| Senate Eerste Kamer |
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|---|---|
| States-General of the Netherlands | |
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| Type | |
| Type | Upper house |
| Leadership | |
| President | René van der Linden, (CDA) since October 6, 2009 |
| Parliamentary leader | Jos Werner, (CDA) Uri Rosenthal, (VVD) Han Noten, (PvdA) Tiny Kox, (SP) Egbert Schuurman, (CU) Tof Thissen, (GL) Gerard Schouw, (D66) Gerrit Holdijk, (SGP) Niko Koffeman, (PvdD) Henk ten Hoeve, (OSF) Düzgün Yildirim, (I) since May 29, 2007 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 75 |
| Political groups | CDA VVD PvdA SP CU GL D66 SGP PvdD OSF Independent |
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| Election | |
| Voting system | Indirect election |
| Last election | May 29, 2007 |
| Meeting place | |
| Senate Binnenhof The Hague Netherlands |
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| Website | |
| http://www.eerstekamer.nl/ | |
The Senate (in Dutch: Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal (
pronunciation (help·info), literally "First Chamber of the States-General"), short Eerste Kamer), It was established in 1815, when the Netherlands and Belgium emerged as a single state at the end of the Napoleonic wars, and continued after Belgian independence in 1830.
It currently has 75 members, elected by the members of the twelve States-Provincial (provincial councils) every four years. Unlike the politically more significant House of Representatives, it meets only one day a week. Its members tend to be veteran politicians or part-time politicians at the national level, often having other roles. It has the right to accept or reject legislative proposals, but not to amend them or to initiate legislation. Members of the Senate are elected indirectly through the States-Provincial, which in turn are elected by the people of the Netherlands every four years. The States-Provincial work in the same way as the House of Representatives. After elections for the States-Provincial, their new membership elects people to take a seat in the Senate.
| Netherlands |
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| Parties | Seats |
|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Democratisch Appèl) | 21 |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) | 14 |
| Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid) | 14 |
| Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij) | 12 |
| GreenLeft (GroenLinks) | 4 |
| Christian Union (ChristenUnie) | 4 |
| Democrats 66 (Democraten 66) | 2 |
| Political Reformed Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij) | 2 |
| Party for the Animals (Partij voor de Dieren) | 1 |
| Independent Senate Group (Onafhankelijke Senaatsfractie) | 1 |
| Total | 75 |
Past composition
| Parties | Seats |
|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Alliance (Christen-Democratisch Appèl) | 23 |
| Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid) | 19 |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) | 15 |
| GreenLeft (GroenLinks) | 5 |
| Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij) | 4 |
| Democrats 66 (Democraten 66) | 3 |
| Christian Union (ChristenUnie) | 2 |
| Political Reformed Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij) | 2 |
| Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn) | 1 |
| Independent Senate Group (Onafhankelijke Senaatsfractie) | 1 |
| Total | 75 |
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