44-635: Tytsjerksteradiel ( West Frisian pronunciation: [tiˈtsjɛrkstəraˌdiəl] ) is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands . It is named after the town of Tytsjerk, whose name is derived from a person named Tiete. Tiete was a daughter of Tryn, after whom the region (Trynwâlden) is named. The other villages in Trynwâlden are also named after Tryn's children: Oentsjerk (Oene), Gytsjerk (Giete), Readtsjerk (Reade), Aldtsjerk (Âlde), Ryptsjerk (Rype). A statue of Tryn and her children
88-547: A certain degree of independence in their policy decisions. Municipalities are responsible for a wide variety of public services , which include land-use planning , public housing , management and maintenance of local roads, waste management and social security . After the Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010 three special municipalities (officially public bodies ) were formed. These municipalities function
132-578: A form of " public body " ( openbaar lichaam ) as outlined in article 134 of the Dutch Constitution . The special municipalities do not constitute part of a province. These municipalities resemble ordinary Dutch municipalities in most ways (they have a mayor, aldermen and a municipal council, for example) and will have to introduce most Dutch law. Residents will be able to vote in Dutch national and European elections. The three islands will have to involve
176-562: A period of dictatorship and civil war , which weakened the pro-independence ideology of the Dutch government. Aruba and the Netherlands agreed in July 1990 to delete Article 62, which foresaw Aruban independence in 1996, from the Charter. This was finalized in 1994, with some conditions about cooperation in the fields of justice, good governance and finance. Meanwhile, the permanent position of Aruba as
220-468: A separate country within the Kingdom led to calls for a similar arrangement for the other islands, especially on Sint Maarten . In the early 1990s, the five remaining islands entered into a period of reflection about whether or not to remain part of the Netherlands Antilles. In March 1990, Dutch Minister of Aruban and Antillean Affairs Ernst Hirsch Ballin came up with a draft for a new Kingdom Charter, in which
264-410: A time by the crown and the alderman are elected by the municipal council, typically after each municipal election. The mayor is responsible for public order and is the first in command during emergencies, all other tasks are distributed freely between mayor and aldermen. The exact portfolio for each person differs between each municipality. Official municipal boundaries were first drawn up in 1832 in
308-441: A wide range of sizes, Westervoort is the smallest with a land area of 7.01 km (2.71 sq mi) and Súdwest-Fryslân the largest with a land area of 522.7 km (201.8 sq mi). Schiermonnikoog is both the least populated, with 972 people, and the least densely populated municipality at 23/km (60/sq mi). Amsterdam has the highest population with 931,298 residents as of January 2024, whereas The Hague
352-558: Is placed in Oentsjerk next to the mainroad (Rengerswei). Tsjerk is the West Frisian word for Church . Until 1989 the official name of the municipality was Tietjerksteradeel ( pronounced [tiˈtɕɛr(ə)kstəraːˌdeːl] ), the Dutch name; the current official name is West Frisian. The largest village in the municipality is Burgum. The administrative centre and largest village in
396-513: Is the most densely populated with a density of 6,868/km (17,790/sq mi). As a second level administrative division municipalities are the third tier of public administration in the Netherlands after the central government and the provinces . The Netherlands is a decentralized unitary state , which means that the central government is supreme and delegates certain tasks to lower levels of government by law. The different levels do, however, make work agreements, which give municipalities
440-720: The Act on financial relations of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius , the Amendment to the election act with regard to Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius , the Introduction act on the public bodies of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius , and the Adaptation act on the public bodies of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius . WOLBES defines the administrative organization of the public bodies and is modeled on Dutch municipality law. The Introduction act specifies that Netherlands Antilles law will remain in force after
484-510: The Aruban People's Party , which came to power after 1986, refused all cooperation with the Netherlands on the issue of independence. On the other hand, the Netherlands became more and more aware that the ties with the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom would probably endure for a longer period of time. Suriname , the other partner of the Kingdom that attained independence in 1975, had gone through
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#1733132338191528-711: The Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba , the court of appeal superior to the islands' own courts of first instance. The islands share the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in The Hague with the entire Kingdom, including the European Netherlands. The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a member of the European Union . However, Aruba , Curaçao , and Sint Maarten have
572-665: The Leeward Antilles islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire, and the Leeward Islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten lie almost 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) apart. Culturally, the Leeward Antilles ( ABC Islands ) have connections with the South American mainland, and its population speaks Papiamento , a Portuguese-based creole with heavy Spanish and Dutch influence. The other 3 islands ( SSS Islands ) are part of
616-490: The Netherlands proper—a structure that only exists in the Caribbean. Meanwhile Curaçao and Sint Maarten became constituent countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along the lines of Aruba , which had separated from the Netherlands Antilles on 1 January 1986. The idea of the Netherlands Antilles as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands never enjoyed the full support of all islands, and political relations between islands were often strained. Geographically,
660-520: The Willemstad riots of 1969 in Curaçao. The government of the Netherlands Antilles feared that the whole Netherlands Antilles would disintegrate if one of the islands seceded; Antillean Prime Minister Juancho Evertsz famously remarked that "six minus one equals zero". Increasing unrest on Aruba, especially after a consultative referendum on secession was organized by the island government in 1977, meant that
