Kingdom of the Netherlands Totally Explained

Everything about The Kingdom Of The Netherlands totally explained

The Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch:, Papiamento: Reino Hulandes) is an association with federal characteristics (federacy), based on a political compact, which consists of three constituent countries: the Netherlands in Western Europe, and the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in the Caribbean. The current Kingdom of the Netherlands was constituted with the proclamation of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands on October 28, 1954. From 1830 to 1954, the "Kingdom of the Netherlands" referred to the Netherlands Kingdom and its colonial (formerly Dutch East- and West-Indian Co.) possessions. Suriname was a constituent nation within the Kingdom from 1954 to 1975.
   The Charter specifies the competences of the Kingdom; apart from these competences the constituent countries are completely autonomous in their internal affairs.
   The Charter is a unique document, which compares with difficulty to other types of political compacts for associations and government. It has some characteristics of a federal state, the main difference being that its members, on the federal level, are not completely equal. The Netherlands, as one of the constituent nations, actually is responsible for the federal affairs. The interests of the overseas constituent nations in matters that are governed by the Kingdom, are in practice subordinate to those of the Netherlands .
   Aruba had been under Dutch administration since 1647, and during World War II, it was a British protectorate from 1940 to 1942 and a US protectorate from 1942 to 1945 (in March 1944, Eleanor Roosevelt briefly visited American troops stationed in Aruba). In August 1947, Aruba presented its first Staatsreglement (Constitution) as a separate and autonomous country and member-state of a Dutch Commonwealth, under the authority of the Dutch crown. In 1948 it sent its second petition for independence from Curaçao to the Dutch Queen, the first petition having been sent in 1933.
   In 1951 interim provisions on universal suffrage, administrative bodies and ministerial responsibility were introduced in Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles. During a Round Table Conference negotiations took place about the administrative organisation of the Realm. To all participants, the mutual "unity" of the territories was of utmost importance. With a possible inclusion of Indonesia into a new-style Kingdom in mind, initially a federal structure was designed. Above the institutions of the constituent nations, a Kingdom Government (Rijksregering) and Kingdom Parliament (Rijksparlement) would be placed.
   This interim arrangement was adopted against the people of Aruba's wishes, and without requiring an election or a plebiscite, as was the Statute of the Kingdom adopted in 1954.
   As the population and the economies of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles were insignificant compared to those of the Netherlands, the Dutch government considered this construct to be too heavy. The Dutch cabinet didn't approve of this kingdom constitution design when it was proposed in October 1948. In a subsequent design, which dropped the term constitution for Charter, Dutch institutions were taken as a starting point for the Kingdom Government, to which representatives of the overseas territories could be added if necessary.
   In the final version of the Charter, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles each got a Minister Plenipotentiary based in the Netherlands, who had the right to participate in Dutch cabinet meetings when it discussed matters that applied to the Kingdom as a whole, making this Dutch institution a Kingdom Government in appropriate cases. Delegacies of the States of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles could participate in sessions of the First and Second Chamber of the States-General. An overseas member could be added to the High Council when appropriate, and the government would seek the approval of the States of the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname if legislation affected those nations. According to the Charter, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles were also allowed to alter their constitutions (Staatsregeling). A term expressly not used in the Charter was the term right of self-determination. The right of any of the three nations to leave the political union unilaterally wasn't recognised; yet it was stipulated the Charter could be dissolved by mutual consultation.
   In November 1955, a representative of Aruba spoke in front of the United Nations Trust Committee and mentioned future changes to come.(These changes were officially presented twenty years later by the Aruban people in March 1977, based on their selfdetermination right, in the form of a referendum.)
   Politicians of the nations visited each other as well. Until the end of the sixties, within Dutch politics a feeling of great satisfaction with the political relations prevailed. Only the Communist Party of the Netherlands denounced the Charter as a colonialist construction. All other Dutch politicians expressed in warm, but also quite romantic and vague words their appreciation of the Charter and the continuing links with Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles.
   Until 1969, 'kingdom relations' rarely were subject of public debate in the Netherlands.
   The Dutch government officially didn't pursue a cultural policy with regard to the overseas nations of the Kingdom, but it did have close ties with a foundation, Sticusa, that had as its aim to strengthen cultural ties between the constituent nations and further common understanding amongst its populations. The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands also shortens "Kingdom of the Netherlands" to "Kingdom" rather than to "Netherlands". In addition, the "Werkgroep Bestuurlijke en Financiële Verhoudingen Nederlandse Antillen"—the commission that explored the current constitutional reform of the Kingdom—recommended that the "identification of the Netherlands with the Kingdom needs to be eliminated". The Council of State of the Kingdom joins the commission in this by remarking that the Kingdom of the Netherlands has no telephone number, no budget and that the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom usually meets very briefly with a summary agenda. To counter this habit, the Council of State has suggested that with the pending constitutional reform in the Kingdom, a Secretariat for the Kingdom will be instituted that prepares the agenda for the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom and guards the enforcement of decisions of the Council.
   Confusingly, the constitution of the Netherlands is still called the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as it originates from before 1954.

