page_title: Kingdom of the Netherlands
section_title: Government
hierarchical_section_title: Kingdom of the Netherlands / Institutions / Government
caption_attribution_description: English: His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange in Battery Park City, Manhattan, on 9 September 2009.
context_page_description: The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with the large majority of its territory in Western Europe and with several small West Indian island territories in the Caribbean.
  The four parts of the kingdom—the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten—are constituent countries and participate on a basis of equality as partners in the Kingdom. In practice, however, most of the Kingdom's affairs are administered by the Netherlands—which comprises roughly 98% of the Kingdom's land area and population—on behalf of the entire Kingdom. Consequently, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten are dependent on the Netherlands for matters like foreign policy and defence, but are autonomous to a certain degree, with their own parliaments.
  The vast majority in land area of the constituent country of the Netherlands is in Europe, while its three special municipalities are located in the Caribbean, as are the other three constituent countries. The kingdom has a population of 17,737,438 as of November 2019.
context_section_description: The Monarch and the ministers he appoints form the Government of the Kingdom. According to Article 7 of the Charter, the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands complemented by one Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba, one Minister Plenipotentiary of Curaçao, and one Minister Plenipotentiary of Sint Maarten. The Dutch Prime Minister chairs the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom.
  In December 2007, a Deputy Council for Kingdom Relations was established. This deputy council prepares the meetings of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom. The establishment of such a Council has long been advocated by the Council of State of the Kingdom.
  The Government and the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom, along with the monarchy itself, are subject to Article 5 of the Charter that refers their regulation mainly to the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands as far as the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands does not provide for that.
  Two legal instruments are available at the Kingdom level: the Kingdom act (Dutch: Rijkswet) and the Order-in-Council for the Kingdom (Dutch: Algemene maatregel van Rijksbestuur). An example of a Kingdom act is the "Kingdom Act regarding Dutch citizenship" (Dutch: Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap).
  The Monarch of the Netherlands is the head of state of the Kingdom. The Monarch is represented in Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten by a governor.
caption: King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, the reigning monarch of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At the time this picture was taken he was still the Prince of Orange.
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