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{{short description|Upper house of the Netherlands}}

factoids

| legislature = States General of the Netherlands150px)States General of the Netherlands>Upper housePresident of the Senate (Netherlands)>President| leader1 = Jan Anthonie BruijnPeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy>VVD| election1 = 2 July 2019| leader2_type = First Vice President| leader2 = Mei Li VosGroenLinks–PvdA>GL–PvdA| election2 = 4 July 2023Second Vice}} President| leader3 = Robert CrollFarmer-Citizen Movement>BBB| election3 = 4 July 2023| members = 75| structure1 = Netherlands Eerste Kammer 2023.svg| structure1_res = 250x250px| political_groups1 = Coalition (demissionary) (24)

• {{color box|{{party color|People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (2020)}}|border=darkgray}} VVD (10)
• {{color box|{{party color|Christian Democratic Appeal}}|border=darkgray}} CDA (6)
• {{color box|{{party color|Democrats 66}}|border=darkgray}} D66 (5)
• {{color box|{{party color|Christian Union (Netherlands)}}|border=darkgray}} CU (3)

Opposition (51)

• {{color box|{{party color|Farmer–Citizen Movement}}|border=darkgray}} BBB (16)
• {{color box|{{party color|GroenLinks–PvdA}}|border=darkgray}} GL–PvdA (14)
• {{color box|{{party color|Party for Freedom}}|border=darkgray}} PVV (4)
• {{color box|{{party color|Socialist Party (Netherlands)}}|border=darkgray}} SP (3)
• {{color box|{{party color|Party for the Animals}}|border=darkgray}} PvdD (3)
• {{color box|{{party color|JA21}}|border=darkgray}} JA21 (3)
• {{Color box|{{party color|Forum for Democracy (Netherlands)}}|border=darkgray}} FvD (2)
• {{color box|{{party color|Reformed Political Party}}|border=darkgray}} SGP (2)
• {{color box|{{party color|Volt Netherlands}}|border=darkgray}} Volt (2)
• {{color box|{{party color|50PLUS}}|border=darkgray}} 50PLUS (1)
• {{color box|{{party color|Independent Politics Netherlands}}|border=darkgray}} OPNL (1)| term_length = 4 years

Indirect election>Indirect party-list proportional2023 Dutch Senate election>30 May 20232027 Dutch Senate election>May 2027| session_room = Plenaire zaal Eerste Kamer.jpg| session_res = 260px| meeting_place = Plenary Hall of the Senate, Binnenhof, The Hague| website = {{Official URL}}}}The Senate ( {{IPA-nl|ˈeːrstə ˈkaːmər dər ˈstaːtə(ŋ) ˌɣeːnəˈraːl|}}, literally "First Chamber of the States General", or simply {{IPA-nl|ˈeːrstə ˈkaːmər||Nl-Eerste Kamer.ogg}}, sometimes {{IPA-nl|səˈnaːt||Nl-senaat.ogg}}) is the upper house of the States General, the legislature of the Netherlands. Its 75 members are elected on lists by the members of the twelve States-Provincial and four electoral colleges for the Senate{{efn|Three for the Caribbean Netherlands and one for Dutch expatriates.}} every four years, within three months of the provincial elections. All provinces and colleges have different electoral weight depending on their population.Members of the Senate tend to be veteran or part-time politicians at the national level, often having other roles. They receive an allowance which is about a quarter of the salary of the members of the lower house. Unlike the politically more significant House of Representatives, it meets only once a week.It has the right to accept or reject legislative proposals but not to amend them or to initiate legislation. Directly after a bill has been passed by the House of Representatives, it is sent to the Senate and is submitted to a parliamentary committee. The committee decides whether the bill can be immediately put on the agenda of the full chamber or if there should first be preparatory study of the bill. If a bill is immediately put on the agenda of the full chamber, it is passed as a formality without a debate.

