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

Data code NL

Government type constitutional monarchy

National capital Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government

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

Dependent areas Aruba, Netherlands Antilles

Independence 1579 (from Spain)

National holiday Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)

Constitution 17 February 1983

Legal system civil law system incorporating French penal theory; judicial reviewin the Supreme Court of legislation of lower order rather than Acts of theStates General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
chief of state : Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980); Heir ApparentWILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), Prince of Orange, son of Queen BEATRIX
head of government: Prime Minister Wim KOK (since 22 August 1994) and Vice Prime MinistersHans DIJKSTAL (since 22 August 1994) and Hans VAN MIERLO (since 22 August1994)
cabinet : Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
elections: none; the queen is a constitutional monarch; following Second Chamberelections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalitionis usually appointed prime minister by the queen; vice prime ministers appointedby the queen

Legislative branch bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamberor Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12provincial councils for four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or TweedeKamer (150 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve four-yearterms)
elections: First Chamber - last held 9 June 1995 (next to be held 9 June 1999);Second Chamber - last held 3 May 1994 (next to be held in 1998)
election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA;Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - PvdA 24.3%, CDA 22.3%, VVD 20.4%,D'66 16.5%, other 16.5%; seats by party - PvdA 37, CDA 34, VVD 31, D'66 24, other 24

Judicial branch Supreme Court or De Hoge Raad, justices are nominated for life by thecrown from a list compiled by the Second Chamber of the States General

Political parties and leaders Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Hans HELGERS]; Labor or PvdA [WimKOK]; Liberal or VVD [Frits BOLKESTEIN]; Democrats '66 or D'66 [Hans VAN MIERLO]; a host of minor parties

Political pressure groups and leaders large multinational firms; Federation of Netherlands Trade Union Movement(comprising Socialist and Catholic trade unions) and a Protestant trade union;Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; the nondenominationalFederation of Netherlands Enterprises; and Interchurch Peace Council or IKV

International organization participation AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN,EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA,NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Adriaan Pieter Roetert JACOBOVITS DE SZEGED
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, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission : Ambassador Kirk Terry DORNBUSH
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; similarto the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer

NOTE: The information regarding Netherlands on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Netherlands Government 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Netherlands Government 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.