Minister Plenipotentiary (Netherlands)
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![Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or. [The seven arrows stand for the seven provinces of the Union of Utrecht.] The shield is crowned with the (Dutch) royal crown and supported by two lions Or armed and langued gules. They stand on a scroll Azure with the text (Or) "Je Maintiendrai" (French for "I will maintain".)](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/State_coat_of_arms_of_the_Netherlands.svg/300px-State_coat_of_arms_of_the_Netherlands.svg.png) |
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A minister plenipotentiary (Dutch: gevolmachtigd minister) represents the government of one of the Caribbean constituent countries as part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The minister is part of the government of that country, but resides in the Netherlands, where they are part of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Description
[edit]A significant difference between the Netherlands ministers and the ministers plenipotentiary is that the former ministers are accountable for their politics and policies to the Dutch parliament. The ministers plenipotentiary, however, are accountable to their national governments. Therefore, the ministers plenipotentiary usually do not resign in the event of a Dutch cabinet crisis.[1]
Ministers plenipotentiary
[edit]The following three ministers plenipotentiary currently exist:
- Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba (est. 1986)
- Minister Plenipotentiary of Curaçao (est. 2010)
- Minister Plenipotentiary of Sint Maarten (est. 2010)
In addition ministers plenipotentiary have existed for the former Caribbean Netherlands Antilles (1954−2010) before its dissolution; and for the former South American colony of Suriname (1667–1954) before its independence
- Minister Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands Antilles (1954–2010)
- Minister Plenipotentiary of Suriname (1954–1975)
References
[edit]- ^ "Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles: Political relations within the Kingdom of the Netherlands". Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties. Archived from the original on 2008-02-17. Retrieved 2007-10-13.