THE OOSTKAMER

The executive power of Kronenburg is formed by 1) the head of state, 2) the Oostkamer, consisting of the prime minister, the vice prime minister and a number of ministers that is fixed by law, and 3) a number of state secretaries that is fixed by law. Although officially part of the executive power, the king as head of state has little real political power. If one refers to the Kronenburg 'government', the combination of Oostkamer and state secretaries is most often meant.

The name 'Oostkamer' means 'East Chamber'; it is called so, because the council of ministers assembles in the eastern wing of the parliament buildings.

History
The Oostkamer is the Kronenburg council of ministers. Before 1883 ministers were appointed directly by the head of state, but after the forced abdication of king Alexander II in 1879, much of the political power of the king was taken away from him. From that moment on, ministers were appointed by an Advisor General, who is officially appointed by the head of state, but only after a binding advice by the Noordkamer. The king remained chairman of the council of ministers and he was allowed to vote. In 1981 he lost these privileges as well; from that year on, prime ministers became the chairmen of the Oostkamer.

Since 1883 there have been 32 Oostkamers. Until 1917 Oostkamers were appointed for seven year terms, but the term was reduced to four years. Because few parties existed at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries, majority governments were of frequent occurrence. After 1921 the number of coalition governments increased. During the entire twentieth century all Oostkamers served full terms, apart from the ones that were forced into exile by the NSPK coup d'état and the subsequent American occupation from 1938 to 1947. Apparently, the chairmanship by the king or queen was a stabilizing factor.

State secretariates
The state secretariates form a separate branch of the executive power. State secretaries are in fact governmental functionaries on a specific subject. State secretaries are normally members of the government coalition parties and they are appointed at the same time as new goverments. State secretaries cannot be dismissed by the Noordkamer, but only by the Westkamer, to which they are accountable. In 1981 the number of state secretariates was reduced from 23 to nine. In 1999 the state secretariate of AGL affairs was added to the existing ones. Since the constitution change of 2005/2006 the number of state secretariates can change with each new government; as of 2015, there are six state secretariates.

Interim governments
According to the 1981 constitution, an interim government must be formed after an Oostkamer is sacked by the Noordkamer or decides to offer its resignation to the king with immediate effect. The Oostkamer may decide to call for early elections without stepping down immediately, so in that case no interim government is formed. Interim governments are formed by the Noordkamer chairman, who becomes acting prime minister. He or she chooses as many acting ministers as he or she thinks is necessary for the interim government. The chairman of the Westkamer may also join the interim government, but that is not mandatory. In 2001 the Westkamer chairwoman Carmen Polender-Cartwright became acting minister of domestic affairs; in 2007-2008, Jan Huitsing became acting minister of social affairs. State secretaries are formally non active if there is an interim government, with exception of the state secretary of domestic security: in 2001 and 2007-2008 resp. Leendert Bachs (PSV) and Arend Postuma (PvG) stayed in function.

An interim government handles current affairs and stays on until a new normal government is formed. Interim governments are not allowed to create new policies and have limited decision power in the matter of concluding or changing international treaties.

Women ministers
Pushed by queen Marianne, political parties went looking for capable women to be given minister portfolios quite early, Anna van der Zee-Sipma (LKP) the first woman to have got such a high position in Kronenburg politics: she became education minister as early as 1895! On the other hand, suffrage got extended to women in Kronenburg quite late, which led to the peculiar situation that there were women who served as minister, but weren't entitled to vote.

Oostkamer ministers since 1883

State secretaries since 1981