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Location of the Netherlands within Europe

The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdərlɑnt] ), informally Holland, is a country located in northwestern Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces; it borders Germany to the east and Belgium to the south, with a North Sea coastline to the north and west. It has a border with France on the split island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean. It shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium. The official language is Dutch, with West Frisian as a secondary official language in the province of Friesland. Dutch, English, and Papiamento are official in the Caribbean territories.

The Netherlands has been a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a unitary structure since 1848. The country has a tradition of pillarisation (separation of citizens into groups by religion and political beliefs) and a long record of social tolerance, having legalised prostitution and euthanasia, along with maintaining a liberal drug policy. The Netherlands allowed women's suffrage in 1919 and was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001. Its mixed-market advanced economy has the eleventh-highest per capita income globally. The Hague holds the seat of the States General, Cabinet and Supreme Court. The Port of Rotterdam is the busiest in Europe. Schiphol is the busiest airport in the Netherlands, and the fourth busiest in Europe. The Netherlands is a founding member of the European Union, Eurozone, G10, NATO, OECD, and WTO, as well as a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. It hosts intergovernmental organisations and international courts, many of which are in The Hague. (Full article...)

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Selected biography

Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende, Jr. (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjɑn ˈpeːtər ˈbɑlkənˌɛndə]; born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 until 14 October 2010. Balkenende, a jurist by occupation, worked for the Academic Council and the Christian Democratic Appeal Think tank from 1982 until 1998. Balkenende became a professor of Christian theology at the VU University Amsterdam in 1993. He was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the Dutch general election of 1998, serving from 19 May 1998 until 22 July 2002. After the then Leader of the CDA and Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives Jaap de Hoop Scheffer stepped down, Balkenende was selected to succeed him in both positions, and became the top candidate for the Dutch general election of 2002. The CDA became the surprising winner of the election, gaining 14 seats becoming the largest party in the House of Representatives.
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Extended content

This page gives an overview of all featured content (The featured content star) on Wikipedia related to the Netherlands.

  1. Mary II of England (20 September 2004)
  2. William III of England (5 October 2004)
  3. Anne Frank (10 February 2005)
  4. Battle of Ramillies (11 September 2007)
  5. The Garden of Earthly Delights (28 May 2008)
  6. Tulip mania (18 August 2008)
  7. Design 1047 battlecruiser (14 April 2009)
  8. Battle of Morotai (12 December 2009)
  9. Dutch 1913 battleship proposal (27 March 2010)
  10. Pig-faced women (4 September 2010)
  11. The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (5 October 2011)
  12. Murder of Joanna Yeates (1 April 2012)
  13. 1740 Batavia massacre (6 May 2012)
  14. Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych (8 November 2012)
  15. Terang Boelan (4 December 2012)
  16. Sair Tjerita Siti Akbari (6 April 2013)
  17. Gagak Item (26 May 2013)
  18. Lie Kim Hok (1 July 2013)
  19. Sorga Ka Toedjoe (23 July 2013)
  20. Djaoeh Dimata (3 August 2013)
  21. Boenga Roos dari Tjikembang (novel) (15 August 2013)
  22. Amir Hamzah (5 October 2013)
  23. Si Tjonat (27 October 2013)
  24. Fakih Usman (20 November 2013)
  25. Roekiah (12 January 2014)
  26. Early Netherlandish painting (20 January 2014)
  27. Asmara Moerni (9 February 2014)
  28. Drama dari Krakatau (27 February 2014)
  29. Tjioeng Wanara (1 April 2014)
  30. D. Djajakusuma (14 May 2014)
  31. Union Films (6 June 2014)
  32. Soeara Berbisa (25 June 2014)
  33. Harta Berdarah (9 July 2014)
  34. Si Ronda (15 July 2014)
  35. Battle of Öland (8 August 2014)
  36. Kedok Ketawa (15 August 2014)
  37. Oriental Film (21 September 2014)
  38. Pah Wongso Pendekar Boediman (27 November 2014)
  39. Air Mata Iboe (18 April 2015)
  40. Jacobus Anthonie Meessen (13 May 2015)
  41. Joehana (3 September 2015)
  42. Panggilan Darah (16 January 2016)
  43. Jacob van Ruisdael (5 February 2016)
  44. Huguenot-Walloon half dollar (14 April 2016)
  45. Vincent van Gogh (15 September 2016)
  1. List of films that received the Golden Film (18 November 2007)
  2. Order of battle at the Battle of Camperdown (24 April 2010)
  3. Amsterdam Tournament (23 September 2010)
  4. List of films of the Dutch East Indies (21 October 2012)
  5. List of film directors of the Dutch East Indies (17 November 2012)
  6. List of film producers of the Dutch East Indies (15 February 2013)
  7. List of municipalities of the Netherlands (24 June 2013)
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