The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport is the Dutch Ministry responsible for public health, health care, quality of life, social work and sport. The Ministry was created in 1951 as the "Ministry of Social Affairs and Health" and had several name changes before it became the "Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport" in 1994. The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, currently Fleur Agema (PVV), assisted by two state secretaries, currently Vicky Maeijer (PVV) and Vincent Karremans (VVD).
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is the Dutch Ministry responsible for education, culture, science, research, gender equality and communications. The Ministry was created in 1918 as the Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences and had several name changes before it became the Education, Culture and Science in 1994. The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, currently Eppo Bruins.
The Ministry of General Affairs is the Dutch Ministry responsible for government policy, planning, information, and the Dutch royal house. The Ministry was created in 1937 and dissolved in 1945, but in 1947 it was reinstated by Prime Minister Louis Beel. The Ministry remained small until 1967, when it was greatly expanded by Prime Minister Piet de Jong. Since his premiership the Ministry has continued to expand to the present day. The Minister of General Affairs is the head of the Ministry who is also Prime Minister and a member of the Cabinet of the Netherlands. The current Minister and Prime Minister is Dick Schoof.
The Ministry of Justice and Security is the Dutch ministry responsible for justice, imprisonment and public security. The ministry was created in 1798 as the Department of Justice, before it became in 1876 the Ministry of Justice. In 2010, it took over the public safety duties from the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and became Ministry of Security and Justice. In 2017 the ministry was renamed to Ministry of Justice and Security. The ministry is headed by the Minister of Justice and Security, David van Weel (NSC) since 2 July 2024.
The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is the Netherlands' ministry responsible for domestic policy, civil service, public administration, elections, relations with local governments, intelligence, and kingdom relations.
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.
The Ministry of Finance is the Dutch Ministry responsible for economic policy, monetary policy, fiscal policy, tax policy, incomes policy, financial regulation, the government budget and the financial market. The Ministry was created in 1798 as the Department of Finance of the Batavian Republic. It became the Ministry of Finance in 1876. The Minister of Finance is the head of the Ministry and a member of the Cabinet of the Netherlands. The current Minister is Eelco Heinen.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature is the Dutch Ministry responsible for agricultural policy, food policy, food safety, fisheries, forestry, natural conservation and animal welfare. The Ministry was created in 1935 and in 2010 the department was merged with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and was named the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. The Ministry was reinstated in 2017 as the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality; it is headed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, a member of the Cabinet of the Netherlands. This post is currently occupied by Femke Wiersma of the Farmer–Citizen Movement. Despite its small size, the Netherlands is the worlds' second exporter of agricultural products, after the United States.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment is the Dutch ministry responsible for social affairs, relations between employers and employees, social security, trade unions and emancipation. It was established in 1918 as the Ministry of Labour and had several name changes before it became the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment in 1981. The ministry is headed by the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, currently Eddy van Hijum of New Social Contract.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management is the Dutch Ministry responsible for transport, aviation, housing policy, public works, spatial planning, land management and water resource management. The Ministry was created in 2010 as the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment following the merger of the Ministry of Transport and Water Management and the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment. In 2017, the Ministry was renamed the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the responsibilities for environmental policy and climate change policy were transferred to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The total electricity consumption of the Netherlands in 2021 was 117 terawatt-hours (TWh). The consumption grew from 7 TWh in 1950 by an average of 4.5% per year. In 2021, fossil fuels, such as natural gas and coal, accounted for around 62% of the total electricity produced. Renewable energy sources, such as biomass, wind power, and solar power, produce 38% of the total electricity. One nuclear plant in the Netherlands, in Borssele, is responsible for around 3% of total generation. The majority of the electricity, more than 75%, is produced centrally by thermal and nuclear units.
The Digital Trust Center is a Dutch organisation, with the main goal to help entrepreneurs with safe digital entrepreneurship.
State of the Netherlands v Urgenda Foundation (2019) is climate change litigation heard by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands related to government efforts to curtail carbon dioxide emissions. The case was brought against the Dutch government in 2013, arguing the government, by not meeting a minimum carbon dioxide emission-reduction goal established by scientists to avert harmful climate change, was endangering the human rights of Dutch citizens as set by national and European Union laws.
Urgenda is a nonprofit foundation (stichting) in the Netherlands which aims to help enforce national, European and international environment treaties. In 2013, Urgenda filed a lawsuit against the state of the Netherlands – respectively also against the government – at the court of The Hague, to force them to make more effective policies that reduce the amount of emissions, with the aim to protect the people of the Netherlands against the effects of climate change and pollution.
The Netherlands is already affected by climate change. The average temperature in the Netherlands rose by more than 2 °C from 1901 to 2020. Climate change has resulted in increased frequency of droughts and heatwaves. Because significant portions of the Netherlands have been reclaimed from the sea or otherwise are very near sea level, the Netherlands is very vulnerable to sea level rise.
The fourth Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 10 January 2022 until 2 July 2024. The cabinet was a continuation of the third Rutte cabinet and was 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. It continued serving as a demissionary cabinet until the Schoof cabinet was sworn in on 2 July 2024.
Johanna M. G. (Joke) Brandt, also known internationally as Yoka Brandt, is a Dutch diplomat, administrator and civil servant who has served as her country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York since 2020. She was previously Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF (2012−2016) and the Dutch ambassador to Uganda (2000−2004) and Eritrea (2000−2004).
Henk Staghouwer is a Dutch administrator and Christian Union politician. He served as Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the fourth Rutte cabinet from 10 January to 5 September 2022. From 24 April 2013 to 10 January 2022 he was a member of the provincial executive of Groningen.
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