704-655: The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs before they can make agreements with countries in the region. The special municipalities would be represented in the Kingdom Government by the Netherlands, as they can vote for the States-General (the Dutch parliament). On 1 January 2011, the three islands switched to the US dollar rather than the euro that is used in the European Netherlands. All six islands may also continue to access
748-542: The English-speaking Caribbean. When the new constitutional relationship between the Netherlands and its former West Indian colonies was enshrined in the Kingdom Charter of 1954, the colonial administrative division of the Netherlands Antilles, which was derived from the colony of Curaçao and Dependencies and grouped all six Caribbean islands together under one administration, was taken for granted. Despite
792-469: The Kingdom, while Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba would become "Kingdom islands." The referendum held on Curaçao in 2005 also came out in favour of country status. Bonaire and Saba voted for closer ties with the Netherlands, whereas Sint Eustatius wanted to retain the Netherlands Antilles. Curaçao and Sint Maarten became two new "landen" (literally: countries) within the Kingdom of the Netherlands , along
836-508: The Leeward Antilles islands of Curaçao and Bonaire, and the Leeward Islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten would form two new countries within the Kingdom. This proposal met with mixed responses on the islands. After a committee was installed investigating the future of the Netherlands Antilles, a "Conference on the Future" (" Toekomstconferentie " in Dutch, litt. "Future-Conference")
880-502: The Netherlands Antilles ( UTC-04:00 ), 06:00 in the European part of the Netherlands ( UTC+02:00 ). The Kingdom Act amending the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands was drafted on 20 January 2009. It consists of six articles, with the changes to the Charter included in articles one to three. The Kingdom law provides for article 3 to take effect on the date of publication of the law in
924-570: The Netherlands Antilles adopted the bill on 20 August and the Estates of Aruba did the same on 4 September . On 21 November 2008, five draft acts for the integration of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba into the Netherlands were accepted by the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom . These acts are the Act on the public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba ( Dutch : Wet op de openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba , abbreviated to WOLBES),
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#1733132338191968-399: The Netherlands Antilles, came to power. In the end, restructuring the Netherlands Antilles did not get very far. Probably the most symbolic change was the adoption of an anthem of the Netherlands Antilles in 2000. In the same year another status vote was held on Sint Maarten, this time in favour of becoming a country of its own within the Kingdom. This sparked a new referendum cycle across
1012-435: The Netherlands Antilles. At the same time, a commission composed of representatives from the Netherlands and all the islands of the Netherlands Antilles investigated the future of the Netherlands Antilles. In its 2004 report, the commission advised a revision of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in order to dissolve the Netherlands Antilles, so that Curaçao and Sint Maarten would become countries of their own within
1056-605: The Netherlands after a cadastre was formed. The Municipalities Act of 1851, written by prime minister Thorbecke , led to the disappearance of small municipalities. Throughout the years, less populous municipalities have been merged . They were either added to the larger neighbouring cities or multiple smaller municipalities merged into a larger new municipality with a new name. The number of municipalities reduced from 1,209 in 1850 to 537 in 2000; since 2024 there have been 342 municipalities. During this time, multiple mergers occurred simultaneously in large parts of individual provinces;
1100-529: The Netherlands and are subdivisions of their respective provinces . Their duties are delegated to them by the central government and they are ruled by a municipal council that is elected every four years. Municipal mergers have reduced the total number of municipalities by two-thirds since the first official boundaries were created in the mid 19th century. Municipalities themselves are informally subdivided into districts and neighbourhoods for administrative and statistical purposes. These municipalities come in
1144-502: The Netherlands, after which a re-evaluation of the islands' EU status was to take place. The islands were thus to remain OCTs at least until 2015, and remained in this status as of 2022. The Netherlands secured a provision in the Treaty of Lisbon that says that any Caribbean part of the Netherlands can opt for a change of status to Outermost Region (OMR) if it so wishes, without having to change
1188-591: The Treaties of the European Union. On 1 September 2009, Saba announced that it wished to withdraw from the Netherlands Antilles immediately, rather than wait until October 2010. However, according to Dutch State Secretary Bijleveld for Kingdom Relations, it was not legally possible for Saba to become separate from the Antilles earlier. The transition took place at midnight (00:00) on 10 October 2010 ("10/10/10") in
1232-672: The districts are called Dutch : stadsdelen , as well as Rotterdam , where the districts are called Dutch : deelgemeenten , consist of such formal subdivisions. The Hague , Almere , Breda , Eindhoven , Enschede , Groningen , Nijmegen , Tilburg and Utrecht have instituted Dutch : stadsdelen as well, although they do not have the same legal submunicipal status. For administrative use by municipalities and data collection by Statistics Netherlands all municipalities are subdivided into districts ( Dutch : wijken ), which in turn are subdivided into neighbourhoods ( Dutch : buurten ). These subdivisions have, in contrast to
1276-408: The fact that Aruban calls for secession from the Netherlands Antilles originated in the 1930s, the governments of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles did everything in their power to keep the six islands together. The Netherlands did this so as to make sure that the Netherlands Antilles could become independent as soon as possible, a call that became increasingly louder in the Netherlands after
