The foreign policy of the Netherlands is based on four basic commitments: to the Atlantic cooperation, to European integration, to international development and to international law. While historically the Kingdom of the Netherlands was a neutral state, since 1945 it has become a member of NATO, the United Nations, the European Union and many other international organizations. The Dutch economy is very open and relies on international trade. During and after the 17th century—its Golden Age—the Dutch built up a commercial and colonial empire. It was a leading shipping and naval power and was often at war with England, its main rival. Its main colonial holding was Indonesia, which fought for and achieved independence after 1945. The historical ties inherited from its colonial past still influence the foreign relations of the Netherlands. Foreign trade policy is handled by the European Union. The Dutch have been active in international peacekeeping roles.
Jakob Gijsbert "Jaap" de Hoop Scheffer is a Dutch retired politician, jurist and diplomat who served as the eleventh Secretary General of NATO from January 2004 to August 2009. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), which he led from March 1997 to October 2001, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from July 2002 until December 2003 under Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.
A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authority wherein ministers without portfolio, while they may not head any particular offices or ministries, may still receive a ministerial salary and have the right to cast a vote in cabinet decisions. The office may also exist to give party leaders whose offices would not otherwise enable them to sit in Cabinet.
The cabinet of the Netherlands is the main executive body of the Netherlands. The latest cabinet of the Netherlands is the Fourth Rutte cabinet, which has been in power since 10 January 2022, until 7 July 2023. It is headed by Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Bernard Rudolf "Ben" Bot is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007 in the second and third cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende. A career ambassador, he succeeded then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaap de Hoop Scheffer who resigned to become Secretary General of NATO.
The minister of foreign affairs is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a member of the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers. The incumbent minister is Hanke Bruins Slot of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) who has been in office since 5 September 2023. Regularly, a state secretary is assigned to the ministry who is tasked with specific portfolios, currently the function is not in use. Additionally since 1965 there has been a minister without portfolio assigned to the ministry, the minister for foreign trade and development cooperation has traditionally development cooperation as portfolio, since 2012 the portfolio of trade and export has been assigned added to the function. The current minister for foreign trade and development cooperation is Liesje Schreinemacher of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who has been in office since 1 September 2023.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Netherlands' ministry responsible for foreign relations, foreign policy, international development, international trade, diaspora and matters dealing with the European Union, NATO and the Benelux Union. The ministry was created in 1798, as the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Batavian Republic. In 1876, it became the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Eva Leonie "Eveline" Herfkens is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Labour Party (PvdA) and activist.
Relations between the Netherlands and the United States are described as "excellent" by the United States Department of State and "close" by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Official relations were established in 1782 and, as the two were never at war or in serious conflict, were referred to by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1982 as "the longest unbroken, peaceful relationship that we have had with any other nation." The two countries have cooperated much in recent decades in anti-terrorism, anti-piracy and peacekeeping missions in the European, Middle Eastern and Central American regions. They are also the third largest and largest direct foreign investors in each other's economies.
Netherlands–Romania relations are the bilateral relations between the Netherlands and Romania. The Ambassador to Romania is concurrently accredited to Moldova. Romania has an embassy in The Hague and honorary consulates in Heeg, Rotterdam and Venlo. The Netherlands has an embassy in Bucharest, honorary consulates in Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara and Constanța, and since 2016 an office in Chișinău in Moldova.
The minister for foreign trade and development cooperation is a minister without portfolio in the Netherlands. The officeholder, who is a member of the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers, is assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The minister is tasked with Trade and Export, Development Cooperation and International Environmental Policies. The current acting minister is Geoffrey van Leeuwen of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who has been replacing Liesje Schreinemacher during her maternity leave since 4 December 2023.
Hanke Gerdina Johannette Bruins Slot is a Dutch politician and military veteran who has been serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Rutte since 2023. She previously was the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations from 2022 to 2023.
Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi is an Indonesian diplomat who has been serving as the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of Joko Widodo since 2014. She is the first female minister appointed to the post. She was previously the Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands from 2012 to 2014, as well as Ambassador to Iceland and Norway from 2005 to 2008.
Diplomatic relations exist between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands. Azerbaijan have an embassy in The Hague. the Netherlands has an embassy in Baku. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe. Azerbaijan celebrated its 30th anniversary with the Netherlands on April 1, 2022.
Jorien Wuite is a Sint Maarten-Dutch civil servant, diplomat, and politician. Born in The Hague, she moved to Sint Maarten aged 32 to work in government. She rose to the position of Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports and served as Minister Plenipotentiary of Sint Maarten in the period 2018–19. She moved back to the European part of the Netherlands due to her election to the House of Representatives in 2021 as a member of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66).
Elisabeth "Liesje" Schreinemacher is a Dutch lawyer and politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who has served as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation in the fourth Rutte cabinet since 10 January 2022. She previously served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2019 until 2022.
Alexander Robert Hammelburg is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66). He has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. He previously worked as a lobbyist for COC Nederland and held a seat in the municipal council of Amsterdam.
The Embassy of the Philippines in The Hague is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. First opened in 1959, it is located in the Archipelbuurt neighborhood of The Hague's city center, where it has been since 1968.
Thomas Justinus Arnout Marie de Bruijn is a Dutch diplomat, civil servant and politician who served as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation in the third Rutte cabinet from 10 August 2021 to 10 January 2022. He is a member of the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) party.
The fourth Rutte cabinet is the current cabinet of the Netherlands. It was inaugurated on 10 January 2022. The cabinet is a continuation of the third Rutte cabinet and is formed by the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the social liberal Democrats 66 (D66) and the Christian democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Union (CU) after the election of 2021. The cabinet fell on 7 July 2023, after failing to reach an agreement on separate treatment of refugees fleeing from war. As a result, the cabinet became demissionary.
