Government and Politics of Netherlands

Government Type

constitutional monarchy

Administrative Divisions

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

Legal System

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

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the Netherlands dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

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) and Deputy Prime Ministers Gerrit ZALM (since 27 May 2003) and Laurens Jan BRINKHORST (since 31 March 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; 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; vice 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 for four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: First Chamber - last held 25 May 2003 (next to be held May 2007); Second Chamber - last held 22 January 2003 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 23, PvdA 19, VVD 15, Green Party 5, Socialist Party 4, D66 3, other 6; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - CDA 28.6%, PvdA 27.3%, VVD 12.9%, Socialist Party 6.3%, List Pim Fortuyn 5.7%, Green Party 5.1%, D66 4.1%; seats by party - CDA 44, PvdA 42, VVD 28, Socialist Party 9, List Pim Fortuyn 8, Green Party 8, D66 6, other 5

Judicial Branch

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

Political Parties

Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Maxime Jacques Marcel VERHAGEN]; Christian Union Party [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Boris DITTRICH]; Green Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wouter BOS]; List Pim Fortuyn [Gerard van AS]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Jozias VAN AARTSEN]; Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; plus a few minor parties

Head of State

Queen BEATRIX

Head of Government

Prime Minister Jan Peter BALKENENDE

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

Constitution

adopted 1814; amended many times, last time 17 February 1983

Independence

1579 (from Spain); note - the northern provinces of the Low Country concluded the Union of Utrecht, but it was not until 1648 that Spain recognized their independence

National Holiday

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

International Organization Participation

AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic Representation in the U.S.

chief of mission: Ambassador Boudewijn J. VAN EENENNAAM chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York

U.S. Diplomatic Representation

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Chat BLAKEMAN embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715 telephone: [31] (70) 310-9209 FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688 consulate(s) general: Amsterdam

Capital City

Amsterdam; note - The Hague is the seat of government

Location

52 21 N, 4 55 E

Time Difference

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) time zone note: time descriptions apply to the continental Netherlands only, for the constituent countries in the Caribbean, the time difference is UTC-4

History

the original Dutch name, Amstellerdam, meaning "a dam on the Amstel River," dates to the 13th century; over time the name simplified to Amsterdam

Consulate General of the United States, Amsterdam Museumplein 19 1071 DJ Amsterdam Telephone: (31) (20) 575-5309 Emergency after-hours telephone: (31) (70) 310-2209 Facsimile: (31) (20) 679-0321 Embassy of the United States, The Hague Lange Voorhout 102 2514 EJ The Hague Telephone: (31) (70) 310-2209 Facsimile: (31) (70) 361-4688

Military Branches

Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht, KLu), Royal Military Police

Service Age and Obligation

17 years of age for an all-volunteer force