Senate (Netherlands)

Although this body is called the "Senate" in English, this is not a direct translation of its official Dutch name, the "First Chamber of the States General" or, in short, the "First Chamber". Nevertheless, and in contrast to the Second Chamber, the name Senaat is also used often in the media. "Member of the First Chamber" (Eerste Kamerlid), "member of the Senate" (senaatslid) or "senator" (senator) are used, although the first one is the official and most used term. ==History==

. . The first constitution of the modern Netherlands, passed in 1814, re-established a unicameral States General. As it became clear that the former Southern Netherlands would be added to the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands, a newly instituted constitutional commission was tasked with drafting a new constitution. The southern members of the constitutional commission pressed for a bicameral system because of the conviction that their nobility should be given a place in the legislature. While the northern members were not enthusiastic about the proposal, they agreed under the condition that nobility would not be a requirement for membership. The new constitution, which came into effect on 24 August 1815, thus provided for a Senate consisting of forty to sixty members appointed by the king for life. The list of the first appointees was published on 16 September 1815 and the newly appointed chamber was first assembled on 21 September 1815 in Brussels in a joint assembly with the House of Representatives. In its early years, the Senate functioned as a bulwark of the Crown (the king and his ministers). Its members, appointed by the king from among the "most significant of the country", were mostly confidants of the king who were often called upon to veto bills that displeased him. Such bills were usually private members' bills from the House of Representatives. The position of the Senate and the criteria governing eligibility to stand for election were also among the changes. Monitoring the quality of legislation gradually came to be the main function of the Senate after 1848. The existence and functioning of the Senate have been criticised throughout history, manifested in reports of state commissions, government proposals and private member's bills calling for reform or abolition of the Senate. Abolition of the Senate was attempted by social democrats and progressive liberals in 1903, and again after World War I, but these proposals could not count on sufficient support. Several minor changes have since been adopted. In 2010, the possibility for party lists to enter into an electoral alliance was abolished, and the number of preference votes needed for a candidate to be elected was increased from 50% to 100% of the quota. The establishment of a non-resident electoral college was made possible by the 2022 constitutional amendment. ==Elections and composition==

Eligibility Any Dutch citizen aged 18 years or older who is qualified to vote can stand for election in either house of the States General. However, no one can simultaneously sit as a member in both houses. Electoral system The 75 senators are elected every four years by the members of the provincial councils of the country's twelve provinces and (since 2019) by electoral colleges of the Caribbean Netherlands and Dutch expatriates. The seats are distributed in one nationwide constituency using party-list proportional representation. Remainder seats are distributed using the highest averages method. The weight of a member's vote is determined by the population of the province in which the voter is a member of the provincial council, at a ratio of approximately 1 vote per 100 residents. The table below shows the weight of members' votes per province as of the 2019 election. ==Parliamentary groups==

==College of President and Vice-Presidents==

The College of President and Vice-Presidents is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Senate. It consists of the president of the Senate and two vice-presidents. == See also ==