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Netherlands Antilles
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Netherlands Antilles is an integral part of the Netherlands, comprising two island groups of three islands each. The Netherlands Leeward and the Netherlands Windward islands are located in the Caribbean Sea. The former group, consisting of Curaçao, Bonaire, and until 1986 Aruba, is situated northwest of Caracas, Venezuela. The area of the Netherlands Leeward Islands is 732 sq km (283 sq mi). The Netherlands Windward Islands consist of the southern half of Saint Martin (Sint Maarten) and all of Saint Eustatius and Saba, covering a total area of about 68 sq km (about 26 sq mi). These islands are situated at the northern end of the Lesser Antilles chain, to the southeast of Puerto Rico.
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The major industry of the Netherlands Antilles is the refining of crude oil imported from Venezuela; the Isla refinery on Curaçao, the most industrialized of the islands, is one of the largest in the Caribbean. Crude oil and petroleum products account for almost 90 per cent of the annual value of imports and exports. Industries associated with oil refining include ship bunkering and petrochemicals. Other industries include, on Curaçao and Bonaire, the manufacture of textiles, paint, and electronic equipment, and brewing, soap making and flour milling; on Sint Maarten the main industries are rum manufacturing and fish processing. Free trade zones have been established on Curaçao to provide employment in transshipment and distribution activities. Calcium phosphate is mined on Curaçao and salt on Bonaire.
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The Netherlands Antilles has a parliamentary government. Their government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judiciary. The chief of state is the Queen, who is represented by the Governor General. The head of government is the Prime Minister. The monarch is hereditary; ... the monarch appoints the governor general for a six-year term. Following elections, the leader of the majority power is elected Prime Minister.
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In 2004 a commission of the governments of the Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands reported on a future status for the Netherlands Antilles. The commission advised to revise the Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in order to dissolve the Netherlands Antilles. Two new countries inside the Kingdom of the Netherlands would be formed, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius would become directly part of the Netherlands as Kingdom Islands. On November 28, 2005, an agreement was signed between the Dutch government and the governments of each island that would put into effect the commission's findings by July 2007.
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Current political relations between the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba stem from 1954 and are based on the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a voluntary arrangement between the Netherlands, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles. At the time, the Charter represented an end to colonial relations and the acceptance of a new legal system in which each nation would look after their own interests independently, look after their common interests on the basis of equality and provide each other with mutual assistance. In 1975, Suriname left the Kingdom’s political alliance. Since 1986, Aruba has had separate status within the Kingdom and is no longer part of the Netherlands Antilles. The Netherlands Antilles enjoys self-determination on all internal matters and defers to the Netherlands in matters of defense, foreign policy, and some judicial functions.
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The Netherlands Antilles will be disbanded on December 15, 2008. Curaçao and Sint Maarten will become two new states associated with the Netherlands. Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius will become part of the Netherlands as special municipalities.
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Netherlands Antilles