Native name
Conventional long name	Netherlands
Common name	the Netherlands
Image coat	Coat of arms of the Netherlands - 02.svg
Map width	250px
Map caption
Image map2	BES islands location map.svg
Map2 width	250px
Map caption2	Special municipalities of the Netherlands (green)in the Caribbean
National motto	''Je maintiendrai''(French)(''I will maintain'')
National anthem	The ''Wilhelmus''
Official languages	Dutch
Regional languages	Frisian (in Friesland), Papiamento (in Bonaire), English (in Sint Eustatius and Saba)
Ethnic groups	80.7% Dutch,5% EU varieties,2.4% Indonesians,2.2% Turks,2% Surinamese,2% Moroccans,0.8% Caribbean4.8% others
Ethnic groups year	2008
Demonym	Dutch
Capital	Amsterdam
Largest city	capital
Government type	Parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch
Leader title1	Monarch
Leader name1	Beatrix
Leader title2	Prime Minister
Leader name2	Mark Rutte (VVD)
Leader title3	Deputy Prime Minister
Leader name3	Maxime Verhagen (CDA)
Leader title4	Current coalition
Leader name4	VVD-CDA Coalition
Legislature	States-General
Upper house	Senate
Lower house	House of Representatives
Area rank	135th
Area magnitude	1 E10
Area km2	41,848
Area sq mi	16,158
Percent water	18.41
Population estimate	}}

|population_estimate_year = |population_estimate_rank = 61st |population_census = |population_census_year = |population_density_km2 = / 41526 round 1}} |population_density_sq_mi = / 16033 round 1}} |population_density_rank = 28th |GDP_PPP_year = 2010 |GDP_PPP = $676.895 billion |GDP_PPP_rank = |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $40,764 |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = |GDP_nominal = $783.293 billion |GDP_nominal_rank = |GDP_nominal_year = 2010 |GDP_nominal_per_capita = $47,172 |GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = |sovereignty_type = Independence |sovereignty_note = As result of the Eighty Years' War from the Habsburg Empire |established_event1 = Declared |established_date1 = 26 July 1581 |established_event2 = Recognised |established_date2 = 30 January 1648 |accessionEUdate = 25 March 1957 |HDI_year = 2010 |HDI = 0.890 |HDI_rank = 7th |HDI_category = very high |Gini=30.9 |Gini_year=2006 |Gini_category=medium |currency = Euro (€): Netherlands, United States dollar ($): Caribbean Netherlands |country_code = NLD |time_zone = CET and AST |utc_offset = +1 and −4 |time_zone_DST = CEST and AST |utc_offset_DST = +2 and −4 |drives_on = right |cctld = .nl |calling_code = 31, +599 |footnote1 = The official motto is French; the literal translation to English is "I will maintain" (namely, the integrity and independence of the territory) |footnote2 = While Amsterdam is the constitutional capital, The Hague is the seat of the government. |footnote3 = Frisian (Friesland), Papiamento (Bonaire) and English (Sint Eustatius and Saba) have a formal status in certain parts of the country. Yiddish and the Romani language are recognised as non-territorial languages. Dutch Low Saxon and Limburgish are recognised as regional languages by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. |footnote4 = Peace of Westphalia |footnote5 = Before 2002: Dutch guilder. |footnote6 = The United States dollar is the sole legal tender within the Caribbean Netherlands. Before 2011: Netherlands Antillean guilder. |footnote7 = The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states. |footnote8 = 599 is the country code for the now dissolved Netherlands Antilles. The BES islands still use 599-7 (Bonaire), 599-3 (Sint Eustatius) and 599-4 (Saba). |}}

The Netherlands (; , ; ; ) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The ''Netherlands'' in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of ''pars pro toto''; see terminology of "the Netherlands").

The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying country, with about 25% of its area and 21% of its population located below sea level, and 50% of its land lying less than one metre above sea level. This distinct feature contributes to the country's name in many other European languages (e.g. German: ''Niederlande'', French: ''Les Pays-Bas'' and Spanish: ''Países Bajos'', literally mean "(The) Low Countries"). Significant land area has been gained through land reclamation and preserved through an elaborate system of polders and dikes. Much of the Netherlands is formed by the estuary of three important European rivers, which together with their distributaries form the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta. Most of the country is very flat, with the exception of foothills in the far southeast and several low-hill ranges in the central parts.

The Netherlands was one of the first countries to have an elected parliament. Among other affiliations the country is a founding member of the EU, NATO, OECD and WTO. With Belgium and Luxembourg it forms the Benelux economic union. The country is host to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and five international courts: the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The first four are situated in The Hague as is the EU's criminal intelligence agency Europol and judicial co-operation agency Eurojust. This has led to the city being dubbed "the world's legal capital". The Netherlands has a capitalist market-based economy, ranking 13th of 157 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. In May 2011, the Netherlands was ranked as the 'happiest' country according to results published by The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

History

Habsburg Netherlands 1519–1581

{{infobox country|image map	Dutch Empire35.PNG
Map caption	An anachronous map of the Dutch colonial Empire. Light green: territories administered by or originating from territories administered by the Dutch East India Company; dark green: the Dutch West India Company. }}

Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, the Netherlands region was part of the Seventeen Provinces, which also included most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and some land in France and Germany.

The Eighty Years' War between the provinces and Spain began in 1568. In 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces formed the Union of Utrecht, a treaty in which they promised to support each other in their defense against the Spanish army. The Union of Utrecht is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. In 1581 the northern provinces adopted the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence in which the provinces officially deposed Philip II of Spain as reigning monarch in the northern provinces.

Queen Elizabeth I of England sympathised with the Dutch struggle against the Spanish, and in 1585 she concluded a treaty with the Dutch whereby she promised to send an English army to the Netherlands to aid the Dutch in their war with the Spanish. In December 1585, 7,600 soldiers were sent to the Netherlands from England under the command of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. However, the English army was of no real benefit to the Dutch rebellion.

Although Robert Dudley returned to the Netherlands in November 1586 with another army, the army still had little effect in the rebellion. Philip II, the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go easily, and war continued until 1648, when Spain under King Philip IV finally recognised the independence of the seven northwestern provinces in the Peace of Münster. Parts of the southern provinces became ''de facto'' colonies of the new republican-mercantile empire.

Dutch Republic 1581–1795

After independence, the provinces of Holland, Zeeland, Groningen, Friesland, Utrecht, Overijssel, and Gelre formed a confederation known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. All these provinces were autonomous and had their own government, the "States of the Province". The States-General, the confederal government, were seated in The Hague and consisted of representatives from each of the seven provinces. The sparsely populated region of Drenthe, mainly consisting of poor peatland, was part of the republic too, although Drenthe was not considered one of the provinces; it had its own States, but the landdrost of Drenthe was appointed by the States-General. Moreover, the Republic had come to occupy during the Eighty Years' War a number of so-called Generality Lands (''Generaliteitslanden'' in Dutch). These territories were governed directly by the States-General. They did not have a government of their own and did not have representatives in the States-General. Their population was mainly Roman Catholic, and these areas were used as a buffer zone between the Republic and the Southern Netherlands.

The Dutch Empire grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century. In the Dutch Golden Age ("Gouden Eeuw"), colonies and trading posts were established all over the world. Dutch settlement in North America began with the founding of New Amsterdam, on the southern tip of Manhattan in 1614. In South Africa, the Dutch settled the Cape Colony in 1652. By 1650, the Dutch owned 16,000 merchant ships. During the 17th century, the Dutch population increased from an estimated 1.5 million to almost 2 million.

Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country in the world. In early modern Europe it featured the wealthiest trading city (Amsterdam) and the first full-time stock exchange. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as phenomena such as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636–1637, and, according to Murray Sayle, the world's first bear raider, Isaac le Maire, who forced prices down by dumping stock and then buying it back at a discount. The republic went into a state of general decline in the later 18th century, with economic competition from England and long standing rivalries between the two main factions in Dutch society, the ''Staatsgezinden'' (Republicans) and the ''Prinsgezinden'' (Royalists or Orangists) as main factors.

In the 17th century, plantation colonies were established by the Dutch and English along the many rivers in the fertile Guyana plains. The earliest documented colony in Guiana was along the Suriname River and called Marshall's Creek. The area was named after an Englishman. Disputes arose between the Dutch and the English. In 1667, the Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of Suriname conquered from the English, resulting from the Treaty of Breda. The English were left with New Amsterdam, a small trading post in North America, which is now known as New York City.

