Ministry of Public Health (Netherlands)
| Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport | |
Coat of arms of the Netherlands
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 Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport |
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| Department overview | |
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| Formed | September 15, 1951 |
| Jurisdiction | Kingdom of the Netherlands |
| Headquarters | Parnassusplein 5, The Hague, Netherlands |
| Annual budget | €76,7 billion (2013) |
| Minister responsible |
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| Deputy Minister responsible |
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| Website | www |
The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (Dutch: Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport; VWS) is the Dutch Ministry responsible for Health, Welfare and Sport. The Ministry was created in 1951 as the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and had several name changes before it became the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport in 1994. The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, currently Edith Schippers.
The ministry is responsible for three policy areas:
The ministry is currently headed by a minister and one State Secretary. The ministry's main office is located in the centre of The Hague. The civil service is headed by a secretary general and a deputy secretary general, who head a system of three directorates general:
The ministry is also responsible for several autonomous agencies, most prominently:
There had been a ministry of Social Work since 1952. In 1965 it was also given responsibility for Culture and Recreation and it was named Ministry of Culture, Recreation and Social Work. Between 1951 and 1973 there had been a Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Care. In 1973 a separate Ministry of Health and the Environment was formed. In 1982 these two ministries merged to form the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Sports. Responsibilities concerning the environment and nature management were given to the newly reorganized Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment and Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries. The ministry built a new headquarters in 2003 designed by architect Michael Graves. In 1996 the responsibility for culture was transferred to the newly reorganized Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
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