Statistics

Constituent country	Population (2007)	Percentage of Kingdom population	Area (km²)	Percentage of Kingdom area	Population density (inh. per km²)
Kingdom of the Netherlands	16 653 663	100.00%	42 519	100.00%	392
	103 891	0.62%	193	0.45%	538
	16 357 992	98.22%	41 526	97.66%	394
	191 780	1.15%	800	1.88%	240
—	11 537	0.07%	288	0.68%	40
—	137 094	0.82%	444	1.04%	309
—	1 491	0.01%	13	0.03%	115
—	2 699	0.02%	21	0.05%	129
—	38 959	0.23%	34	0.08%	1 146

Source Aruba: Central Bureau of Statistics

Source Netherlands: Central Bureau of Statistics

Source Netherlands Antilles: Central Bureau of Statistics - population

and area

Geography

The Kingdom of the Netherlands covers 42,519 square kilometres, making it the 134th largest country on earth. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has land borders with Belgium, Germany (both in the Netherlands), and France (on Sint Maarten).
   Aruba is a generally flat, riverless island renowned for its white, sandy beaches. Most of these are located on the western and southern coasts of the island, which are relatively sheltered from fierce ocean currents. The northern and eastern coasts, lacking this protection, are considerably more battered by the sea and have been left largely untouched by humans. The interior of the island features some rolling hills, the better two of which are called Hooiberg at 165 metres (541 ft) and Mount Jamanota, which is the highest on the island, at 188 metres (617 ft) above sea level.
   Most of the Netherlands lies below sea level, and much land was reclaimed from the sea. Dikes were erected to protect the land from flooding. Currently the highest point of the Netherlands is the Vaalserberg in Limburg at only 322.7 metres (1,053 ft), but with the pending constitutional reform this is going to change as Saba will become part of the Netherlands as a special municipality, and its Mount Scenery (877 metres (2,877 ft)) will take the place of the Vaalserberg.
   The Netherlands Antilles consist of two zones with different geographic origins. The Windward Islands (Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten) are all of volcanic origin and hilly, leaving little ground suitable for agriculture. The Leeward Islands (Bonaire and Curaçao) have a mixed volcanic and coral origin. The said Mount Scenery is currently the highest point of the Netherlands Antilles. Both Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles have a tropical climate, with warm weather all year round. The Windward Islands are subject to hurricanes in the summer months. The Netherlands has a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters.

