Country name
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles
local long form: none
local short form : Nederlandse Antillen

Data code NT

Dependency status part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairsgranted in 1954

Government type NA

National capital Willemstad

Administrative divisions none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: each island has its own government

Independence none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

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

Constitution 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended

Legal system based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence

Suffrage 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands (since 30 April1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 25 February 1994)
cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten
elections: the queen is a constitutional monarch; governor general appointed bythe queen for a six-year term; following legislative elections, the leaderof the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten; electionlast held 31 March 1994 (next to be held NA 1998)
election results: Miguel POURIER elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote -NA

Legislative branch unicameral States or Staten (23 seats; members are elected by popularvote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 February 1994 (next to be held NA March 1998)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAR 8, PNP 3, SPA 2,PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, DP 1, WIPM 1, DP-St.E 1, DP-St.M 1, Nos Patria 1
note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of severalparties

Judicial branch Joint High Court of Justice

Political parties and leaders political parties are indigenous to each island
Bonaire: Patriotic Union of Bonaire (UPB), Rudy ELLIS; Democratic Party of Bonaire(PDB), Broertje JANJA
Curacao : Antillean Restructuring Party (PAR), Miguel POURIER; National People'sParty (PNP), Maria LIBERIA-PETERS; New Antilles Movement (MAN), Domenico FelipDon MARTINA; Workers' Liberation Front (FOL), Wilson (Papa) GODETT; SocialistIndependent (SI), George HUECK and Nelson MONTE; Democratic Party of Curacao(DP), Augustin DIAZ; Nos Patria, Chin BEHILIA
Saba : Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM Saba), Ray HASSELL; Saba DemocraticLabor Movement, Steve HASSELL; Saba Unity Party, Carmen SIMMONDS
Sint Eustatius: Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius (DP-St.E), Julian WOODLEY; WindwardIslands People's Movement (WIPM); St. Eustatius Alliance (SEA), Ingrid WHITFIELD
Sint Maarten: Democratic Party of Sint Maarten (DP-St.M), Sarah WESTCOTT-WILLIAMS;Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten (SPA), Vance JAMES; Serious AlternativePeople's Party (SAPP) Julian ROLLOCKS

International organization participation Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate),UPU, WMO, WToO (associate)

Diplomatic representation in the US none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Consul General James L. WILLIAMS
consulate(s) general: J.B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao
mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao
telephone : [599] (9) 461-3066
FAX: [599] (9) 461-6489

Flag description white with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on avertical red band also centered; five white five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars representthe five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and SintMaarten

NOTE: The information regarding Netherlands Antilles 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 Antilles Government 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Netherlands Antilles Government 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.