French domination 1795–1814

On 19 January 1795, one day after stadtholder William V of Orange fled to England, the ''Bataafse Republiek'' (Batavian Republic) was proclaimed, rendering the Netherlands a unitary state. From 1795 to 1806, the Batavian Republic designated the Netherlands as a republic modelled after the French Republic.

From 1806 to 1810, the ''Koninkrijk Holland'' (Kingdom of Holland) was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom governed by his brother Louis Bonaparte in order to control the Netherlands more effectively. The name of the leading province, Holland, was used for the whole country. The Kingdom of Holland covered the area of the present day Netherlands, with the exception of Limburg and parts of Zeeland, which were French territory. In 1807, Prussian East Frisia and Jever were added to the kingdom. In 1809, however, after a failed British invasion, Holland had to give over all territories south of the Rhine to France.

King Louis Bonaparte did not meet Napoleon's expectations – he tried to serve Dutch interests instead of his brother's, allowed trade with the British in spite of the Continental System and even tried to learn Dutch – and he was forced to abdicate on 1 July 1810. He was succeeded by his five-year-old son Napoleon Louis Bonaparte. Napoleon Louis reigned as Louis II for just ten days as Napoleon ignored his young nephew’s accession to the throne. The Emperor sent in an army to invade the country and dissolved the Kingdom of Holland. The Netherlands then became part of the French Empire.

The Netherlands remained part of the French Empire until the autumn of 1813, when Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Leipzig and forced to withdraw his troops from the country.

Kingdom of the Netherlands 1815–1940

William I of the Netherlands, son of the last stadtholder William V van Oranje, returned to the Netherlands in 1813 and became Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands. On 16 March 1815, the Sovereign Prince became King of the Netherlands.

In 1815, the Congress of Vienna formed the United Kingdom of the Netherlands by expanding the Netherlands with Belgium in order to create a strong country on the northern border of France. In addition, William became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The Congress of Vienna gave Luxembourg to William as personal property in exchange for his German possessions, Nassau-Dillenburg, Siegen, Hadamar, and Diez.

Belgium rebelled and gained independence in 1830, while the personal union between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890, when King William III of the Netherlands died with no surviving male heirs. Ascendancy laws prevented his daughter Queen Wilhelmina from becoming the next Grand Duchess. Therefore the throne of Luxembourg passed over from the House of Orange-Nassau to the House of Nassau-Weilburg, a junior branch of the House of Nassau.

The largest Dutch settlement abroad was the Cape Colony. It was established by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of the Dutch East India Company at Cape Town () in 1652. The Prince of Orange acquiesced to British occupation and control of the Cape Colony in 1788. The Netherlands also possessed several other colonies, but Dutch settlement in these lands was limited. Most notable were the vast Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Dutch Guiana (now Suriname). These 'colonies' were first administered by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, both collective private enterprises. Three centuries later these companies got into financial trouble, and the territories in which they operated were taken over by the Dutch government (in 1815 and 1791 respectively). Only then did they become official colonies.

During its colonial period the Netherlands was heavily involved in the slave trade. The Dutch planters relied heavily on African slaves to cultivate the coffee, cocoa, sugar cane and cotton plantations along the rivers. Treatment of the slaves by their owners was notoriously bad, and many slaves escaped the plantations. Slavery was abolished by the Netherlands in Dutch Guiana in 1863, but the slaves were not fully released until 1873, after a mandatory 10 year transition period during which time they were required to work on the plantations for minimal pay and without state sanctioned torture. As soon as they became truly free, the slaves largely abandoned the plantations where they had suffered for several generations in favor of the city Paramaribo. Every year this is remembered during Keti Koti, 1 July, Emancipation Day (end of slavery).

During the 19th century, the Netherlands was slow to industrialize compared to neighbouring countries, mainly because of the great complexity involved in modernizing the infrastructure, consisting largely of waterways, and the great reliance its industry had on windpower.

Although the Netherlands remained neutral during World War I, it was heavily involved in the war. German general Count Schlieffen, who was Chief of the Imperial German General Staff had originally planned to invade the Netherlands while advancing into France in the original Schlieffen Plan. This was changed by Schlieffen's successor Helmuth von Moltke the Younger in order to maintain Dutch neutrality. Later during the war Dutch neutrality proved essential to German survival until the blockade by Great Britain in 1916, when the import of goods through the Netherlands was no longer possible. However, the Dutch were able to continue to remain neutral during the war using their diplomacy and their ability to trade. were rounded up to be transported to Nazi German concentration camps in Germany, German-occupied Poland and German-occupied Czechoslovakia. By the time these camps were liberated, only 876 Dutch Jews survived. Dutch workers were conscripted for forced labour in German factories, civilians were killed in reprisal for attacks on German soldiers, and the countryside was plundered for food for German soldiers in the Netherlands and for shipment to Germany. Although there were thousands of Dutch who risked their lives by hiding Jews from the Germans, as recounted in ''The Hiding Place'' by Corrie ten Boom and ''The Heart Has Reasons'' by Mark Klempner, there were also thousands of Dutch who collaborated with the occupying force in hunting down hiding Jews. Local fascists and anti-Bolsheviks joined the Waffen-SS in the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands, fighting on the Eastern Front as well as other units. Racial restrictions were relaxed to the extent that even Asians from Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) units were recruited.

On 8 December 1941, the Netherlands declared war on Japan. The government-in-exile then lost control of its major colonial stronghold, the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia), to Japanese forces in March 1942. "American-British-Dutch-Australian" (ABDA) forces fought hard in some instances but were overwhelmed. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the Japanese interned Dutch civilians and used Dutch and Indos (Eurasians of Dutch and Indonesian descent) alike as forced labour, both in the Netherlands East Indies and in neighbouring countries. This included forcing women to work as "comfort women" (sex slaves) for Japanese personnel. The Dutch Red Cross reported the deaths in Japanese custody of 14,800 European civilians out of 80,000 interned and 12,500 of the 34,000 POW captured. A later UN report stated that 4 million people died in Indonesia as a result of famine and forced labour (known as romusha) during the Japanese occupation. Some military personnel escaped to Australia and other Allied countries from where they carried on the fight against Japan. The Japanese furthered the cause of independence for the colony, so that after VE day many young Dutchmen found themselves fighting a colonial war against the new republic of Indonesia.

Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and heir to the throne, sought refuge in Ottawa, Canada, with her two daughters, Beatrix and Irene, during the war. During Princess Juliana’s stay in Canada, preparations were made for the birth of her third child. To ensure the Dutch citizenship of this royal baby, the Canadian Parliament passed a special law declaring Princess Juliana's suite at the Ottawa Civic Hospital “extraterritorial”.

On 19 January 1943, Princess Margriet was born. The day after Princess Margriet's birth, the Dutch flag was flown on the Peace Tower. This was the only time in history a foreign flag has waved above Canada’s Parliament Buildings. In 1944–45, the First Canadian Army was responsible for liberating much of the Netherlands from German occupation. The joyous "Canadian summer" that ensued after the liberation, forged deep and long-lasting bonds of friendship between the Netherlands and Canada. In 1949, Dutch troops occupied an area of of the British zone of occupied Germany and annexed it. At that time, these areas were inhabited by almost 10,000 people.

Recent history 1945–present

After the war, the Dutch economy prospered by leaving behind an era of neutrality and gaining closer ties with neighbouring states. The Netherlands was one of the founding members of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) grouping, was among the twelve founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and was among the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve, via the EEC (Common Market), into the European Union.

The 1960s and 1970s were a time of great social and cultural change, such as rapid ''ontzuiling'' (literally: depillarisation), a term that describes the decay of the old divisions along class and religious lines. Youths, and students in particular, rejected traditional mores and pushed for change in matters like women's rights, sexuality, disarmament and environmental issues.

Today, the Netherlands is regarded as a liberal country, considering its drugs policy and its legalisation of euthanasia. On 1 April 2001, the Netherlands became the first nation to allow same-sex marriage.

On 10 October 2010 the Netherlands Antilles—a former country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean—was dissolved. Referendums were held on each island of the Netherlands Antilles between June 2000 and April 2005 to determine their future status. As a result the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (the BES islands) were to obtain closer ties with the Netherlands. This led to the incorporation of these three islands into the country of the Netherlands as ''special municipalities'' upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. The special municipalities are collectively known as the Caribbean Netherlands.

