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Netherlands States-General

States General
Staten-Generaal
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Houses Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Ankie Broekers-Knol, VVD
Since 2 July 2013
Khadija Arib, Labour Party
Since 13 January 2016
Structure
Seats 225
75 senators
150 representatives
Eerste Kamer 2015.svg
Senate political groups
Tweede Kamer 2017.svg
House of Representatives political groups
Elections
Indirect election
Party-list proportional representation
Senate last election
26 May 2015
15 March 2017
Meeting place
Den Haag Binnenhof.jpg
Binnenhof
The Hague, Netherlands
Website
www.staten-generaal.nl

The States General (Dutch: Staten-Generaal) is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate (Eerste Kamer) and the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer). The parliament meets at the Binnenhof in The Hague.

The States General originated in the 15th century as an assembly of all the provincial states of the Burgundian Netherlands. In 1579, during the Dutch Revolt, the States General split as the northern provinces openly rebelled against Philip II, and the northern States General replaced Philip II as the supreme authority of the Dutch Republic in 1581. The States General were replaced by the National Assembly after the Batavian Revolution of 1795, only to be restored in 1814, when the country had regained its sovereignty. The States General was divided into a Senate and a House of Representatives in 1815, with the establishment of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. After the constitutional amendment of 1848, members of the House of Representatives were directly elected, and the rights of the States General were vastly extended, practically establishing parliamentary democracy in the Netherlands.

Since 1918, the members of the House of Representatives are elected for four years using party-list proportional representation, while the 75 members of the Senate are elected by the States-Provincial every four years. On exceptional occasions, the two houses form a joint session known as the United Assembly. The President of the Senate serves as President of the States General during a United Assembly. Ankie Broekers-Knol (VVD) has been President of the Senate since 2013.


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