Name

Although this body is called the "Senate" in English, this is not a direct translation of its official Dutch name, the "First Chamber of the States General" or, in short, the "First Chamber". Nevertheless, and in contrast to the Second Chamber, the name Senaat is also used often in the media. "Member of the First Chamber" (Eerste Kamerlid), "member of the Senate" (senaatslid) or "senator" (senator) are used, although the first one is the official and most used term.

History

File:Binnenhof, The Hague 1866.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Exterior of the Senate Building from the BinnenhofBinnenhofFile:Binnenhof - Haag.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Exterior of the Senate Building from the HofvijverHofvijverThe first constitution of the modern Netherlands, passed in 1814, re-established a unicameral States General. As it became clear that the former Southern Netherlands would be added to the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands, a newly instituted constitutional commission was tasked with drafting a new constitution. The southern members of the constitutional commission pressed for a bicameral system because of the conviction that their nobility should be given a place in the legislature. While the northern members were not enthusiastic about the proposal, they agreed under the condition that nobility would not be a requirement for membership.WEB,weblink Tweekamerstelsel, Parlement & Politiek, nl, 13 January 2018, WEB,weblink Geschiedenis Eerste Kamer, Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal, nl, 13 January 2018, The new constitution, which came into effect on 24 August 1815, thus provided for a Senate consisting of forty to sixty members appointed by the king for life. The list of the first appointees was published on 16 September 1815 and the newly appointed chamber was first assembled on 21 September 1815 in Brussels in a joint assembly with the House of Representatives.WEB,weblink Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal (1815-1861), Huygens Instituut, nl, 13 January 2018, In its early years, the Senate functioned as a bulwark of the Crown (the king and his ministers). Its members, appointed by the king from among the "most significant of the country", were mostly confidants of the king who were often called upon to veto bills that displeased him. Such bills were usually private members' bills from the House of Representatives. The Senate remained in existence after the independence of Belgium in 1830, although its membership was halved to no fewer than twenty and no more than thirty members.Much changed in the political sphere as a result of the Constitutional Reform of 1848, which introduced direct elections for the House of Representatives, which until then had been elected by provincial councils. The constitutional commission, under the chairmanship of Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, intended for the Senate to be directly elected as well, but the predominantly conservative House of Representatives blocked this, fearing that the two chambers would be too similar. Additionally, senators were expected to judge bills with more independence and distance from daily politics, as a chambre de reflection, which was deemed impossible when they would be forced to campaign for direct election.It was therefore decided that the Senate would henceforth be elected by provincial councils. Its 39 seats were distributed among the provinces degressively proportional to population, and a third of its members would be elected for 9-year terms every three years using a majoritarian system.WEB,weblink Geschiedenis kiesstelsel Eerste Kamer, Parlement & Politiek, nl, 13 January 2018, The position of the Senate and the criteria governing eligibility to stand for election were also among the changes. Monitoring the quality of legislation gradually came to be the main function of the Senate after 1848.WEB,weblink English, Eerste Kamer, 2 August 2014, The existence and functioning of the Senate have been criticised throughout history, manifested in reports of state commissions, government proposals and private member's bills calling for reform or abolition of the Senate. Abolition of the Senate was attempted by social democrats and progressive liberals in 1903, and again after World War I, but these proposals could not count on sufficient support.However, reform came in 1922, five years after a constitutional amendment that introduced universal male suffrage and proportional representation to the House of Representatives. The constitutional amendment of 1922 brought proportional representation to the Senate as well. Rather than the seats being distributed among the provinces, the provinces were now organised into four groups of roughly equal population, each electing twelve or thirteen senators under party-list proportional representation. The term of senators was decreased to six years, with two of the four groups electing their senators every three years. The number of senators was increased from 50 to 75 in 1956, and the distribution of seats among groups of provinces was adapted to account for changes in population distribution.The Senate was subjected to another reform in 1983. The term of senators was further reduced to four years, equal to that of Representatives. The system of groups of provinces and staggered elections was abolished in favour of quadrennial elections for the entire Senate in one nationwide constituency. The state commission which had paved the way for the constitutional reform had also recommended direct elections for the Senate, but the House of Representatives adopted a motion rejecting this proposal.WEB,weblink Staatscommissie-Cals/Donner, Parlement.com, nl, 9 March 2024, Several minor changes have since been adopted. In 2010, the possibility for party lists to enter into an electoral alliance was abolished, and the number of preference votes needed for a candidate to be elected was increased from 50% to 100% of the quota. The establishment of the three electoral colleges for the Caribbean Netherlands was made possible by the constitutional amendment of 2017. The members of the Caribbean electoral colleges were elected for the first time on 20 March 2019. Citizens of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba with Dutch nationality are entitled to vote.Q&A's kiescollege 2019, Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland 3 januari 2019, p. 1. The establishment of a non-resident electoral college was made possible by the 2022 constitutional amendment.WEB,weblink Wet kiescollege niet-ingezetenen (36.071),

