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The prime minister of the Netherlands is the head of the cabinet, and, as such, coordinates the policy of the government. (Dutch names for 'prime minister' are minister-president, eerste minister ('first minister') and (most commonly) premier (from the French 'premier ministre'). He has some formal powers, the two most important of which are the power to set the agenda of meetings of the cabinet and the adoption of the rules for laws and regulations, which state the basic rules for legislation and regulations. Usually, the prime minister is also minister of General Affairs (Minister van Algemene Zaken). The prime minister is a primus inter pares and functions as the "face" of the government to the public. Until 1945, the position of head of the council of ministers officially switched between the ministers, although practices differed throughout history. In 1945, the position was formally instituted. In practice a cabinet requires the support of a majority in the Second Chamber of parliament, so the Monarch will ask the representatives to form a coalition which will select a cabinet. Traditionally, the party with the highest number of seats in the Second Chamber will initiate coalition talks after elections. This usually leads to its party leader being instituted as prime minister after the negotiations are concluded. A minister from the smaller coalition party usually becomes vice prime minister of the cabinet. If there is a third party in the coalition, one of its ministers will become second vice prime minister.
Dutch Prime Ministers since World War II For earlier Prime Ministers, see List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands | ||||||||
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