Prime Minister of the Netherlands
The prime minister of the Netherlands or, before 1945, the chairman of the Council of Ministers is the de facto head of government of the Netherlands. Although the monarch is the de jure head of government, in practice the prime minister occupies this role as chair of the Council of Ministers, coordinating its policy with the rest of the cabinet. In his role as the de facto head of government, the prime minister also represents the Netherlands in the European Council. Forty-three incumbents have served in the position. The current prime minister since 2 July 2024 is Dick Schoof.
History
Gradually the prime minister became an official function of government leader, taken by the political leader of the largest party. Since 1848, the role of the first minister is relevant. In that year the Constitution of the Netherlands was amended to make ministers responsible to the States General and no longer responsible to the king, who acted as the leader of cabinet. Until 1901, the position chair of the Council of Ministers officially rotated between ministers. Between 1901 and 1945, the position formally still rotated, but prominent politicians could claim a rotation period of four years.In 1937, a separate Ministry of General Affairs was instituted, which was informally linked to the prime minister. Barend Biesheuvel was the last prime minister who was not the political leader of the largest party in cabinet, until the appointment of Dick Schoof who is an independent politician chosen to lead the right wing coalition. In 1983 the function of prime minister was laid down in the constitution.
Since then, the prime minister's formal title has been "minister-president.” In keeping with longstanding practice for heads of government in English-speaking parliamentary regimes, the title is almost always back-translated as "prime minister."
The position of the prime minister has been reinforced by the creation of the European Council. In November 2006, the rules of procedure of the council of ministers was changed to allow the prime minister to put any item on the agenda of the council and no longer have to wait for a minister to take the initiative. A change of the rules of procedure of the cabinet in July 2008 allowed the prime minister to manage costs of the Royal House across departments, to make one department in control of cost of the Royal House which are covered by several ministries.
Role
The prime minister is the leading political figure and holder of the de facto highest office in the Netherlands. In terms of political power, however, the prime minister is not as powerful as, for example, the British prime minister or the German chancellor. This is mainly because, historically, all Dutch ministers used to be responsible to the monarch ; ministers took turns to fill the position of prime minister, and in the role had little if any control over the other ministers. The prime minister's role gained importance when ministers became responsible to the parliament, and the position became mostly reserved for the leader of the biggest political party in the House of Representatives. Still, because the position holds limited powers compared to its equivalent in other neighboring parliamentary democracies, the prime minister's role is described as primus inter pares, and he is as much the chairman of the government as he is its leader.File:Binnenhof3.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The Ministry of General Affairs at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The office of the prime minister, "Het Torentje", is the centre-left octagonal tower.
Following the constitutional review of 1983, the position of prime minister was formalised in the Dutch Constitution for the first time. According to the Constitution of the Netherlands, the Government is constituted by the king and the ministers. The Constitution stipulates that the prime minister chairs the Council of Ministers and is appointed by royal decree. The royal decree of their own appointment and those of the other ministers are to be countersigned by the prime minister. The Council of Ministers is no longer attended by the king.
The prime minister chairs the weekly meetings of the Council of Ministers and has the power to set the agenda of these meetings. The prime minister is also Minister of General Affairs, which takes an important role in coordinating policy and is responsible for the Government Information Service.
The prime minister is also responsible for the royal house and has a weekly meeting with the king on government policy. Informally the prime minister functions as the "face" of the cabinet to the public. After the meetings of the cabinet on Friday, the prime minister hosts a press conference on the decisions of the cabinet and current affairs. The prime minister also has some functions in international affairs, attending the European Council every six months and maintaining bilateral contacts. The prime minister's office has since the 1980s been an octagonal tower, named "The Little Tower", in the Binnenhof in The Hague. The official residence is the Catshuis; the last prime minister to live in the Catshuis was Dries van Agt.
Although prime ministers are almost always the political leader of their party and as such chosen as a member of the House of Representatives, they are required to give up their seat for the duration of their tenure, as Dutch ministers are not allowed to be members of parliament.