Parliamentary groups{| class"wikitable"

! colspan=2 | Group! Leader! SeatsFarmer–Citizen Movement|full=yes}}| Ilona Lagas {{Composition bar compact75Farmer–Citizen Movement}}}}GroenLinks–PvdA|full=yes}}| Paul Rosenmöller {{Composition bar compact75GroenLinks–PvdA}}}}People's Party for Freedom and Democracy| Edith Schippers {{Composition bar compact75People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (2020)}}}}Christian Democratic Appeal| Theo Bovens {{Composition bar compact75Christian Democratic Appeal (2021)}}}}Democrats 66|full=yes}}| Paul van Meenen {{Composition bar compact75Democrats 66}}}}Party for Freedom|full=yes}}| Alexander van Hattem {{Composition bar compact75Party for Freedom}}}}Party for the Animals|full=yes}}| Niko Koffeman {{Composition bar compact75Party for the Animals}}}}JA21|full=yes}}| Annabel Nanninga {{Composition bar compact75JA21}}}}Socialist Party (Netherlands)|full=yes}}| Tiny Kox {{Composition bar compact75Socialist Party (Netherlands)}}}}Christian Union (Netherlands)|full=yes}}| Tineke Huizinga {{Composition bar compact75Christian Union (Netherlands)}}}}Forum for Democracy|full=yes}}| Johan Dessing {{Composition bar compact75Forum for Democracy}}}}Volt Netherlands|full=yes}}| Gaby Perin-Gopie {{Composition bar compact75Volt Netherlands}}}}Reformed Political Party|full=yes}}| Peter Schalk {{Composition bar compact75Reformed Political Party}}}}50PLUS|full=yes}}| Martin van Rooijen {{Composition bar compact7550PLUS}}}}Independent Politics Netherlands|full=yes}}| Auke van der Groot {{Composition bar compact75Independent Politics Netherlands}}}}

College of President and Vice-Presidents

The College of President and Vice-Presidents is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Senate. It consists of the president of the Senate and two vice-presidents.WEB,weblink College van Voorzitter en Ondervoorzitters, Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal, nl, 7 July 2023, WEB,weblink Vos en Croll gekozen tot Ondervoorzitters, Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal, 4 July 2023, nl, 7 July 2023, {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"! Position! Portrait! Name! colspan=2 | GroupPresident of the Senate (Netherlands)>President {{small|since 2 July 2019}}120px|Jan Anthonie Bruijn)| Jan Anthonie Bruijn (born 1958) VVDsince 4 July 2023}}120px|Mei Li Vos)| Mei Li Vos (born 1970)GroenLinks–PvdA}}since 4 July 2023}}120px|Robert Croll)Robert Croll (politician)>Robert Croll (born 1954)Farmer–Citizen Movement}}

Elections and composition

Eligibility

Any Dutch citizen aged 18 years or older who is qualified to vote can stand for election in either house of the States General. However, no one can simultaneously sit as a member in both houses.WEB, Het lidmaatschap van de Eerste Kamer -,weblink Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal, nl, 8 June 2023,

Electoral system

{{Politics of the Netherlands}}The 75 senators are elected every four years by the members of the States-Provincial of the country's twelve provinces and (since 2019) by electoral colleges elected in the Caribbean Netherlands. The seats are distributed in one nationwide constituency using party-list proportional representation. Remainder seats are distributed using the highest averages method. The weight of a member's vote is determined by the population of the province in which the voter is a member of the States-Provincial, at a ratio of approximately 1 vote per 100 residents. The table below shows the weight of members' votes per province as of the 2019 election.WEB,weblink Eerste Kamer, Kiesraad.nl, 20 April 2016, nl, 5 October 2018, {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |Province/Special municipality! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |Members! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |Population{{Efn|Population figures: 1 January 2019}}! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |Votes! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |Value per member| South Holland| 55| 3,674,146| 36,740| 668| North Holland| 55| 2,853,488| 29,095| 519| North Brabant| 55| 2,544,995| 25,465| 463| Gelderland| 55| 2,071,913| 20,735| 377Utrecht (province)>Utrecht| 49| 1,342,194| 13,426| 274| Overijssel| 47| 1,156,373| 11,562| 246Limburg (Netherlands)>Limburg| 47| 1,116,127| 11,139| 237| Friesland| 43| 647,740| 6,493| 151Groningen (province)>Groningen| 43| 584,094| 5,848| 136| Drenthe| 41| 492,179| 4,920| 120| Flevoland| 41| 416,431| 4,182| 102| Zeeland| 39| 383,073| 3,822| 98| Bonaire| 9| 20,104| 198| 22| Sint Eustatius| 5| 3,138| 30| 6Saba (island)>Saba| 5| 1,915| 20| 4

Historic composition

{{further|Historic composition of the Senate of the Netherlands}}{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;font-size:95%"Senate of the Netherlands>Senate after the 2019 indirect elections! Parties! Seats 2023! Seats 2019! Seats 2015! Seats 2011! Seats 2007! Seats 2003! Seats 1999! Seats 1995! Seats 1991Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB)| 16| | | | | | | | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD)| 10| 12| 13| 16| 14| 15| 19| 23| 12GreenLeft (GL)| 7| 8| 4| 5| 4| 5| 8| 4| 4Labour Party (PvdA)| 7| 6| 8| 14| 14| 19| 15| 14| 16Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA)| 6| 9| 12| 11| 21| 23| 20| 19| 27Democrats 66 (D66)| 5| 7| 10| 5| 2| 3| 4| 7| 12Party for Freedom (PVV)| 4| 5| 9| 10| | | | | Party for the Animals (PvdD)| 3| 3| 2| 1| 1| | | | JA21 | 3| | | | | | | | Socialist Party (SP)| 3| 4| 9| 8| 12| 4| 2| 1| Christian Union (CU)| 3| 4| 3| 2| 4| 2| 4| 2*| 2*Forum for Democracy (FVD)| 2| 12| | | | | | | Volt Netherlands (Volt)| 2| | | | | | | | Political Reformed Party (SGP)| 2| 2| 2| 1| 2| 2| 2| 2| 250PLUS (50+)| 1| 2| 2| 1| | | | | Independent Politics Netherlands (OPNL)| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| Pim Fortuyn List (LPF)| | | | | | 1| | | General Elderly Alliance (AOV)| | | | | | | | 2| ! Total! width="30" style="text-align:right"|75! width="30" style="text-align:right"|75! width="30" style="text-align:right"|75! width="30" style="text-align:right"|75! width="30" style="text-align:right"|75! width="30" style="text-align:right"|75! width="30" style="text-align:right"|75! width="30" style="text-align:right"|75! width="30" style="text-align:right"|75

• Reformatory Political Federation (RPF) and Reformed Political League (GPV)

See also

• List of presidents of the Senate (Netherlands)

Notes

{{Notelist}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|Eerste Kamer}}

• {{Official websiteweblink}} (English)
• {{Official websiteweblink}} (Dutch)

{{Members of the Senate of the Netherlands, 2023–2027}}{{Dutch Senate elections}}{{National upper houses}}{{Authority control}}