Aruba,officially the Country of Aruba,is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands,situated in the southern Caribbean Sea. Aruba is located approximately 29 kilometres (18 mi) north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguanáand 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Curaçao.
The Netherlands Antilles,also known as the Dutch Antilles,was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba,Sint Eustatius,and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles,and Aruba,Curaçao,and Bonaire in the Leeward Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies,and it was dissolved in 2010,when like Aruba in 1986,Sint Maarten and Curaçao gained status of constituent countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands,and Saba,Sint Eustatius,and Bonaire gained status of special municipality of Netherlands as the Caribbean Netherlands. The neighboring Dutch colony of Surinam in continental South America,did not become part of the Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country in 1954. All the territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today,although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean,regardless of their legal status. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans in the Netherlands.
A lieutenant governor,lieutenant-governor,or vice governor is a high officer of state,whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy,or lieutenant,to or ranked under a governor —a "second-in-command",rather like deputy governor. In Canadian provinces and in the Dutch Caribbean,the lieutenant governor is the representative of the monarch in that jurisdiction,and thus outranks the head of government,but for practical purposes has virtually no power.
Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles,and is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk,on the west (leeward) coast of the island. Aruba,Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands,80 km off the coast of Venezuela. The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm,sunny weather all year round,and they lie outside the Main Development Region for tropical cyclones. Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites,shipwrecks and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.
Saba is a Caribbean island and the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the dormant volcano Mount Scenery,which at 887 metres (2,910 ft) is the highest point of the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies,southeast of the Virgin Islands. Together with Bonaire and Sint Eustatius it forms the BES islands,also known as the Caribbean Netherlands.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands,commonly known simply as the Netherlands,is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands,who functions as head of state. The realm is not a federation;it is a unitary monarchy with its largest subdivision,the eponymous Netherlands,predominantly located in Northwestern Europe and with several smaller island territories located in the Caribbean.
The Caribbean Netherlands is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe,in the Caribbean,consisting of three special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire,Sint Eustatius and Saba,as they are also known in legislation,or the BES islands for short. The islands are officially classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas territories of the European Union;as such,European Union law does not automatically apply to them.
The Caribbean guilder is a planned currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten,two constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands,officially slated for introduction in 2025. It is divided into 100 cents. The Caribbean guilder is set to replace the Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) at par and be pegged to the U.S. dollar. The currency has an official launch scheduled for 31 March 2025 and will become the sole legal tender in the countries after 30 June 2025.
The Bonaire national football team is the national football team of the Caribbean island of Bonaire,a public body of the Netherlands. It is under the control of the Bonaire Football Federation. It became a member of the CFU and an associate member of CONCACAF on 19 April 2013. after which it became a full CONCACAF member on 10 June 2014 The team can participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Caribbean Cup because of their membership in the confederation and sub-confederation. However,Bonaire is not a member of FIFA and therefore can not compete in the FIFA World Cup or other FIFA events.
Jonathan G.A. Johnson has been the island governor of Saba since 2008.
Evelina Betancourt-Anthony is an Aruban-born Bonairean health administrator and politician. From 1 December 2015 she served as acting Lieutenant Governor of the island for one year,filling the duties of Lieutenant Governor Edison Rijna in his absence.
Silveria Elfrieda Jacobs is a Sint Maarten politician and the former Prime Minister of Sint Maarten from 2019 to 2024.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Bonaire was part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),which was confirmed to have reached the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire on 16 April 2020. On 28 April,all cases recovered. On 14 July,two new cases were discovered. On 13 August,all cases recovered.
Island Council elections were held in Sint Eustatius on 21 October 2020. Sint Eustatius is a special municipality of the Netherlands. The elections were originally to be held on 20 March 2019,but were postponed due to administrative intervention by the Dutch government. On 23 September 2019,a new election date was announced.
