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conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands
conventional short form:
Netherlands
local long form:
Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
local short form:
Nederland
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constitutional monarchy
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name: Amsterdam
geographic coordinates:
52 23 N, 4 54 E
time difference:
UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time:
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
note:
The Hague is the seat of government; time descriptions apply to the continental Netherlands only, not to the Caribbean components
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12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Fryslan (Friesland), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant (North Brabant), Noord-Holland (North Holland), Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland (Zealand), Zuid-Holland (South Holland)
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Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
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23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581 they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence)
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Queen's Day (Birthday of deceased Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980)
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adopted 1815; amended many times, most recently in 2002
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based on 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
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18 years of age; universal
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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); Deputy Prime Minister Andre ROUVOET (since 22 February 2007)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch
(For more information visit the World Leaders website )
elections:
the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition 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
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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 to serve four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections:
First Chamber - last held 29 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2011); Second Chamber - last held 9 June 2010 (next to be held by June 2015)
election results:
First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 21, PvdA 14, VVD 14, Socialist Party 11, Christian Union 4, Green Left Party 4, D66 2, other 5; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - VVD 20.5%, PvdA 19.6%, PVV, 15.4%, CDA 13.6%, SP 9.8%, D66 6.9%, GL 6.7%, CU 3.2, other 4.3%; seats by party - VVD31, PvdA 30, PVV 24, CDA 21, SP 15, D66 10, GL 10, CU 5, other 4
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Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch)
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Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Jan Peter BALKENENDE]; Christian Union [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Alexander PECHTOLD]; Green Left [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wouter BOS]; Party for Freedom or PVV [Geert WILDERS]; Party for the Animals or PvdD [Marianne THIEME]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy or VVD [Mark RUTTE] (Liberal); Reformed Political Party of SGP [Bas VAN DER VLIES]; Socialist Party [Agnes KANT]; plus a few minor parties
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Christian Trade Union Federation or CNV [Bert VAN BOGGELEN]; Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers or VNO-NCW [Bernard WIENTJES]; Federation for Small and Medium-sized businesses or MKB [Loek HERMANS]; Netherlands Trade Union Federation or FNV [Agnes JONGERIUS]; Social Economic Council or SER [Alexander RINNOOY KAN]; Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel or MHP [Richard STEENBORG]
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ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
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chief of mission: Ambassador Regina "Renee" JONES-BOS
chancery:
4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 244-5300, [1] 877-388-2443
FAX:
[1] (202) 362-3430
consulate(s) general:
Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York
consulate(s):
Boston
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chief of mission: Ambassador Fay Hartog LEVIN
embassy:
Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague
mailing address:
PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715
telephone:
[31] (70) 310-2209
FAX:
[31] (70) 361-4688
consulate(s) general:
Amsterdam
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three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; the colors were those of WILLIAM I, Prince of Orange, who led the Dutch Revolt against Spanish sovereignty in the latter half of the 16th century; originally the upper band was orange, but because it tended to fade to red over time, the red shade was eventually made the permanent color; the banner is perhaps the oldest tricolor in continuous use
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