A King's commissioner (, ''CvdK'') is the head of government and legislature in a province of the Netherlands. When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Queen's commissioner (''Commissaris van de Koningin''). A commissioner is appointed by the Dutch Crown as its official representative, and serves as the non-voting chair of the provincial legislature, the

States-Provincial The provincial council (, PS), also known as the States-Provincial, is the provincial parliament and legislative assembly in each of the provinces of the Netherlands. It is elected for each province simultaneously once every four years and has ...

. They also serve as chair and full and voting member of the Provincial executive.

Background

The government of the Netherlands consist of the national institutions, the twelve

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

and the 342

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. The three tiers are largely organised in the same way, with a directly elected

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

, which in turn elects the

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

, that is headed by a

chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

appointed by the Dutch monarch and the Dutch crown respectively. The provinces form the regional administration, between the national and municipal levels. They are responsible for issues such as

spatial planning Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...

and

health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

, within the bounds prescribed by the national government. The provinces also oversee policy and finances of municipalities and other lesser authorities such as water boards. The provincial legislature, called the

or Provincial Council, are elected by direct popular vote every four years. The executive authority is exercised collectively by the College of the King's Commissioner and the Provincial executive. The latter is elected by, and are accountable to, the provincial council.

Appointment

The King's Commissioner is appointed by the Dutch Crown, meaning the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for a term of six years, renewable. An appointed commissioner can be dismissed only by the Crown. When a vacancy arises, the States Provincial express their preferences to the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, who, in turn, presents a candidate for appointment by the Council of Ministers. The candidates are almost exclusively drawn from among prominent members of the major national political parties, but are expected to be politically impartial while exercising their office.

Responsibilities

* Head of provincial government, and highest representative of the province * official representative of the central government to the province * non-voting, impartial chair of the States-Provincial * oversight of the provincial administration and provincial utilities * chair and full, voting member of the Provincial council, with the possibility of holding their own political portfolio; common responsibilities include safety and public order * coordinator of public disaster management and prevention * part of the province's oversight of municipal policy and finances, by paying regular official visits to the municipalities of the provinces * upon a vacancy as mayor (''burgmeester'') in a municipality of the province, reception of the municipal council's expressed preferences of candidate, and, based on that expression, recommending a candidate to the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

Naming practice in Limburg

In the Dutch province of Limburg, the King's Commissioner is informally referred to as Governor (Dutch: ''Gouverneur)'', drawing on the corresponding office in the bordering Belgian province of Limburg. Accordingly, the Province Hall (''Provinciehuis)'' at

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

is thus often referred to as the Governor's Residence (''Gouvernement)''. This local custom arose from the particular status of the province in the nineteenth century. The official name of the office, however, is the King's Commissioner just as in the other Dutch provinces.

List of current King's commissioners

''Source:''

References