''Status aparte'' refers to the special status of Aruba between 1986 and 2010 as a constituent country within the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

, separate from the Netherlands Antilles to which it belonged until 1986. With the

dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010. After dissolution, the "BES islands" of the Dutch Caribbean—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba—becam ...

in October 2010, the term ''status aparte'' was no longer used, as the status of Aruba was no longer separate, but rather the norm for all countries within the Kingdom.

History

Since the 1930s, the call for a greater degree of independence from

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coas ...

has been heard in Aruba. It wasn't until the 1970s that the call became more apparent with Betico Croes starting a political party (

MEP MEP may refer to: Organisations and politics * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka * Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...

) and becoming the leader of the Status Aparte movement. The goal was for Aruba to take a separate status in the Kingdom, apart from the Netherlands Antilles and, after the independence of

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

in 1975, to become the third constituent country in the Kingdom. After years of negotiations, Croes managed to enforce the secession of Aruba from the Netherlands Antilles, as of January 1, 1986, on the condition however that Aruba would become independent ten years later, in 1996. Although that is not what the MEP wanted, they agreed. In 1990 Aruba and the Netherlands decided to reverse the original condition of independence and keep Aruba in the Kingdom. Negotiations were finalized in 1994. After

and

Sint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divid ...

got a similar status as Aruba, in 2010, the status aparte of Aruba as a result practically ceased to exist.

References

{{Reflist Government of Aruba

History

See also

References