Prime Minister of the Netherlands
| Prime Minister of the Netherlands | |
|---|---|
| Minister-president van Nederland | |
 State Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands | |
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| Ministry of General Affairs | |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Member of | Council of Ministers European Council |
| Residence | Catshuis, The Hague, Netherlands |
| Seat | Torentje, The Hague, Netherlands |
| Appointer | Willem-Alexander as King of the Netherlands |
| Term length | 4 years No term limit |
| Formation | 25 March 1848 as Chairman of the Council of Ministers 24 June 1945 as Minister-President |
| First holder | Gerrit Schimmelpenninck as Chairman of the Council of Ministers Wim Schermerhorn as Minister-President |
| Deputy | Deputy Prime Minister |
| Salary | €144,000 (incl. €7,887.24 expenses) |
| Website | Ministry of General Affairs |
The Minister-President of the Netherlands (Template:Lang-nl), commonly referred to in English as the Prime Minister (Premier van Nederland), is the head of the executive arm of the Dutch government and the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands.[1][2][3] The Prime Minister is de facto the head of government of the Netherlands and coordinates its policy with his cabinet. The current Dutch Prime Minister is Mark Rutte, in office since 2010.
Role
Although they are the most important political figure in the Netherlands, its Prime Ministers are not as powerful as the British Prime Minister and the German Chancellor. This is mainly because historically all Dutch ministers used to be responsible to the Monarch and the ministers were taking turns to fill the position of the Prime Minister who had little if any control over the other ministers. The Prime Minister's role gained importance when ministers became responsible to the parliament and the position became mostly reserved for the leader of the biggest political party in the House of Representatives. Still, because the position holds limited powers compared to other neighboring parliamentary democracies, the Prime Minister role is described as primus inter pares ("first among equals").[3]
Following the constitutional review of 1983, the position of Prime Minister was formalized in the Dutch Constitution for the first time.[4] According to the Constitution of the Netherlands, the Government is constituted by the King and the ministers.[5] The Constitution stipulates the Prime Minister chairs the Council of Ministers (article 45) and is appointed by royal decree (article 43). The royal decree of their own appointment and those of the other ministers are to be countersigned by the Prime Minister (article 48). The Council of Ministers is nowadays not anymore attended by the King.
The Prime Minister chairs the weekly meetings of the Council of Ministers and has the power to set the agenda of these meetings. The prime minister is also Minister of General Affairs (Minister van Algemene Zaken), which takes an important role in coordinating policy and is responsible for the Government Information Service (Dutch: Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst). The Prime Minister is also responsible for the royal house and has a weekly meeting with the King on government policy. Informally the Prime Minister functions as the "face" of the cabinet to the public. After the meetings of the cabinet on Friday, the Prime Minister hosts a press conference on the decisions of the cabinet and current affairs. The Prime Minister also has some functions in international affairs, attending the European Council every six months and maintaining bilateral contacts. The Prime Minister's office is a hexagon shaped tower, named "The Little Tower" (Torentje), in the Binnenhof in The Hague. The official residence (which is only used for official functions) is the Catshuis; the last Prime Minister to live in the Catshuis was Dries van Agt. Incumbent Mark Rutte lives in a flat downtown The Hague. The Prime Minister has no security detail.[6]
Conventionally, the party with the largest number of seats in the lower house (Tweede Kamer – literal translation to English is "Second Chamber") will initiate coalition talks after general elections. These negotiations are concluded by means of a so-called "government agreement" (regeerakoord). The lower house will have a debate about this agreement and, if this agreement meets sufficient support, the leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the lower house will be instituted as "formator" of the cabinet. He or she usually appoints herself or himself Prime Minister. A minister from the smaller coalition party usually becomes Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands. If there is a third or fourth party in the coalition, each has the right to name one of its ministers second and third Deputy Prime Minister.[7]
History
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For a list of historic Prime Ministers, see List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands. For a list of Prime Ministers by age, see List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands by age. For a list of Prime Ministers by religious affiliations, see Religious affiliations of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands.
