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 (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April
Constitution: adopted 1814; amended many times, last time 17
February 1983
Legal system: civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen BEATRIX (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), son of the monarch
head of government: Prime Minister Wim KOK (since 22 August 1994) and Vice Prime Ministers Annemarie JORRITSMA (since 3 August 1998) and Els BORST-EILERS (since 3 August 1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch