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Netherlands Antilles - Government and Political Conditions (Notes)

GOVERNMENT Current political relations between the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba stem from 1954 and are based on the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a voluntary arrangement between the Netherlands, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles. At the time, the Charter represented an end to colonial relations and the acceptance of a new legal system in which each nation would look after their own interests independently, look after their common interests on the basis of equality and provide each other with mutual assistance. In 1975, Suriname left the Kingdom?s political alliance. Since 1986, Aruba has had separate status within the Kingdom and is no longer part of the Netherlands Antilles. The Netherlands Antilles enjoys self-determination on all internal matters and defers to the Netherlands in matters of defense, foreign policy, and some judicial functions. The Antilles is governed by a popularly elected unicameral 'Staten' (parliament) of 22 members. It chooses a prime minister (called minister president) and a Council of Ministers, consisting of six to eight other ministers. A governor, who serves a 6-year term, represents the monarch of the Netherlands. Local government is assigned authority independently on each island. Under the direction of a kingdom-appointed island governor, these local governments have a 'Bestuurscollege' (administrative body) made up of commissioners who head the separate governmental departments. Principal Government Officials Governor General--Frits M. d. l. S. Goedgedrag Prime Minister--Emily S. de Jongh-Elhage Deputy Prime Minister--Ersilia T.M. de Lannooy Minister of Constitutional and Interior Affairs--Roland Duncan Minister of Education, Culture, Youth, and Sports--Omayra V.E. Leeflang Minister of Finance--Ersilia T.M. de Lannooy Minister of General Affairs and Foreign Relations--Emily S. de Jongh-Elhage Minister of Economic Affairs and Labor--Burney F. El Hage Minister of Public Health and Social Development--Ersilia T.M. de Lannooy Minister of Justice--David A. Dick Minister of Transportation and Telecommunication--Omayra V.E. Leeflang Minister Plenipotentiary to The Hague--Paul R.J. Comenencia Minister Plenipotentiary to Washington, DC--Norberto V. Ribeiro Director, Bank of the Netherlands Antilles--Emsley D. Tromp Attorney General--Dick A. Piar