Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (Netherlands)
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The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties; BZK) is the Dutch Interior ministry, which also is responsibility for the relations with the other countries in the Kingdom. The current minister is Liesbeth Spies.
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[edit] Responsibilities
The Ministry is called the "Mother of all Ministries" because most ministries, like the former Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and Ministry of Education, Culture and Science split from the ministry at one time or another or the "residual ministry", because it is left with a diverse set of responsibilities after this process.[1] It has the legal mission to:
- uphold the Constitution of the Netherlands;
- guarantee the democratic rule of law;
- ensure an effective and efficient public administration, including lower governments, the municipalities, provinces and water boards;
- promote public order and safety and provide centralised management of the country's police forces;
- promote the quality of the civil service and coordinate management and personnel policy for all civil servants;
- coordinate cooperation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, namely with Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.
Because it shares so many responsibilities and the same building with the Ministry of Justice, they are sometimes called the twin ministries.
[edit] Organization
The ministry is currently headed by one minister and one state secretary. It employs almost 3,000 civil servants. The ministry's main office is located in the centre of The Hague in the same building as the ministry of Justice. The civil service is headed by a secretary general and a vice-secretary general, who head a system of four directorates general:
- The Directorate General for Public Administration
- The Directorate General for Public Order and Safety
- The Directorate General for Management and Personnel Policy
- The Directorate General for Constitutional Affairs and Kingdom Relations.
An important autonomous agency of the ministry is the General Intelligence and Security Service.
[edit] History
The ministry was founded in 1798 as the department for internal policy and supervision on the state of water works in Batavian Republic. Since 1801 it has been named Ministry of the Interior, and some other responsibilities have been added to its name: Agriculture (1922-1932) and Kingdom Relations (1998-date). Between 1959 and 1998 a minister was given the portfolio of relations with Surinam, the Dutch Antilles and Aruba in addition to his other portfolios before that, there was a minister of Colonial Affairs, which was called Overseas Affairs after 1945.
[edit] List of Ministers of the Interior
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[edit] Living Ministers of the Interior
| Minister of the Interior | Term | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Hans Wiegel | 1977-1981 | July 41, 1941 |
| Ed van Thijn | 1981-1982, 1994 | August 16, 1934 |
| Frits Korthals Altes | 1986 | May 15, 1931 |
| Rudolf de Korte | 1986 | July 8, 1936 |
| Ernst Hirsch Ballin | 1994, 2010 | December 15, 1950 |
| Bram Peper | 1998-2000 | February 13, 1940 |
| Roger van Boxtel | 2000 | February 8, 1954 |
| Klaas de Vries | 2000-2002 | April 28, 1943 |
| Johan Remkes | 2002-2007 | June 15, 1951 |
| Guusje ter Horst | 2007–2010 | March 22, 1952 |
| Piet Hein Donner | 2010-2011 | October 20, 1948 |
| Liesbeth Spies | 2011 | April 6, 1966 |
[edit] Last former Ministers of of the Interior who died
| Minister of of the Interior | Term | Born | Died |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molly Geertsema | 1971-1973 | October 18, 1918 | June 27, 1991 (aged 72) |
| Ien Dales | 1989-1994 | October 18, 1931 | January 10, 1994 (aged 62) |
| Jan de Koning | 1987 | August 31, 1926 | October 9, 1994 (aged 68) |
| Ivo Samkalden | 1966 | August 10, 1912 | May 11, 1995 (aged 82) |
| Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman | 1973-1977 | May 8, 1911 | March 29, 1997 (aged 85) |
| Pieter Verdam | 1966-1967 | January 15, 1915 | March 11, 1998 (aged 83) |
| Max Rood | 1982 | August 21, 1927 | December 2, 2001 (aged 74) |
| Dieuwke de Graaff-Nauta | 1994 | May 22, 1930 | June 10, 2008 (aged 78) |
| Kees van Dijk | 1986-1989 | July 25, 1931 | December 29, 2008 (aged 77) |
| Edzo Toxopeus | 1959-1965 | February 19, 1918 | August 23, 2009 (aged 91) |
| Hans Dijkstal | 1994-1998 | February 28, 1943 | May 9, 2010 (aged 67) |
[edit] List of Ministers without Portfolio for the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
| Minister | Ministers without Portfolio | In Office | Party | Prime Minister | Cabinet | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Roger van Boxtel |
Large Cities and Integration | August 3, 1998 - July 22, 2002 | Democrats 66 | Wim Kok | Kok II | |
 Thom de Graaf |
Government Reform and Kingdom Relations | May 27, 2003 - March 23, 2005 | Democrats 66 | Jan Peter Balkenende | Balkenende II | Deputy Prime Minister (Resigned) |
 Alexander Pechtold |
Government Reform and Kingdom Relations | March 31, 2005 - July 3, 2006 | Democrats 66 | Jan Peter Balkenende | Balkenende II | (Resigned) |
 Atzo Nicolaï |
Government Reform and Kingdom Relations | July 7, 2006 - February 22, 2007 | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | Jan Peter Balkenende | Balkenende III | |
 Gerd Leers |
Immigration, Integration and Asylum Affairs | Since October 14, 2010 | Christian Democratic Appeal | Mark Rutte | Rutte |
[edit] References
- ^ Neelen et al. (2003) De bestuurlijk kaart van Nederland p.63
