States General of the Netherlands

The States General of the Netherlands (Dutch: Staten-Generaal [ˈstaːtə(ŋ)‿ɣenəˈraːl] ^ⓘ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate (Dutch: Eerste Kamer) and the House of Representatives (Dutch: Tweede Kamer). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague.

The States General originated in the 15th century as an assembly of all the provincial states of the Burgundian Netherlands. In 1579, during the Dutch Revolt, the States General split as the northern provinces openly rebelled against Philip II, and the northern States General replaced Philip II as the supreme authority of the Dutch Republic in 1581. The States General were replaced by the National Assembly after the Batavian Revolution of 1795, only to be restored in 1814, when the country had regained its sovereignty. The States General was divided into a Senate and a House of Representatives in 1815, with the establishment of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. After the constitutional amendment of 1848, members of the House of Representatives were directly elected, and the rights of the States General were vastly extended, practically establishing parliamentary democracy in the Netherlands.

Since 1918, the members of the House of Representatives have been elected for four years using party-list proportional representation, while the 75 members of the Senate are elected by the States-Provincial every four years. On exceptional occasions such as the opening of the Parliament on the third Tuesday in September, or when an regent needs to be appointed if an heir to the crown is a minor as stipulated by the Constitution or the Charter for the Kingdom, the two houses form a joint session known as the United Assembly of the States-General (verenigde vergadering). The president of the Senate serves as President of the States General during a United Assembly.