Gradually the Prime Minister became an official function of government leader, taken by the political leader of the largest party. Since 1848 the role of the first minister has become relevant. In that year the Constitution of the Netherlands was amended to make ministers responsible to parliament, rather than – as hitherto – being responsible to the King, who acted as the leader of cabinet. Until 1901 the position chair of the council of ministers officially rotated between ministers. Between 1901 and 1945 the position formally still rotated but prominent politicians were able to claim a rotation period of four years. In 1937 a separate Ministry of General Affairs was instituted which was informally linked to the Prime Minister. Barend Biesheuvel (1971–1973) was the last Prime Minister who was not the political leader of the largest party in cabinet, but actually of the third largest. In 1983 the function of Prime Minister was laid down in the constitution.
The position of the Prime Minister has been enforced by the creation of the European Council.[8] In November 2006, the rules of procedure of the council of ministers was changed to allow the Prime Minister to put any item on the agenda of the council, whereas before he had to wait for a minister to take the initiative.[9] A change of the rules of procedure of the cabinet in July 2008 allowed the Prime Minister to direct other ministers on the costs of the Royal House, which are covered by several ministries.[10]
Living Prime Ministers
As of March 2018[update], there are four Prime Minister of the Netherlands currently living, the oldest being Dries van Agt. The most recent former Prime Minister to die was Ruud Lubbers who served 1982–1994 and died on 14 February 2018 at the age of 78 years, 283 days.
| Prime Minister | Term | Born | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dries van Agt | 1977–1982 | 2 February 1931 | 93 years, 330 days |
| Wim Kok | 1994–2002 | 29 September 1938 | 86 years, 90 days |
| Jan Peter Balkenende | 2002–2010 | 7 May 1956 | 68 years, 235 days |
| Mark Rutte | 2010– | 14 February 1967 | 57 years, 318 days |
Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Prime Minister is also Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and therefore also deals with matters affecting the other countries Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten in the Kingdom. The independent cabinets of Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten also have their own prime ministers: Evelyn Wever-Croes (Prime Minister of Aruba), Hensley Koeiman (Prime Minister of Curaçao), and Leona Marlin-Romeo (Prime Minister of Sint Maarten). The Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands includes Minister Plenipotentiary from the other countries of the Kingdom. These are not included in the government of the Kingdom.
Deputies
The King appoints Deputy Prime Ministers. Conventionally, all of the junior partners in the coalition get one Deputy Prime Minister; they are ranked according to the size of their respective parties. The senior deputy present chairs the cabinet meeting when the Prime minister is not present. In the current Second Rutte cabinet, Lodewijk Asscher chairs those meetings as Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands. The oldest member of the cabinet chairs the meeting when both the Prime Minister and the deputies are absent. In the current Second Rutte cabinet, Henk Kamp (Minister of Economic Affairs) hold the title of oldest minister.
See also
- List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands
- Historical rankings of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands
- Religious affiliations of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands
- List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands by age
- List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands by education
Notes
- ^ Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden [Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands], article 45 section 2.
- ^ Van der Pot, C.W., Donner, A.M.: Handboek van het Nederlandse staatsrecht [Handbook of Dutch Constitutional Law], page 344-345. Zwolle: W.E.J. Tjeenk Willink, 1983.
- ^ a b "Minister-president – Parlement & Politiek". Parlement.com. 21 March 2002. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- ^ Van der Pot, 344.
- ^ Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, article 42, section 1: "De regering wordt gevormd door de Koning en de ministers."
- ^ 'Heeft Rutte dan green bodyguards nodding?, ad.nl (in Dutch), 29-07-11.
- ^ "(In)formateur en kabinetsformatie – Parlement & Politiek". Parlement.com. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ Van der Pot, 345
- ^ Van Middelaar, Luuk: De passage naar Europa. Geschiedenis van een begin [The Passage to Europe. History of A Beginning], page 409. Groningen: Historische Uitgeverij 2009.
- ^ ”Balkenende rotzooit met staatsrecht”, NRC Handelsblad, 10 July 2008.
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