States General Staten-Generaal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Senate House of Representatives |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | Senate: 75 House of Representatives: 150 |
 | |
Senate political groups | Government (22) Opposition (53) |
 | |
House of Representatives political groups | Government (32) Opposition (118) |
| Elections | |
| Indirect election | |
| Party-list proportional representation | |
LastSenate election | 31 May 2023 |
LastHouse of Representatives election | 29 October 2025 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Binnenhof The Hague,Netherlands | |
| Website | |
| staten-generaal | |
TheStates General of the Netherlands (Dutch:Staten-Generaal[ˈstaːtə(ŋ)‿ɣenəˈraːl]ⓘ) is thesupremebicamerallegislature of theNetherlands consisting of theSenate (Dutch:Eerste Kamer) and theHouse of Representatives (Dutch:Tweede Kamer). Both chambers meet at theBinnenhof inThe Hague.
The States General originated in the 15th century as an assembly of all the provincial states of theBurgundian Netherlands. In 1579, during theDutch Revolt, the States General split as the northern provinces openly rebelled againstPhilip II, and the northern States General replaced Philip II as the supreme authority of theDutch Republic in 1581. The States General were replaced by theNational Assembly after theBatavian Revolution of 1795, only to be restored in 1814, when the country had regained its sovereignty. The States General was divided into a Senate and a House of Representatives in 1815, with the establishment of theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands. After the constitutional amendment of 1848, members of the House of Representatives were directly elected, and the rights of the States General were vastly extended, practically establishing parliamentary democracy in the Netherlands.
Since 1918, the members of the House of Representatives have been elected for four years usingparty-list proportional representation, while the 75 members of the Senate are elected by theStates-Provincial every four years. On exceptional occasions such as the opening of the Parliament on the third Tuesday in September, or when an regent needs to be appointed if an heir to the crown is a minor[example needed] as stipulated by theConstitution or theCharter for the Kingdom, the two houses form a joint session known as the United Assembly of the States-General (verenigde vergadering). Thepresident of the Senate serves as President of the States General during a United Assembly.
The archaic Dutch wordstaten originally related to the feudal classes ("estates", orstanden in Dutch) in which medieval European societies were stratified; the clergy, the nobility and the commons. The word eventually came to mean thepolitical body in which the respective estates were represented. Each province in theHabsburg Netherlands had its ownstaten. These representative bodies (and not their constituent estates)[1] in turn were represented in the assembly that came to be known asStaten-Generaal (aplurale tantum), orAlgemene Staten (General States).[2]: 5–15 The English word "states" may have a similar meaning as the Dutch wordstaten, as in e.g.States of Jersey. The English phrases "States General" is probably a literal translation of the Dutch word.[3] Historically, the same term was used for the name of other national legislatures as, for example, the Catalan and ValencianGeneralitat and theEstates General of France during theAncien Régime.
Several geographic place names are derived from the States General. In 1609,Henry Hudson established Dutch trade inStaten Island, New York City and named the islandStaaten Eylandt after the States General.Isla de los Estados, now anArgentine island, was also named after this institution, the Spanish name being a translation of the Dutch name.Abel Tasman originally gave the nameStaten Landt to what would become New Zealand.Staaten River is ariver in theCape York Peninsula, Australia.
Historically, the convocation of the States General consisted of delegates from the States of the several provinces, like theStates of Brabant, and dated from about the middle of the 15th century, under the rule of theDukes of Burgundy. The first important session was theEstates General of 1464 that met on 9 January 1464 inBruges,Flanders, on the initiative of theStates of Holland, theStates of Flanders, and theStates of Brabant, with the initially reluctant agreement ofPhilip the Good.[2]: 31 Later, regular sessions were held atCoudenberg inBrussels,Brabant. The next important event was the convocation of the States General by the ducal Council for 3 February 1477 after the death ofCharles the Bold. In this session the States General forced the grant of theGreat Privilege byMary of Burgundy in which the right of the States General to convene on their own initiative was recognised.[2]: 42ff. The main function of the States General in these early years was to form a platform for the central government to discuss matters of general importance with the States of the provinces, especially the special subsidies known asbeden oraides. Legislative and executive functions were still reserved for the Sovereign in these years.[2]: 29, 35–36, 97
At the start of theDutch Revolt the States General (who were then not continually in session) remained loyal to the overlord of theHabsburg Netherlands,Philip II of Spain (who did not have the title of King in the Netherlands, but held the title of duke and count in the several provinces, and was just a Lord of the Netherlands). In 1576 the States General as a whole, however, openly rebelled against the Spanish crown. In 1579 the States General split as a number of southern provinces, united in theUnion of Arras returned to obedience, while other provinces, united in theUnion of Utrecht continued the rebellion.[2]: 260–268, 288–296 In the 1581Act of Abjuration, the northern States General replaced Philip II as the supreme authority of the northern Netherlands, which then became known as theUnited Provinces.[4]: 34
This was aconfederation in which most government functions remained with the provincial States (and local authorities, like theVroedschappen). These delegated representatives to the States General as a kind of ambassadors acting with a mandate limited by instruction and obligatory consultation (last en ruggespraak). The States General, in which the voting was by province, each of the seven provinces having one vote,[5] took on many executive functions after theCouncil of State of the Netherlands had temporarily come under English influence, due to theTreaty of Nonsuch.[2]: 305–315 [6]: 293–294 The States General for this reason since 1593 remained continually in session until their dissolution in 1795. The presidency rotated weekly among the senior representatives of the provinces. Under the Union of Utrecht treaty the States General formally was the sovereign power, representing the Republic in foreign affairs and making treaties with foreign monarchs.[6]: 292–293 As such the honorific title of the States General collectively wasHoogmogende Heren (mightiest, or very mighty, lords).[7]
Due to the vagaries of theEighty Years' War in which territories were lost and (partially) reconquered, not all territories that had originally signed up for the Union of Utrecht remained represented in the States General. TheStates of Brabant and ofFlanders lost their representation after 1587 as most of their territory had been conquered by theArmy of Flanders, and it was not restored after part of that territory (together with parts of theDuchy of Limburg) was reconquered by the Dutch Republic. TheDrenthe territory was never directly represented in the States General.Twenty per cent of the new Republic's territory, known as theGenerality Lands, was so under the direct rule of theGenerality (generaliteit).[6]: 297–300 TheDutch East India Company and theDutch West India Company were also under itsgeneral supervision; for this reasonStaten Island in New York City (originallyNew Amsterdam) andStaten Island, Argentina (Discovered by DutchmanJacob le Maire), are among places named after theStaten-Generaal.
