Simple directory > Regional > Netherlands

Official name: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (The Kingdom of The Netherlands) Head of State: Queen Beatrix (crowned 30 April 1980) Head of government: Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende (CDA) (prime minister from Jul 2002 until 16 Oct 2002; reappointed to lead coalition 27 May 2003) Ruling party: Coalition government from 27 May 2003: Christen Democratisch Appèl (CDA) (Christian Democratic Appeal); Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy); Democraten 66 (D66) (Democrats 66) Area: 41,473 square km Population: 16.36 million (2004) Capital: Amsterdam (legal); The Hague is the seat of government. Official language: Dutch and Frisian Currency: Euro (eur) = 100 cents (from 1 Jan 2002; previous currency guilder, locked at f2.20 per euro) Exchange rate: eur0.77 per US$ (Nov 2004) GDP per capita: US$31,883 (2003) GDP real growth: -0.50% (2003) Labour force: 8.15 million (2003) Unemployment: 3.70% (2003) (not seasonally adjusted) Inflation: 2.30% (2003) Balance of trade: US$42.20 billion (2003)

 

Historical profile
1579 The Protestant majority in the Netherlands rebelled against the Catholic Habsburg Empire and declared independence, with William of Orange crowned Prince William I of Holland and Zeeland.

In the seventeenth century, the Netherlands became a powerful trading nation with an empire in the East Indies (modern day Indonesia) and the Caribbean. In the 1650s, the Dutch fought several wars against the English, mainly due to colonial rivalry.

1688 William of Orange (the grandson of William I) acceded to the English throne as William III, ending conflict between the two countries.

1704–06 The English army under John Churchill helped to defeat attempts by the combined armies of Austria and France to invade the Netherlands.

1804 The Netherlands was occupied by the French under Napoleon.

1812 The Netherlands was liberated by British and Prussian armies.

1815 A renewed invasion attempt by Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. Attempts to unify Catholic Belgium with the Netherlands at the Vienna Conference failed, and the two countries remained separate.

1914–18 The country remained neutral in the First World War.

1940–45 During the Second World War, the Netherlands was occupied by Germany despite its neutrality.

1949 The policy of neutrality was abandoned and the Netherlands became a founder member of NATO.

1958 The Netherlands was a founding member of the European Economic Community (EEC).

1980 Queen Juliana abdicated in favour of her eldest daughter Princess Beatrix.

1989 The Christen Democratisch Appèl (CDA) (Christian Democratic Appeal) and Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy) government fell in its second term when VVD refused to support Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers' proposal for a 20-year environmental protection programme. A centre-left cabinet was formed by CDA and the Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) (Labour Party), with Lubbers still as leader.

1992–93 The government of Ruud Lubbers was discredited by a serious economic recession.

1994 Elections resulted in a three-party coalition, headed by Wim Kok (PvdA), and including VVD and Democraten 66 (D66) (Democrats 66). The CDA was frozen out of power for the first time since the First World War.

1998 The coalition government of PvdA, D66 and VVD, headed by Prime Minister Wim Kok, continued after winning an increased majority in elections.

1999 The Netherlands was a founder member of European Economic and Monetary Union (Emu). D66 threatened to leave the coalition after its proposals for constitutional reform were defeated in parliament, but a compromise was reached.

2000 Ruud Lubbers was chosen to head the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). After 25 years of debating, a bill to legalise euthanasia was approved.

2001 Prime Minister Wim Kok announced he would not seek re-election for a third term.

2002 For a country that had not experienced any major political upheavals since the Second World War, this turned out to be a year to remember. Pim Fortuyn, leader of the Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF) (List Pim Fortuyn), was shot dead. The CDA won the parliamentary elections. The LPF emerged as the second largest party. The vote ended eight years of Labour-led centre-left domination in government. Jan Peter Balkenende was appointed prime minister, leading a fragile coalition government of CDA, LPF and VVD members. After the resignation of two LPF ministers, the cabinet collapsed and Prime Minister Balkenende resigned. A caretaker government was put in to run the country until the formation of a new cabinet.

Prince Claus von Amsberg, the husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, died in October.

2003 After parliamentary elections earlier in the year, on 27 May, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende was reinstated to head a coalition government, led by the CDA, and including the VVD and the D66.

2004 Former Queen Juliana (1948–80), died in March. On 1 July, The Netherlands took over the EU presidency for six months.

2005 In a referendum on 1 June, The Netherlands became the second country to reject a proposed constitution for the EU three days after the French turned the proposal down.

 

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