The government of Curaçao, a "constituent country" (Dutch: land) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic country, whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Curaçao has full autonomy on most matters, with the exceptions summed up in the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands under the title "Kingdom affairs". The Constitution of Curaçao was ratified in September 2010, and entered into force on 10 October 2010 upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
Executive power rests with a governor, and a prime minister heads a Cabinet. The governor of Curaçao is appointed for a six-year term by the monarch (on from 2013: King Willem-Alexander), and the prime minister and deputy prime minister are elected by the Staten for four-year terms.