cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch
note: there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to the cabinet on legislative and administrative policy
Legislative branch:
bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils to serve four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: First Chamber - last held 29 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2011); Second Chamber - last held 9 June 2010 (next to be held by May 2015)
election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 21, PvdA 14, VVD 14, Socialist Party 11, Christian Union 4, Green Left Party 4, D66 2, other 5; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - VVD 20.5%, PvdA 19.6%, PVV, 15.4%, CDA 13.6%, SP 9.8%, D66 6.9%, GL 6.7%, CU 3.2, other 4.3%; seats by party - VVD 31, PvdA 30, PVV 24, CDA 21, SP 15, D66 10, GL 10, CU 5, other 4
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch)
Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Maxime VERHAGEN]; Christian
Union [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Alexander PECHTOLD];
Green Left [Jolande SAP]; Labor Party or PvdA [Job COHEN]; Party for
Freedom or PVV [Geert WILDERS]; Party for the Animals or PvdD
[Marianne THIEME]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy or VVD
[Mark RUTTE] (Liberal); Reformed Political Party of SGP [Kees VAN
DER STAAIJ]; Socialist Party [Emile ROEMER]; plus a few minor parties