. The other two house members for the period 1998-2002 were C. van der Staaij and J.T. van den Berg. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ...

Previous faction chairmen in the lower house were:

• H. van Rossum: 1981–1986
• H. G. Abma: 1971–1981
• C. N. van Dis: 1961–1971
• P. Zandt: 1945–1961
• G. H. Kersten: 1922–1945

External links

• SGP website (note: closed on Sundays)