Constituent countries

The Kingdom of the Netherlands currently consists of three constituent countries:

Aruba

Aruba is a centralised unitary state. Its administration consists of the Governor, who represents the Queen, and the (Aruban) Council of Ministers, headed by a Prime Minister. The people are represented in the Estates of Aruba. The current Governor of Aruba is Fredis Refunjol, and the current Prime Minister is Nelson O. Oduber. It has the Aruban florin as its currency.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands is a decentralized unitary state. Its administration consists of the Monarch and the Council of Ministers, which is headed by a Prime Minister. The people are represented by the States-General of the Netherlands, which consists of a Chamber of Representatives and a Chamber of Senators. The Netherlands is divided into 12 provinces: Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland and Zuid-Holland. The provinces are divided into municipalities. The current Prime Minister of the Netherlands is Jan Peter Balkenende. It has the euro as its currency.

The Netherlands Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles is a decentralized unitary state, with federal characteristics. Its administration consists of the Governor, who represents the Queen, and the (Netherlands Antillean) Council of Ministers, headed by a Prime Minister. The people are represented by the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles. The Netherlands Antilles is composed of five insular territories: Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten. The current Governor of the Netherlands Antilles is Frits Goedgedrag, and the current Prime Minister is Emily de Jongh-Elhage. It has the Netherlands Antillean guilder as its currency.

Constitution

The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands functions as the constitution of the Kingdom, and is as such applicable in every part of the Kingdom. It specifies the competences of the Kingdom and defines its institutions. For some specific parts, the Charter refers to some articles of the Constitution of the Netherlands. Each of the three constituent countries within the Kingdom have their own constitution: the Constitution of the Netherlands, the Constitution of the Netherlands Antilles, and the Constitution of Aruba.

Government

Affairs

Article 3 of the Charter specifies that "without prejudice to provisions elsewhere in the Charter, Kingdom affairs shall include":

Maintenance of the independence and the defence of the Kingdom;
Foreign relations;
Netherlands nationality;
Regulation of the orders of chivalry, the flag and the coat of arms of the Kingdom;
Regulation of the nationality of vessels and the standards required for the safety and navigation of seagoing vessels flying the flag of the Kingdom, with the exception of sailing ships;
Supervision of the general rules governing the admission and expulsion of Netherlands nationals;
General conditions for the admission and expulsion of aliens;
Extradition.

Paragraph 2 of Article 3 specifies that "other matters may be declared to be Kingdom affairs in consultation". Under these reforms, both Curaçao and Sint Maarten will form new constituent countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, thereby dissolving the current Netherlands Antilles. Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius will become direct parts of the Netherlands as special municipalities of the Netherlands and are to be constituted as "public bodies" (Dutch: "openbaar lichamen") under the Constitution of the Netherlands. These municipalities will resemble ordinary Dutch municipalities in most ways (they will have mayors, aldermen, and municipal councils, for example) and will have to introduce most laws of the Netherlands. As a transitional measure, only Dutch law that's considered to be necessary to function within the legal system of the Netherlands will be introduced, and most current laws of the Netherlands Antilles will still be in force on the three islands when they join the Netherlands on December 15, 2008. After that date, Dutch legislation will slowly take the place of the current laws of the Netherlands Antilles on those three islands. There are, however, some derogations for these islands, due to their distance. Social security, for example, won't be on the same level as it's in the Netherlands, and the islands won't be obliged to introduce the euro.
Additionally, the Kingdom government will consist of the government of the Netherlands and one Minister Plenipotentiary per Caribbean country. The special municipalities will be represented in the Kingdom Government by the Netherlands, as they can vote for the Dutch parliament. As the current Dutch voting law specifies that the First Chamber is to be chosen by the provinces, and the three islands currently are not to be included in a province, it's as yet unsure how they're to elect members in the First Chamber. The Dutch government has, however, guaranteed that the people on the islands will be able to elect members of the First Chamber, and is considering options for this. For Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius, the Netherlands has proposed that a study be conducted on the islands acquiring the status of Outermost Regions (OMR), also called Ultra Peripheral Regions (UPR). The study would also look into how the islands would fare under UPR status.