Geography

The European area of the Netherlands lies between latitudes 50° and 54° N, and longitudes 3° and 8° E.

The country is divided into two main parts by three large rivers, the Rhine (''Rijn'') and its main distributaries, the Waal and the Meuse (''Maas''). These rivers functioned as a natural barrier between earlier fiefdoms and hence created traditionally a cultural divide, as is evident in some phonetic traits that are recognizable north and south of these "Large Rivers" (''de Grote Rivieren'').

The southwestern part of the Netherlands is a river delta and two tributaries of the Scheldt (''Westerschelde and Oosterschelde''). Only one significant branch of the Rhine flows northeastward, the IJssel river, discharging into the IJsselmeer, the former Zuiderzee ('southern sea'). This river also forms a linguistic divide: people to the east of this river speak Dutch Low Saxon dialects (except for the province of Friesland, which has its own language).

Floods

Over the centuries, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably as a result of human intervention and natural disasters. Most notable in terms of land loss is the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of Zeeland in the southwest.

On 14 December 1287, St. Lucia's flood affected the Netherlands and Germany killing more than 50,000 people in one of the most destructive floods in recorded history. The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the ''Biesbosch'' tidal floodplains in the south-centre. The last major flood in the Netherlands took place in early February 1953, when a huge storm caused the collapse of several dikes in the southwest of the Netherlands. More than 1,800 people drowned in the ensuing inundations. The Dutch government subsequently decided on a large-scale program of public works (the "Delta Works") to protect the country against future flooding. The project took more than thirty years to complete.

The disasters were partially increased in severity through human influence. People had drained relatively high lying swampland to use it as farmland. This drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. The problem remains unsolvable to this day. Also, up until the 19th century peat was mined, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem.

To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium AD, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called ''terps''. Later, these terps were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called ''"waterschappen"'' (English "water bodies") or ''"hoogheemraadschappen"'' ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (These agencies exist to this day, performing the same function.) As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. By the 13th century, windmills had come into use in order to pump water out of areas below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders.

In 1932, the ''Afsluitdijk'' (English "Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former ''Zuiderzee'' (Southern Sea) from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling were reclaimed from the sea.

Additionally, the Netherlands is one of the countries that may suffer most from climate change. Not only is the rising sea a problem, but also erratic weather patterns may cause the rivers to overflow.

Delta Works

After the 1953 disaster, the Delta Works were constructed, a comprehensive set of civil works throughout the Dutch coast. The project started in 1958 and was largely completed in 1997 with the completion of the Maeslantkering. A main goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in South Holland and Zeeland to once per 10,000 years (compared to1 per 4000 years for the rest of the country). This was achieved by raising of outer sea-dykes and of inner, canal, and river dikes, and by closing off the sea estuaries of the Zeeland province. New risk assessments occasionally show problems requiring additional Delta project dyke reinforcements. The Delta project is one of the largest construction efforts in human history and is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Climate

The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is southwest, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters. This is especially the case with places within direct proximity of the Dutch coastline, which sometimes are over warmer (in winter) or cooler (in summer) than places in the (south)east of the country.

The following tables are based on mean measurements by the KNMI weather station in De Bilt between 1971 and 2000:

Ice days (maximum temperature below 0 °C) usually occur from December until February, with the occasional rare ice day prior to or after that period. Freezing days (minimum temperature below 0 °C) occur much more often, usually ranging from mid November to late March, but not rarely measured as early as mid October and as late as mid May. If one chooses the height of measurement to be 10 cm. above ground instead of 150 cm., one may even find such temperatures in the middle of the summer.

Warm days (maximum temperature above 20 °C) in De Bilt are usually measured in the time span of April until September, but in some parts of the country such temperatures can also occur in March and October (this is usually not in De Bilt, however). Summer days (maximum temperature above 25 °C) are usually measured in De Bilt from May until August, tropical days (maximum temperature above 30 °C) are rare and usually occur only from June until August.

Precipitation throughout the year is relatively equally shared by each month. Summer and autumn months tend to gather a little bit more precipitation than other months, mainly because of the intensity of the rainfall rather than the frequency of rain days (this is especially the case in summer, when lightning too is much more frequent than otherwise).

The number of sunshine hours is affected by the fact that due to the geographical latitude the length of the days varies between barely eight hours in December and nearly 17 hours in June.

Environment

The Netherlands has 20 national parks and hundreds of other nature reserves. Most are owned by Staatsbosbeheer and Natuurmonumenten and include lakes, heathland, woods, dunes and other habitats.

Phytogeographically, the Netherlands is shared between the Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the territory of the Netherlands belongs to the ecoregion of Atlantic mixed forests.

In 1871 the last old original natural woods (Beekbergerwoud) were cut down, and most woods today are planted monocultures of trees like Scots Pine and trees that are not native to the Netherlands. These woods were planted on anthropogenic heaths and sand-drifts (overgrazed heaths) (Veluwe).

Politics

The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815 and a parliamentary democracy since 1848. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by an effort to achieve broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole. In 2010, ''The Economist'' ranked The Netherlands as the tenth most democratic country in the world.

The monarch is the head of state, at present Queen Beatrix. Constitutionally, the position is equipped with limited powers. The monarch can exert some influence during the formation of a new cabinet, where they serve as neutral arbiter between the political parties. Additionally, the king (the title queen has no constitutional significance) has the right to be informed and consulted. Depending on the personality and qualities of the king and the ministers, the king might have ''influence'' beyond the ''power'' granted by the constitution.

In practice, the executive power is formed by the ministerraad, the deliberative council of the Dutch cabinet. The cabinet consists usually of thirteen to sixteen ministers and a varying number of state secretaries. One to three ministers are ministers without portfolio. The head of government is the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who often is the leader of the largest party of the coalition. In fact, this has been continuously the case since 1973. The Prime Minister is a ''primus inter pares'', meaning he has no explicit powers beyond those of the other ministers. Currently, the Prime Minister is Mark Rutte.

The cabinet is responsible to the bicameral parliament, the States-General, which also has legislative powers. The 150 members of the House of Representatives, the Lower House, are elected in direct elections, which are held every four years or after the fall of the cabinet (by example: when one of the chambers carries a motion of no-confidence, the cabinet offers its resignation to the monarch). The States-Provincial are directly elected every four years as well. The members of the provincial assemblies elect the 75 members of the Senate, the upper house, which has less legislative powers, as it can merely reject laws, not propose or amend them.

Both trade unions and employers organisations are consulted beforehand in policymaking in the financial, economic and social areas. They meet regularly with government in the Social-Economic Council. This body advises government and its advice cannot be put aside easily.

The Netherlands has a long tradition of social tolerance. In the 18th century, while the Dutch Reformed Church was the state religion, Catholicism and Judaism were tolerated. In the late 19th century this Dutch tradition of religious tolerance transformed into a system of pillarisation, in which religious groups coexisted separately and only interacted at the level of government. This tradition of tolerance is linked to Dutch criminal justice policies on recreational drugs, prostitution, LGBT rights, euthanasia, and abortion, which are among the most liberal in the world.

Political parties

Due to the multi-party system, no single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed. Since suffrage became universal in 1919, the Dutch political system has been dominated by three families of political parties: the strongest family were the Christian democrats, currently represented by the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), second were the social democrats, of which the Labour Party (PvdA), and third were the liberals, of which the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is the main representative.

These parties cooperated in coalition cabinets in which the Christian democrats had always been a partner: so either a centre left coalition of the Christian democrats and social democrats was ruling or a centre right coalition of Christian democrats and liberals. In the 1970s, the party system became more volatile: the Christian democratic parties lost seats, while new parties became successful, such as the radical democrat and progressive liberal D66.

In the 1994 election, the CDA lost its dominant position. A "purple" cabinet was formed by VVD, D66, and PvdA. In the 2002 elections, this cabinet lost its majority, due to an increased support for the CDA and the rise of the LPF, a new political party around Pim Fortuyn, who was assassinated a week before the elections. A short-lived cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD, and LPF, which was led by CDA leader Jan Peter Balkenende. After the 2003 elections in which the LPF lost most of its seats, a cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD, and D66. The cabinet initiated an ambitious program of reforming the welfare state, the health care system, and the immigration policies.

