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 review in the Supreme Court of legislation of lower order rather than Acts of the States 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) is a constitutional monarch; Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER
(born 27 April 1967), Prince of Orange, son of Queen BEATRIX
head of government: Prime Minister Willem (Wim) KOK (since 22 August
1994) and Vice Prime Ministers Hans DIJKSTAL (since 22 August 1994)
and Hans VAN MIERLO (since 22 August 1994) were appointed by the
queen
cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral legislature (Staten Generaal)
First Chamber (Eerste Kamer): members indirectly elected by the
country's 12 provincial councils for four-year terms; election last
held 9 June 1995 (next to be held 9 June 1999); results - percent of
vote by party NA; seats - (75 total) number of seats by party NA
Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer): members directly elected for
four-year terms; elections last held 3 May 1994 (next to be held in
1998); results - PvdA 24.3%, CDA 22.3%, VVD 20.4%, D'66 16.5%, other
16.5%; seats - (150 total) PvdA 37, CDA 34, VVD 31, D'66 24, other 24