The "southern" States General after 1579 were a continuation of the States General as they had been under the Habsburg Netherlands. After the (re)conquest of most of the territory of the States of Brabant and of Flanders these States again sent representatives to these States General for theSouthern Netherlands, together with the "obedient" provinces of the Union of Arras. The southern States General only occasionally came in session, however. The last regular session was in 1634, whenPhilip IV of Spain dissolved them.[2]: 315–321
The States General in both The Hague and Brussels came to an end after 1795. France annexed the South, while the parliament of the North disbanded itself in January 1796 and called for elections for theNational Assembly, when theBatavian Republic was proclaimed.[8]: 12
The nameStaten-Generaal was resurrected in the title of subsequent Dutch parliaments in and after 1814, after the end of the annexation to theFirst French Empire byNapoleon I of France in 1813. These had, however, little resemblance to the States General under the Republic. Beginning with theSovereign Principality of the United Netherlands the States General was aunicameral legislature, without executive functions, in which the 55 representatives no longer represented theStates-Provincial (though those newly constituted entities elected them, now acting as electoral colleges), but the entire people of the Netherlands and withoutlast en ruggespraak (the Netherlands had become aunitary state under the Batavian Republic and the federal structure of the Dutch Republic was not restored).[9]: 136 The States General became abicameral legislature under theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, in which the 50 members of theSenate were appointed for life by the new King from the resurrectedridderschappen, representative bodies of the aristocracy, and the 110 members of theHouse of Representatives (55 for the North and 55 for the South) were elected by the States-Provincial (in their new form).[9]: 138
After theBelgian Revolution of 1830 under theKingdom of the Netherlands the States General remained bicameral, but after the revision of theConstitution of the Netherlands in 1848, the (now 39) members of the Senate were elected by the States-Provincial, and the members of the House of Representatives weredirectly elected inelectoral districts (one for every 45,000 electors, so the number of members of that House became variable for a while). The House of Representatives became more powerful at the same time, as it received the important rights of inquiry andamendment, while its budgetary rights were strengthened. Formally, the position of the States General was strengthened, because henceforth the ministers of the Crown became politically accountable to them, making the role of the King largely ceremonial.[9]: 142–145
With the constitutional revision of 1888 the number of members of the House of Representatives was fixed at 100, while the Senate was enlarged to 50 members. Thesuffrage was enlarged at the same time, but still limited to male citizens possessing a certain wealth. Universal male suffrage would be granted in 1917 and women would receive suffrage in 1919. At this occasion, the electoral system was changed toproportional representation. The States General were suspended from 1940 to 1945, during theGerman occupation. In 1956 the number of members of the Senate was enlarged to 75, and that of the House of Representatives to 150.[9]: 151, 153–155, 329
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Tweede Kamer
| Eerste Kamer
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| Verenigde Vergadering (joint session of both houses) | |
| This article is part ofa series on |
| Politics of the Netherlands |
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The States General meets in joint session at least once a year, at the opening of the parliamentary year, when theking gives hisSpeech from the Throne onPrince's Day. On special occasions, such as when a States Generate vote on a marriage of a member of the royal house, aninauguration of the monarch, or the death of a member of the royal house, both houses also meet in a joint session (Verenigde Vergadering), with the president of the Senate presiding. They take place in theRidderzaal (Hall of Knights) in the Binnenhof, except for theinauguration of the monarch, which occurs in theNieuwe Kerk inAmsterdam. The rest of the time, the two chambers sit separately.
Constitutionally, all functions of the parliament are given to both houses, except for the rights of initiative and amendment, which only theTweede Kamer has. The Joint Session also appoints the monarch if there is no heir to the throne and the regent is unable to exercise his or her powers.[10]
An important question is whether the relationship between cabinet and parliament should bedualistic or monistic. That is, whether ministers and leaders of governing parliamentary parties should prepare important political decisions. According to the dualistic position, members of parliament of governing parties should remain independent of the cabinet. The term "monism" is used to refer to a stance that important decisions should be prepared by the people of the governing coalition in order to promote political stability.
52°04′47″N4°18′47″E / 52.0796°N 4.3130°E /52.0796; 4.3130