In June 2006, the cabinet fell after D66 voted in favour of a motion of no confidence against minister of immigration and integration Rita Verdonk, who had instigated an investigation of the asylum procedure of VVD MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali. A care taker cabinet was formed by CDA and VVD, and the general elections were held on 22 November 2006. In these elections, the CDA remained the largest party and the SP made the largest gains. The formation of a new cabinet took three months, resulting in a coalition of CDA, PvdA, and ChristianUnion.

On 20 February 2010, the cabinet fell when the PvdA refused to prolong the involvement of the Dutch Army in Uruzgan, Afghanistan. Snap elections were held on 9 June 2010, with devastating results for the previously largest party, the CDA, which lost about half of its seats, resulting in 21 seats. The VVD became the largest party with 31 seats, closely followed by the PvdA with 30 seats. The big winner of the 2010 elections was Geert Wilders whose PVV more than doubled in number of seats. Negotiation talks for a new government have resulted in a VVD-led minority government in coalition with CDA as of 14 October 2010. This minority government is supported by PVV.

Administrative divisions

The Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a Governor, who is called ''Commissaris van de Koningin'' (Commissioner of the Queen), except for the province Limburg where the commissioner is called Gouverneur (Governor). All provinces are divided into municipalities (''gemeenten''), 430 in total (13 March 2010).

The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (''waterschap'' or ''hoogheemraadschap''), each having authority in matters concerning water management. As of 1 January 2005 there are 27. The creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. In fact, the Dutch water boards are one of the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence.

The administrative structure on the 3 BES islands is different. These Caribbean islands have the status of ''openbare lichamen (public bodies)'' and are generally referred to as ''special municipalities''. They are not part of a province.

Provinces of the Netherlands {| style="background:none;" cellspacing="2px" | |}

Special municipalities of the Netherlands {| style="background:none;" cellspacing="2px" | |}

Foreign relations

Historically the Dutch foreign policy was characterised by neutrality, since the Second World War the Netherlands became a member of a large number of international organisations, most prominently the UN, NATO and the EU. The Dutch economy is very open and relies on international trade.

The foreign policy of the Netherlands is based on four basic commitments: to the atlantic cooperation, to European integration, to international development and to international law. One of the more controversial international issues surrounding the Netherlands is its liberal policy towards soft drugs.

During and after its golden age, the Dutch built up a commercial and colonial empire, which fell apart quickly after the Second World War; the historical ties inherited from its colonial past still influence the foreign relations of the Netherlands.

Military

The Netherlands has the oldest standing army in Europe; it was first established as such by Maurice of Nassau. The Dutch army was used throughout the Dutch Empire. After the defeat of Napoleon, the Dutch army was transformed into a conscription army. The army was unsuccessfully deployed during the Belgian revolution in 1830. After 1830, it was deployed mainly in the Dutch colonies, as the Netherlands remained neutral in European wars (including WWI), until the Netherlands was invaded in WWII and quickly defeated by the Wehrmacht in May 1940.

After WWII, the Netherlands dropped their neutrality, and the Dutch army became part of the NATO army strength in Cold War Europe; holding several bases in Germany. In 1996 conscription was suspended, and the Dutch army was once again transformed into a professional army. Since the 1990s the Dutch army has been involved in the Bosnian War, the Kosovo War, has been holding a province in Iraq after the defeat of Saddam Hussein, and was engaged in Afghanistan.

The military is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix ''Koninklijke'' (Royal): ''Koninklijke Landmacht'' (KL), the Royal Netherlands Army

''Koninklijke Marine'' (KM), the Royal Netherlands Navy, including the Naval Air Service and Marine Corps

''Koninklijke Luchtmacht'' (KLu), the Royal Netherlands Air Force

''Koninklijke Marechaussee'' (KMar), the Royal Military Police, tasks include military police and border control

General Peter van Uhm is the current Commander of the Netherlands armed forces. All military specialities except the submarine service and the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps (''Korps Mariniers'') are open to women. The Korps Commandotroepen, the Special Operations Force of the Netherlands Army, is open to women, but because of the extremely high physical demands for initial training, it is almost impossible for women to become a commando. The Dutch Ministry of Defence employs more than 70,000 personnel, including over 20,000 civilian and over 50,000 military personnel. In April 2011 the government decided to decrease the amount of top officials and vehicles considerably, including all tanks, due to a cutback in governmental expenses.

Economy

The Netherlands has a very strong economy and has been playing a special role in the European economy for many centuries. Since the 16th century, shipping, fishing, trade, and banking have been leading sectors of the Dutch economy. The Netherlands is one of the world's 10 leading exporting countries. Foodstuffs form the largest industrial sector. Other major industries include chemicals, metallurgy, machinery, electrical, goods and tourism. Examples include Unilever, Heineken, financial services (ING), chemicals (DSM), petroleum refining (Shell), electronical machinery (Philips, ASML) and car navigation TomTom.

The Netherlands has the 16th largest economy in the world, and ranks 7th in GDP (nominal) per capita. Between 1997 and 2000 annual economic growth (GDP) averaged nearly 4%, well above the European average. Growth slowed considerably from 2001 to 2005 with the global economic slowdown, but accelerated to 4.1% in the third quarter of 2007. Inflation is 1.3%, and unemployment is at 4.0% of the labour force. By Eurostat standards, unemployment in the Netherlands is at 4.1% (April 2010) – the lowest rate of all European Union member states. The Netherlands also has a relatively low GINI coefficient of 0.326. Despite ranking only 7th in GDP per capita, UNICEF ranked the Netherlands 1st in child well-being. On the Index of Economic Freedom Netherlands is the 13th most free market capitalist economy out of 157 surveyed countries.

Amsterdam is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX), part of Euronext, is the world's oldest stock exchange and is one of Europe's largest bourses. It is situated near Dam Square in the city's centre. As a founding member of the euro, the Netherlands replaced (for accounting purposes) its former currency, the "Gulden" (guilder), on 1 January 1999, along with 15 other adopters of the Euro. Actual euro coins and banknotes followed on 1 January 2002. One euro was equivalent to 2.20371 Dutch guilders.

The Netherlands' location gives it prime access to markets in the UK and Germany, with the port of Rotterdam being the largest port in Europe. Other important parts of the economy are international trade (Dutch colonialism started with cooperative private enterprises such as the VOC), banking and transport. The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners. Amsterdam is the 5th busiest tourist destination in Europe with more than 4.2 million international visitors.

The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the five largest investors in the United States. The economy experienced a slowdown in 2005, but in 2006 recovered to the fastest pace in six years on the back of increased exports and strong investment. The pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007.The Netherlands moved up from the 11th position in the Global Competitiveness Index to the 9th position in 2007.

One of the largest natural gas fields in the world is situated near Slochteren. Exploitation of this field resulted in a total revenue of €159 billion since the mid 1970s. With just over half of the reserves used up and an expected continued rise in oil prices, the revenues over the next few decades are expected to be at least that much.

Agriculture

A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the United States and France, with exports earning $55 billion annually. A significant portion of Dutch agricultural exports are derived from fresh-cut plants, flowers, and bulbs, with the Netherlands exporting two-thirds of the world's total. The Netherlands also exports a quarter of all world tomatoes, and one-third of the world's exports of chilis and cucumbers. The Netherlands also exports one-fifteenth of the world's apples.

Transport

Rotterdam has the largest port in Europe, with the rivers Meuse and Rhine providing excellent access to the hinterland upstream reaching to Basel, Switzerland, and into France. In 2006, Rotterdam was the world's seventh largest container port in terms of Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) handled. The port's main activities are petrochemical industries and general cargo handling and transshipment. The harbour functions as an important transit point for bulk materials and between the European continent and overseas. From Rotterdam goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or road. In 2007, the ''Betuweroute'', a new fast freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany, was completed.

Demographics

The Netherlands has an estimated population of 16,491,852 (as of 8 March 2009). It is the 11th most populous country in Europe and the 61st most populous country in the world. Between 1900 and 1950, the country's population almost doubled from 5.1 to 10.0 million people. From 1950 to 2000, the population further increased from 10.0 to 15.9 million people, but the population growth decreased compared to the previous fifty years. The estimated growth rate is currently 0.436% (as of 2008).

The fertility rate in the Netherlands is 1.66 children per woman (as of 2008), which is high compared to many other European countries, but below the 2.1-rate required for natural population replacement. Life expectancy is high in the Netherlands: 79 years for newborn girls and 78 for boys (2007). The country has a migration rate of 2.55 migrants per 1,000 inhabitants.