1320-477: The issue of Aruban secession had to be taken into consideration. After long negotiations, it was agreed that Aruba could get its status aparte and become a separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1986, but only on the condition that it would become fully independent in 1996. The People's Electoral Movement , which led the Aruban island government in the years to 1986, reluctantly agreed to this, but
1364-472: The lines of Aruba and the Netherlands . Their planned new joint currency is the Caribbean guilder , which was expected to be brought in by 2012 but has been delayed. Aruba's right to secede from the Kingdom was not extended to Curaçao and Sint Maarten. The BES islands ( Bonaire , Sint Eustatius , and Saba ) have become direct parts of the Netherlands as special municipalities ( bijzondere gemeenten ),
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1408-466: The municipal boundaries were basically redrawn in these regions. In the 19th and large parts of the 20th century, municipal mergers were forced by the central government. This policy changed in the end of the 20th century; local support for the merger is now a large part of the decision-making process. The larger, merged municipalities are intended to handle an increasing workload because more public services are delegated from higher levels of government to
1452-439: The municipalities. Another reason for municipal mergers is the assumption that larger municipalities are more efficient in performing their tasks than smaller ones. Municipalities have the right to decentralise themselves and form submunicipalities as an additional level of government. This right and the submunicipalities will cease to exist in the near future to reduce the number of levels of government. Only Amsterdam , where
1496-593: The municipality is Burgum . Municipalities of the Netherlands Since 1 January 2023, there have been 342 regular municipalities ( Dutch : gemeenten ) and three special municipalities ( Dutch : bijzondere gemeenten ) in the Netherlands . The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean . Municipalities are the second-level administrative division, or public bodies ( Dutch : openbare lichamen ), in
1540-477: The official journal of the Netherlands, and articles 1 and 2 at a later date to be specified by royal decree . In this way the future countries of Sint Maarten and Curaçao will be able to draft their constitutions and fundamental legislation before the new relations within the Kingdom are to take effect. The House of Representatives adopted the bill on 15 April 2010, and the Senate on 6 July 2010. The Estates of
1584-470: The same as regular municipalities and are grouped together as the Caribbean Netherlands and are not part of a province. The municipalities are governed by both a board of mayor and aldermen and a municipal council. The municipal council , which is titled island council in the special municipalities, is elected every four years. The number of members in the council ranges from nine members for
1628-414: The smallest municipalities to forty-five members for the largest. It is the highest administrative body in the municipality and controls public policy. The executive power lies with the executive board , which consists of a mayor , titled lieutenant governor in the special municipalities, and multiple aldermen, titled island deputies in the special municipalities. The mayor is appointed for six years at
1672-540: The status of overseas countries and territories (OCTs) and are not part of the EU. Nevertheless, only one type of citizenship exists within the Kingdom (Dutch), and all Dutch citizens are EU citizens (including those in the OCTs). The Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands agreed not to change the status of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba with regard to the EU in the first five years of integration of these islands into
1716-492: The submunicipalities, no formal status. Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands . It was dissolved on 10 October 2010. After dissolution, the "BES islands" of the Dutch Caribbean — Bonaire , Sint Eustatius , and Saba —became the Caribbean Netherlands , "special municipalities" of
1760-487: The transition of the three islands to the Dutch polity, and defines the process in which Dutch law will slowly take over from Netherlands Antilles law in the islands. The Adaptation act adapts Netherlands Antilles law and Dutch law and is to take effect immediately. The House of Representatives adopted these acts on 9 March 2010, the Senate on 11 May . Article 311 shall be repealed. A new Article 311a shall be inserted, with
1804-646: The wording of Article 299(2), first subparagraph, and Article 299(3) to (6); the text shall be amended as follows: ... (e) the following new paragraph shall be added at the end of the Article: "6. The European Council may, on the initiative of the Member State concerned, adopt a decision amending the status, with regard to the Union, of a Danish, French or Netherlands country or territory referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2. The European Council shall act unanimously after consulting
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1848-470: Was called "Kingdom islands". The fact that the Kingdom affairs would also be broadened to include law enforcement to reduce international crime (thus reducing the autonomy of Aruba and Curaçao), and that Sint Maarten would not attain country status right away, meant that the Conference could only result in a failure. It was decided to postpone the next meeting of the conference until after a status referendum
1892-524: Was held in 1993. The Netherlands proposed to take over the federal tasks of the Netherlands Antilles, with each of the islands remaining autonomous to the extent granted by the Islands Regulation of the Netherlands Antilles . Curaçao would be exempted and would attain country status like Aruba; Bonaire and Sint Maarten would be supported to help attain country status in the future; Saba and Sint Eustatius would not have this perspective and would remain what
1936-597: Was held on Curaçao. The referendum's result was in favour of maintaining and restructuring the Netherlands Antilles , in spite of the island government and the Netherlands Antillean government campaigning for country status. The other islands also voted for maintaining the Netherlands Antilles. The Party for the Restructured Antilles , composed of campaigners in favour of maintaining and restructuring
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