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    Netherlands Index 2006

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    Netherlands Government - 2006

    https://theodora.com/wfbcurrent/netherlands/netherlands_government.html
    SOURCE: 2006 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

      Country name:
      conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands
      conventional short form: Netherlands
      local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
      local short form: Nederland

      Government type:
      constitutional monarchy

      Capital:
      Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government

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

      Dependent areas:
      Aruba, Netherlands Antilles

      Independence:
      23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; 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

      Constitution:
      adopted 1815; amended many times, most recently in 2002

      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

      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 and leaders:
      Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Maxime Jacques Marcel VERHAGEN]; Christian Union Party [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Lousewies VAN DER LAAN]; 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 [Wilibrord Ignatius VAN BECK]; Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; plus a few minor parties

      Political pressure groups and leaders:
      Netherlands Trade Union Federation or FNV (consisting of a merger of Socialist and Catholic trade unions); Christian Trade Union Federation or CNV; Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel or MHP; Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; Interchurch Peace Council or IKV; large multinational firms; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises

      International organization participation:
      AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CBSS (observer), 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, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

      Diplomatic representation in the US:
      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

      Diplomatic representation from the US:
      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

      Flag description:
      three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; one of the oldest flags in constant use, originating with WILLIAM I, Prince of Orange, in the latter half of the 16th century


      NOTE: The information regarding Netherlands on this page is re-published from the 2006 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Netherlands Government 2006 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Netherlands Government 2006 should be addressed to the CIA.

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    https://theodora.com/wfb2006/netherlands/netherlands_government.html
    Revised 06-Jun-06
    Copyright © 2021 Photius Coutsoukis (all rights reserved)