The majority of the population of the Netherlands are ethnically Dutch. A 2005 estimate counted: 80.9% Dutch, 2.4% Indonesian, 2.4% German, 2.2% Turkish, 2.0% Surinamese, 2.0% Moroccan, 0.8% Antillean and Aruban, and 6.0% others.

The Dutch are the tallest people in the world, with an average height of for adult males and for adult females. People in the south are on average about 2 cm shorter than those in the north.

Dutch people, or descendants of Dutch people, are also found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Canada, Australia, South Africa and the United States. According to the 2006 US Census, more than 5 million Americans claim total or partial Dutch ancestry. There are close to 3 million Dutch-descended Afrikaners living in South Africa. In 1940, there were 290,000 Europeans and Eurasians in Indonesia, but most have since left the country.

Urbanisation

The Netherlands is the 25th most densely populated country in the world, with —or if only the land area is counted. It is the most densely populated country in Europe with a population over 16 million. The Randstad is the country's largest conurbation located in the west of the country and contains the four largest cities: Amsterdam in the province North Holland, Rotterdam and The Hague in the province South Holland, and Utrecht in the province Utrecht. The Randstad has a population of 7 million inhabitants and is the 6th largest metropolitan area in Europe.

Language

The official language is Dutch, which is spoken by the vast majority of the inhabitants. Another official language is Frisian, which is spoken in the northern province of Friesland, called ''Fryslân'' in that language. A dialect of Frisian and Dutch is spoken in most villages in the west of the province of Groningen. Frisian is co-official only in the province of Friesland, although with a few restrictions. Several dialects of Low Saxon (''Nedersaksisch'' in Dutch) are spoken in much of the north and east, like the Twents in the Twente region,and Drents in the province Drenthe. They are recognised by the Netherlands as ''regional languages'' according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, as well as the Meuse-Rhenish Franconian varieties in the southeastern province of Limburg, here called Limburgish language. English is an official language in the special municipalities of Saba and Sint Eustatius. It is widely spoken on these islands. Papiamento is an official language in the special municipality of Bonaire. The three islands are known as the BES islands. Yiddish and the Romani language were recognised in 1996 as non-territorial languages.

There is a tradition of learning foreign languages in the Netherlands: about 70% of the total population have good knowledge of conversational English, 55– 59% of German, and 19% of French. The children start with English courses at primary schools when they are about nine years old. English is a mandatory course in all secondary schools. In most lower level secondary school educations (''vmbo''), one additional modern foreign language is mandatory during the first two years. In higher level secondary schools(''havo'' and ''vwo''), two additional modern foreign languages are mandatory during the first three years. Only during the last three years in ''vwo'' one foreign language is mandatory. The standard modern languages are French and German, although schools can change one of these modern languages with Spanish, Turkish, Arabic, or Russian. Additionally, schools in the Frisia region teach and have exams in Frisian, and schools across the country teach and have exams in ancient Greek and Latin for vwo.

Religion

The Netherlands is one of the most secular countries in Western Europe, with only 39% being religiously affiliated (31% for those aged under 35), and fewer than 20% visiting church regularly. According to the most recent Eurobarometer poll 2005, 34% of the Dutch citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 37% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".

Currently, Roman Catholicism is the single largest religion of the Netherlands, forming the religious home of some 28% of the Dutch population in 2011. The Protestant Church of the Netherlands follows with 16% of the population. It was formed in 2004 as a merger of the two major strands of Calvinism: the Dutch Reformed Church (which represented roughly 8.5% of the population), the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (3.7% of the population), and a smaller Lutheran Church. Other Protestant churches, mostly orthodox Calvinist splits, represent 6% of the population. In 1947, 44.3% belonged to Protestant denominations, 38.7% belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, and 17.1% were unaffiliated.

In 2006, there were 850,000 Muslims (5% of the total Dutch population). The Netherlands has an estimated 250,000 Buddhists or people who feel strongly attracted by this religion, largely ethnic Dutch people. There are approximately 200,000 Hindus, most of them are of Surinamese origin. Sikhs are another religious minority numbering around 12,000, mainly located in or around Amsterdam. There are five gurudwaras in the Netherlands. The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated some 6,400 Bahá'ís in 2005.

Although the Holocaust deeply affected the Jewish community (killing about 75% of its 140,000 members at the time), it has managed to rebuild a vibrant and lively Jewish life for its approximately 45,000 current members. Before World War II, 10% of the Amsterdam population was Jewish.

Freedom of education has been guaranteed by the Dutch constitution since 1917, and schools run by religious groups (especially Christian and Muslim) are funded by the government. All schools must meet strict quality criteria.

Three political parties in the Dutch parliament (CDA, ChristianUnion, and SGP) base their policy on Christian belief in varying degrees. Although the Netherlands is a secular state, in some municipalities where the Christian parties have the majority, the council meetings are opened by prayer.

Municipalities in general also give civil servants a day off on Christian religious holidays, such as Easter and the Ascension of Jesus.

Education

Education in the Netherlands is compulsory between the ages of 4 and 16, and partially compulsory between the ages of 16 and 18.

All children in the Netherlands attend elementary school from (on average) ages 4 to 12. It comprises eight grades, the first of which is facultative. Based on an aptitude test, the 8th grade teacher's recommendation and the opinion of the pupil's parents or caretakers, a choice is made for one of the three main streams of secondary education (after completing a particular stream, a pupil may still continue in the penultimate year of the next stream):

The vmbo has 4 grades and is subdivided over several levels. Successfully completing the vmbo results in a low-level vocational degree that grants access to the mbo ("middle-level applied education"). With the mbo diploma, a student can apply for the hbo.

The havo has 5 grades and allows for admission to the hbo ("higher professional education"), which are universities of professional education (or applied sciences) that award professional bachelor degrees that gives access to the university system.

The vwo (including atheneum and gymnasium) has 6 grades and prepares for studying at a research university. The university consists of a three year bachelor's degree, followed by a one, two or three year master's degree, and finally a four year doctoral degree. Doctoral candidates in the Netherlands are temporary employees of a university.

Culture

The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. The 17th century, when the Dutch republic was prosperous, was the age of the "Dutch Masters", such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Jacob van Ruysdael and many others. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century were Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondriaan. M. C. Escher is a well-known graphics artist. Willem de Kooning was born and trained in Rotterdam, although he is considered to have reached acclaim as an American artist. The Netherlands is the country of philosophers Erasmus of Rotterdam and Spinoza. All of Descartes' major work was done in the Netherlands. The Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) discovered Saturn's moon Titan and invented the pendulum clock. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms with a microscope.

In the Dutch Golden Age, literature flourished as well, with Joost van den Vondel and P.C. Hooft as the two most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the poor treatment of the natives in Dutch colonies. Important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Simon Vestdijk, Cees Nooteboom, Gerard (van het) Reve and Willem Frederik Hermans. Anne Frank's ''Diary of a Young Girl'' was published after she died in the Holocaust and translated from Dutch to all major languages.

Replicas of Dutch buildings can be found in Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan. A similar Holland Village is being built in Shenyang, China. Windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cheese, Delftware pottery, and cannabis are among the items associated with the Netherlands by tourists.

Sport

Approximately 4.5 million of the 16 million people in the Netherlands are registered to one of the 35,000 sports clubs in the country. About two thirds of the population older than 15 years participates in sports weekly.

In the Netherlands, football, speed skating, korfball, handball, swimming, rowing, cycling, field hockey, volleyball, equestrian sports, sailing, and tennis are popular sports. A lot of amateurs practice them, and the Netherlands is a strong competitor in international tournaments for these sports. In the Dutch Caribbean, baseball is a popular sport, with the islands frequently sending teams to the annual Little League World Series.

Organization of sports began at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Federations for sports were established (such as the speed skating federation in 1882), rules were unified and sports clubs came into existence. A Dutch National Olympic Committee was established in 1912. Thus far, the nation has won 230 medals at the Summer Olympic Games and another 78 medals at the Winter Olympic Games.

Cuisine

See also

References

; Statistics

Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (2006). Health statistics. Retrieved 17 June 2006.

; Articles ; Books

Paul Arblaster. ''A History of the Low Countries''. Palgrave Essential Histories Series New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. 298 pp. ISBN 1-4039-4828-3.

