The Minister of State () is an honorary title in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The title is formally granted together with the style

Excellency Excellency is an honorific style (manner of address), style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder ...

, by the

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

, but on the initiative of the

cabinet of the Netherlands The cabinet of the Netherlands () is the main executive body of the Netherlands. The current cabinet of the Netherlands is the Schoof cabinet, which has been in power since 2 July 2024. It is headed by Prime Minister Dick Schoof. Composition an ...

. It is given on a personal basis, for life rather than for a specified period. The title is granted for exceptional merits, generally to senior politicians at the end of their party career. Ministers of state are often former cabinet members or party leaders. Ministers of State advise the Sovereign in delicate situations, with

moral authority Moral authority is authority premised on principles, or fundamental truths, which are independent of written, or positive laws. As such, moral authority necessitates the existence of and adherence to truth. Because truth does not change the princip ...

but without formal competence. A Minister of State is not part of a cabinet, but may be asked to represent the government for certain events. The Ministers of State have a

diplomatic passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's Identity (social science), identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign ...

. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it was common for Ministers of State to still have a public function, some notable as Pieter Cort van der Linden and

Hendrikus Colijn Hendrikus "Hendrik" Colijn (22 June 1869 – 18 September 1944) was a Dutch politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP; now defunct and merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands fro ...

, were Minister of State while they served as

Prime Minister of the Netherlands The prime minister of the Netherlands () or, before 1945, the chairman of the Council of Ministers () is the ''de facto'' head of government of the Netherlands.''Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden'' onstitution of the Kingdom of the N ...

. After

, Louis Beel was the only person who still sat in the cabinet while he was Minister of State.

Current ministers of state

Historical Ministers of State

External links

Ministers van Staat
Rijksoverheid {{Commons category