J. C. H. Blom and E. Lamberts, eds. ''History of the Low Countries'' (1998)

Jonathan Israel. ''The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477–1806'' (1995)

J. A. Kossmann-Putto and E. H. Kossmann. ''The Low Countries: History of the Northern and Southern Netherlands'' (1987)

External links

; Government

Overheid.nl – official Dutch government portal

Government.nl – official Dutch government web site

CBS – Key figures from the Dutch bureau of statistics

; General information ; Travel

Holland.com – English website of the Netherlands tourist office

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Category:Benelux countries Category:Bicontinental countries Category:Constitutional monarchies Category:Countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean Category:Dutch-speaking countries Category:European countries Category:Kingdom of the Netherlands Category:Liberal democracies Category:Northern Europe Category:Western Europe Category:Caribbean countries Category:Member states of the European Union Category:Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean Category:Member states of the Dutch Language Union Category:Member states of NATO

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playername	Wesley Sneijder
fullname	Wesley Sneijder
dateofbirth	June 09, 1984
height
cityofbirth	Utrecht
countryofbirth	Netherlands
currentclub	Internazionale
clubnumber	10
position	Attacking midfielder
youthyears1	1991–2002 |youthclubs1 Ajax
years1	2002–2007 |clubs1 Ajax |caps1 127 |goals1 48
years2	2007–2009 |clubs2 Real Madrid |caps2 52 |goals2 11
years3	2009– |clubs3 Internazionale |caps3 51 |goals3 8
Nationalteam1	Netherlands |nationalcaps1 76 |nationalgoals1 21
pcupdate	1 May 2011
ntupdate	26 March 2011 }}

Wesley Sneijder (; born 9 June 1984) is a Dutch footballer playing as an attacking midfielder for Internazionale. He was named UEFA midfielder of the season as well as one of the three best midfielders in the world for 2010 by FIFA.

Due to his impeccable placement and confirmed ability to score from free kicks, Sneijder earned the reputation as a dead-ball specialist. With short stature, he is quick, strong on the ball, and his passing range is enhanced by his ambidexterity.

A product of the Ajax Academy, he previously played for AFC Ajax with whom he won six trophies and during which time he was awarded the Johan Cruijff Award (for best young player in Holland) in 2004. He was later sold to Real Madrid for €27 million in 2007, winning La Liga in his first season with the club and later being sold to Internazionale for €15 million.

Sneijder previously represented various Youth squads for the Netherlands. He is now a regular player for the Dutch national team, having made his debut in April 2003 at the age of 18, and having represented his country at the world cup in 2006 and 2010 as well as UEFA Euro 2004 and 2008. Individually he was awarded the 2010 Bronze Boot, the 2010 Silver Ball and included in the team of the tournament for UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup as well as named man of the match for six out of eleven games played by "Oranje" at these two tournaments.

Early life

Wesley Sneijder was born on 9 June 1984 in Utrecht into a football family: his father was a player, his older brother Jeffrey played for Stormvogels Telstar, and his younger brother Rodney plays for the youth academy of Ajax.

Club career

Ajax

Sneijder started his career in AFC Ajax's famous youth academy. Following his older brother's footsteps, he signed for Ajax as a 17-year-old, initially on trial but impressed enough to be signed on a permanent basis. He first made the bench as an unused substitute for Ajax in a 2–0 win at SBV Excelsior on 22 December 2002 when manager Ronald Koeman, troubled by an injury-filled squad, called him up, advised by Danny Blind, the then-coach of the Ajax youth squad. He then made his official Ajax debut against Willem II after the winter break on 2 February 2003 in a 6–0 win. He rapidly established himself in the role of midfield general and occasional left winger.

On 12 August 2007, Ajax agreed to sell Sneijder to Real Madrid for €27 million, according to the club's website, making him the second most expensive Dutch football player.

Real Madrid

Sneijder was the second of three Dutchmen to sign for Real Madrid 2007–08 season, joining Royston Drenthe and Arjen Robben. He also was given the number 23, which had been previously worn by David Beckham for four seasons at Real. In his first La Liga match for Real, he scored the winner in the Madrid derby against Atlético Madrid. On the second matchday, he scored two goals against Villarreal CF, one of them on a direct free-kick. Sneijder capped a fine first season in Spain by hitting a stunning free kick in the last game of the season against Levante UD at the Bernabéu, taking his goal tally to nine in the La Liga season, a season which also saw Real retain their title.

On 3 August 2008, Sneijder was stretchered off in the pre-season friendly at Arsenal with a suspected cruciate ligament injury after a collision with Abou Diaby. Sneijder had an MRI which confirmed the extent of the injury to be not as bad as first feared. It was expected that he would be out for at least three months. However, he managed to recover in time and was included in the starting eleven for the Champions League clash against Juventus in Turin.

On 2 September 2008, ''AS'' reported that after Robinho's departure to Manchester City for €42 million, Sneijder would now be Real Madrid's new number 10. One day later, Real Madrid confirmed on their web site Sneijder's new number, 10. His previous number, 23, was taken over by his fellow Dutchman Rafael van der Vaart, whose preferred number is 23.

Internazionale

On 27 August 2009, Sneijder was bought by Internazionale from Real Madrid for a reported fee of €15 million. He was given the number 10 shirt and made his debut a day after he signed the contract. He made an immediate impact by being on the winning side in the Milan derby (4–0) against AC Milan. On 3 October 2009 he scored his first, decisive goal, in the 92nd minute against Udinese in a 2–1 win, after a brilliant match. His second goal was scored on 24 October 2009 against Catania, directly from free kick, and he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal for Inter in a dramatic 2–1 win against Dynamo Kiev in the 89th minute. His next goal was also scored off a hard-swerving free kick in a Coppa Italia game against Livorno.

On 9 January 2010 he scored two stunning free kicks against Siena in the game which Inter won 4–3, however on 24 January he received a straight red card in the Milan derby. On April 6 Sneijder scored a free kick against CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final in the sixth minute, making it 2–0 on aggregate to Inter. On 20 April 2010 he scored Inter's equalising goal during their UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg against Barcelona. He leveled the game by firing in right-footed from a Diego Milito pass. Inter went on to win the game 3–1. Sneijder was given the nickname 'The Sniper' by the Media for his ability to deliver perfect passes and score from amazing distances.

On 22 May 2010, Inter won the Champions League Final against Bayern Munich by 2–0. Both goals were scored by Diego Milito, with Sneijder supplying the assist for the first goal.

On 21 August 2010, Inter started the 2010–11 season by winning the 2010 Italian Super Cup with a 3–1 win against Roma. On 26 August 2010, Sneijder was named by UEFA as the best club midfielder of the Champions League 2009–10 season. The day after in Monaco, Inter lost to Atlético Madrid in the 2010 UEFA Super Cup. He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–2 draw against FC Twente in the Champions League on 14 September 2010, and followed that up with another goal in Inter's second game against Werder Bremen in a 4–0 win at the San Siro on 29 September 2010. On 26 October 2010, Sneijder was shortlisted for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or award, which Lionel Messi won.

On 28 October 2010, Sneijder signed a five year contract extension with Inter, tying him to the club until 2015. Inter finished second in Group A of the Champions League and were drawn against FC Bayern Munich (whom they had beaten in the previous year's Final), in the Round of 16. In the first leg, Sneijder and Inter were uninspired and lost 1–0 to a late Mario Gomez goal at the San Siro. On 15 March 2011, Sneijder helped Inter turn it around scoring in the 63rd minute leading to a 3–2 win (3–3 on aggregate, Inter were through on away goals) at the Allianz Arena, booking a place in the quarter-final against FC Schalke 04. The first leg of that quarter-final ended 5–2 to Schalke. Sneijder also played in the second leg of the tie but could not prevent his team from losing 2–1 and 7–3 on aggregate.

International career

Sneijder made his debut for the Netherlands under-21 side against the Czech Republic on 28 March 2003. His first game with the senior Dutch side was against Portugal on 30 April that same year, when he became the eighth youngest player to play for the Netherlands in the first team's history.

Euro 2004

Sneijder reached the UEFA Euro 2004 semi-finals with the Netherlands. He began the competition mainly on the bench, and was subbed into two group stage matches. He had also contributed two goals in the qualifying tournament.

2006 World Cup

Sneijder started all four games for the Netherlands at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He received one of the record 16 yellow cards doled out during the infamous Round of 16 clash with Portugal (titled the "Battle of Nuremberg"); Portugal went on to win 1–0.

Euro 2008

In the build-up to UEFA Euro 2008, Sneijder scored a free kick in a friendly against Wales on 31 May, making it his second strike from a direct free kick in a row. The game ended 2–0 with a goal from fellow Real Madrid teammate Arjen Robben.

Sneijder marked his 24th birthday in style by scoring one of the goals of the tournament; the second goal in the 31st minute of the Euro 2008 match against the World Cup champions, Italy. Following Giovanni van Bronckhorst's goal-line clearance and subsequent run into the Italian half, Sneijder received a headed ball from Dirk Kuyt and volleyed it with an acrobatic strike past Gianluigi Buffon. This brought the score to 2–0 after Ruud van Nistelrooy's opener five minutes prior. The match finished with a 3–0 victory to the Dutch after a third goal was scored by van Bronkhorst after another run by him, following a crucial save from Edwin van der Sar. Sneijder's goal contributed to the Netherlands' first victory over Italy in 30 years, which was the biggest defeat Italy had suffered since Sweden beat them by the same margin in 1983. Many fans and pundits agreed that this goal was one of the best of the tournament. On 13 June, he scored another goal for the ''Oranje'' in the Euro 2008 group stage match against France: in the 92nd minute, from outside the box, Sneijder struck the ball into the corner of the net, bouncing off the crossbar on its way in. The match finished 4–1 for the Netherlands. Although the Dutch lost to the Russians in the quarter-final, Sneijder was named in the Team of the Tournament for his strong performances.

2010 World Cup

Sneijder was in the starting line-up for their first match in the competition, a 2–0 victory over Denmark. Sneijder scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Japan. In the first two matches of the group stage at the FIFA World Cup he was selected as the man of the match in both of them. In the Netherlands' round of 16 match against Slovakia, Sneijder scored in a 2–1 victory. He also provided what was at first thought to be an assist for the first goal against Brazil in the quarter finals, but was later credited with the goal. He then scored the first header of his career direct from a corner and consigned Brazil to a 2–1 defeat, bringing his goal total in the tournament to four. Sneijder was again named man of the match on FIFA's website.

In the semi final against Uruguay, Sneijder scored in the 70th minute, taking his total in the competition to five, raising him at the time to first place in terms of goals scored, along with David Villa. The Netherlands won the match 3–2 and progressed to the final. Sneijder was yet again named on FIFA's website as the Budweiser man of the match according to the public online vote. In the World Cup Final, the Dutch lost to Spain 1–0 after extra time, conceding the only goal of the match after 116 minutes.

International goals

! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition

{{Ig match

n=1

d=11 October 2003

st=Philips Stadion

o=Moldova

sc=2–0

fr=5–0

comp=Euro 2004 qualifying}}

{{Ig match

n=2

d=19 November 2003

st=Amsterdam ArenA

o=SCO

sc=1–0

fr=6–0

{{Ig match

n=3

d=18 August 2004

st=Råsunda Stadium

o=SWE

sc=1–1

fr=2–2

comp=Friendly match}}

{{Ig match

n=4

d=8 June 2005

st=Amsterdam ArenA

o=FIN

sc=1–1

fr=3–1

{{Ig match

n=5

d=17 August 2005

st=Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys

o=Andorra

sc=0–'''3

fr=0–3

{{Ig match

n=6

d=24 March 2007

st=Amsterdam ArenA

o=Russia

sc=2–0

fr=4–1

comp=Friendly match}}

{{Ig match

n=7

d=8 September 2007

st=Amsterdam ArenA

o=Bulgaria

sc=1–0

fr=2–0

comp=Euro 2008 Qualification}}

{{Ig match

n=8

d=17 October 2007

st=Philips Stadion

o=Slovenia

sc=1–0

fr=2–0

comp=Euro 2008 Qualification}}

{{Ig match

n=9

d=1 May 2008

st=De Kuip

o=WAL

sc=2–0

fr=2–0

comp=Friendly match}}

{{Ig match

n=10

d=9 June 2008

st=Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf

o=Italy

sc=2–0

fr=3–0

{{Ig match

n=11

d=13 June 2008

st=Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf

o=FRA

sc=4–1

fr=4–1

{{Ig match

n=12

d=9 May 2009

st=Grolsch Veste

o=Japan

sc=2–0

fr=3–0

comp=Friendly match}}

{{Ig match

n=13

d=1 June 2010

st=De Kuip

o=Ghana

sc=3–1

fr=4–1

comp=Friendly match}}

{{Ig match

n=14

d=5 June 2010

st=Amsterdam ArenA

o=Hungary

sc=2–1

fr=6–1

comp=Friendly match}}

{{Ig match

n=15

d=19 June 2010

st=Moses Mabhida Stadium

o=Japan

sc=1–0

fr=1–0

{{Ig match

n=16

d=28 June 2010

st=Moses Mabhida Stadium

o=Slovakia

sc=2–0

fr=2–1

{{Ig match

n=17

d=2 July 2010

st=Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

o=Brazil

sc=1–1

fr=2–1

{{Ig match

n=18

d=2 July 2010

st=Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

o=Brazil

sc=2–1

fr=2–1

{{Ig match

n=19

d=6 July 2010

st=Cape Town Stadium

o=Uruguay

sc=1–2

fr=2–3

{{Ig match

n=20

d=9 February 2011

st=Philips Stadion

o=Austria

sc=1–0

fr=3–1

{{Ig match

n=21

d=29 March 2011

st=Amsterdam ArenA

o=Hungary

sc=2–2

fr=5–3

Career statistics

Club

4 9 7 5 18 9 2 4 4 0

Club	Season	League	Cup	Continental	Other	Total
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
rowspan="6"	Ajax		17	|	3	1	3	0	0	0	23	5
2003–04 Eredivisie	2003–04	30	|	1	0	7	1	0	0	38	10
2004–05 Eredivisie	2004–05	30	|	3	1	7	0	1	1	41	9
2005–06 Eredivisie	2005–06	19	|	3	2	7	4	2	1	31	12
2006–07 Eredivisie	2006–07	30	|	4	1	9	1	4	2	47	22
!Total	!126!!43!!15!!5!!33!!6!!7!!4!!181!!58
rowspan="3"	Real Madrid		30	|	3	0	5	0	0	0	38	9
2008–09 La Liga	2008–09	22	|	1	0	4	0	1	0	28	2
!Total	!52!!11!!4!!0!!9!!0!!1!!0!!66!!11
rowspan="4"	Internazionale		26	|	4	1	11	3	0	0	41	8
2010–11 Serie A	2010–11	25	|	1	0	9	3	3	0	38	7
2011–12 Serie A	2011–12	0	|	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1
!Total	!51!!8!!5!!1!!20!!6!!4!!1!!80!!16
Career total	!228!!61!!24!!6!!62!!12!!12!!5!!326!!84

''Statistics accurate as of match played 6 August 2011''

International

|- |2003||3||2 |- |2004||14||3 |- |2005||3||0 |- |2006||10||0 |- |2007||11||3 |- |2008||10||3 |- |2009||7||1 |- |2010||15||7 |- |2011||3||2 |- !Total||76||21 |} ''Statistics accurate as of match played 1 April 2011''

Personal life

Sneijder married Ramona Streekstra on 18 June 2005. They have one son, Jessey, born 4 September 2006, to whom he dedicated a tattoo on his left arm. The couple divorced on 21 January 2009.

In August 2009 he began dating Dutch actress and presenter Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen. They became engaged in December 2009 and married on 17 July 2010. By her inspiration and team-mate Javier Zanetti, Sneijder became Catholic and was baptized in Milan.

Sneijder has two brothers, Jeffrey a former footballer and Rodney who plays for Jong Ajax. In May 2008, it was reported that Sneijder had prevented his younger brother Rodney from a summer transfer to his club at the time, Real Madrid. Sneijder said, "Real Madrid wanted him and Rodney was very happy about that. But when I heard, I stopped the discussions. I am not in favour of juniors increasingly going to top clubs. I've told him that he first must make a break through at Ajax."

Awards

In October 2008, Dutch magazine ''Voetbal International'' conducted a poll to decide who was the best Dutch free kick taker. Sneijder received an overwhelming 70% of the votes while Robin van Persie came second with 21% and striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was third with 3% of the vote. He was voted as the best player of the year 2009–10 by Goal.com.

Honours

Club

;Ajax

Eredivisie (1): 2003–04

KNVB Cup (2): 2005–06, 2006–07

Johan Cruijff-schaal (3): 2002, 2005, 2006

;Real Madrid

La Liga (1): 2007–08

Supercopa de España (1): 2008

;Internazionale

Serie A (1): 2009–10

Coppa Italia (2): 2009–10, 2010–11

Supercoppa Italiana (1): 2010

UEFA Champions League (1): 2009–10

FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2010

International

;Netherlands

2010 FIFA World Cup Silver medal

Individual

Johan Cruijff Prijs (1): 2004

Ajax Talent of the Year (1): 2004

Ajax Player of the Year (1): 2007

UEFA Euro 2008:

* Man of the Match (2): vs. Italy, vs. France,

Team of the Tournament'''

Best Goal of the Tournament: vs France

Best Dutch Free kick Taker (1): 2008

2010 UEFA Champions League Final: Fans' Man of the Match

2010 FIFA World Cup:

* Man of the Match (4): vs Denmark (GM), vs Japan (GM), vs Brazil (QF), vs Uruguay (SF)

* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team

* FIFA World Cup Silver Ball

* FIFA World Cup Bronze Shoe

Goal.com No. 1 (1): 2010

UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year (1): 2010

FIFA FIFPro World XI (1): 2010

UEFA Team of the Year (1): 2010

Notes

References

External links

Sneijder Wesley 2009/10 profile Internazionale

Wesley Sneijder profile ESPN Soccernet

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar|after= Maarten Stekelenburg|years=2006–2007}} Fabio Cannavaro|after=Incumbent|years=2010}} Ronaldo|after=Incumbent|years=2010}} Xavi|after=Incumbent|years=2009–10}} }}

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:People from Utrecht (city) Category:Dutch Roman Catholics Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism Category:Association football midfielders Category:Dutch footballers Category:Dutch expatriate footballers Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 2004 players Category:Netherlands international footballers Category:AFC Ajax players Category:Eredivisie players Category:Real Madrid C.F. players Category:La Liga footballers Category:Expatriate footballers in Spain Category:Dutch expatriates in Spain Category:F.C. Internazionale Milano players Category:Serie A footballers Category:Expatriate footballers in Italy Category:Dutch expatriates in Italy

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consort	no
name	Wilhelmina
succession	Queen of the Netherlands
reign	23 November 1890 – 4 September 1948 ()
predecessor	William III
successor	Juliana
regent	Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1890-1898), Juliana (1947, 1948)
spouse	Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
issue	Juliana of the Netherlands
full name	Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria
house	House of Orange-Nassau
father	William III of the Netherlands
mother	Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont
birth date	August 31, 1880
birth place	The Hague, Netherlands
death date	November 28, 1962
death place	Apeldoorn, Netherlands
date of burial	8 December 1962
place of burial	Nieuwe Kerk, Delft
religion	Dutch Reformed

Wilhelmina (Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 - 28 November 1962) was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial empire. Outside the Netherlands she is primarily remembered for her role in World War II, in which she proved to be a great inspiration to the Dutch resistance.

Early life

Princess Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange, Princess of Orange-Nassau, was born on 31 August 1880 in The Hague, Netherlands. She was the only child of King William III and his second wife, Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her childhood was characterised by a close relationship with her parents, especially with her father, who was 63 years of age when she was born.

King William III had three sons with his first wife, Sophie of Württemberg. However, when Wilhelmina was born, William had already outlived two of them and only the childless Prince Alexander and the King's uncle Prince Frederick of the Netherlands were alive, so under the Semi-Salic system of inheritance that was in place in the Netherlands until 1887, she was third in line to the throne from birth. When Prince Frederick died a year later in 1881, she became second in line. When Wilhelmina was four, Alexander died and the young girl became heiress presumptive.

King William III died on 23 November 1890, and, although Princess Wilhelmina became Queen of the Netherlands instantly, her mother, Emma, was named regent.

In 1895, Queen Wilhelmina visited Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, who penned an evaluation in her diary:

Marriage and succession

Wilhelmina was enthroned on 6 September 1898. On 7 February 1901 in The Hague, she married Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Wilhelmina suffered miscarriages in 1901 and 1906, and gave birth to a stillborn son in 1902. During this time period, Wilhelmina's heir presumptive was her first cousin once removed William Ernest, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and next in line was his aunt (and Wilhelmina's cousin) Princess Marie Alexandrine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. As it was assumed that the former would renounce his claim to the Dutch throne, and that the latter was too elderly and sickly to become Queen, Marie Alexandrine's eldest son Prince Heinrich XXXII Reuss of Köstritz stood in line to succeed Wilhelmina, assuming she had no surviving children. Heinrich was a German prince with close associations with the Imperial family and the military; and there were fears that were the Queen to remain childless, the Dutch Crown "was bound to pass into the possession of a German prince, whose birth, training, and affiliations would naturally have led him to bring Holland within the sphere of the German Empire, at the expense of her independence, both national and economic", according to one contemporary publication. The birth of Juliana, on 30 April 1909, was met with great relief after eight years of childless marriage. Wilhelmina suffered two further miscarriages in 1912.

Reign

Name	Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Dipstyle	Her Majesty
Offstyle	Your Majesty
Altstyle	Ma'am }}

Tactful, and careful to operate within the limits of what was expected by the Dutch people and their elected representatives, the strong-willed Wilhelmina became a forceful personality who spoke and acted her mind. These qualities showed up early in her reign when, at the age of 20, Queen Wilhelmina ordered a Dutch warship to South Africa to rescue Paul Kruger, the embattled President of the Transvaal.

Wilhelmina had a stern dislike of the United Kingdom, which had annexed the republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State in the Boer War. The Boers were descendants of early Dutch colonists, to whom Wilhelmina felt very closely linked. Nevertheless, in 1940, King George VI sent the warship HMS ''Hereward'', to rescue Wilhelmina, her family and her Government and bring them to safety in the UK, which offered the Netherlands facilities including broadcasting time on the BBC.

Queen Wilhelmina also had a keen understanding of business matters and her investments made her the world's richest woman, a status retained by her daughter and by her granddaughter, Queen Beatrix.

Prior to the outbreak of the First World War, the young Wilhelmina visited the powerful German Emperor Wilhelm II, who boasted to the Queen of a relatively small country, "my guards are seven feet tall and yours are only shoulder-high to them." Wilhelmina smiled politely and replied, "Quite true, Your Majesty, your guards are seven feet tall. But when we open our dikes, the water is ten feet deep!"

World War I

The Netherlands remained neutral during World War I. However, the Allies included the Netherlands in their blockade of Germany, intercepting all Dutch ships and severely restricting Dutch imports to ensure goods could not be passed on to Germany.

Wilhelmina was a "soldier's queen"; being a woman, she could not be Supreme Commander, but she nevertheless used every opportunity she had to inspect her forces. On many occasions she appeared without prior notice, wishing to see the reality, not a prepared show. She loved her soldiers, and was very unhappy with most of her governments, which were always eager to cut the military budget. Wilhelmina wanted a small but well trained and equipped army.

In the war, she felt she was a "Queen-On-Guard". She was always wary of a German attack, especially in the beginning. However, the chief violation of Dutch sovereignty was the Allied blockade.

Civil unrest gripped the Netherlands after the war, spurred by the 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia. Socialist leader Pieter Jelles Troelstra wanted to abolish the existing government and the monarchy. Instead of a violent revolution, he hoped to do this by winning control of Parliament in an election, supported by the working class. However, the popularity of the young Queen helped restore confidence in the government. Wilhelmina brought about a mass show of support by riding with her daughter through the crowds in an open carriage.

At the end of World War I, Kaiser Wilhelm fled to the Netherlands, where he was granted political asylum, partly owing to his family links with Queen Wilhelmina. In response to Allied efforts to get their hands on the deposed Kaiser, Wilhelmina called the Allies' ambassadors to her presence and lectured them on the rights of asylum.

Between the wars

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Netherlands began to emerge as an industrial power. Engineers reclaimed vast amounts of land that had been under water by building the Zuiderzee Works. The death of Wilhelmina's husband, Prince Hendrik, in 1934 brought an end to a difficult year that also saw the passing of her mother Queen Emma.

The interbellum, and most notably the economic crisis of the 1930s, was also the period in which Wilhelmina's personal power reached its zenith; under the successive governments of a staunch monarchist prime minister, Hendrik Colijn (ARP), Wilhelmina was deeply involved in most questions of state.

In 1939, Colijn's fifth and last government was swept away by a vote of no confidence two days after its formation. It is widely accepted that Wilhelmina herself was behind the formation of this last government, which was designed to be an extra-parliamentary or 'royal' cabinet. The Queen was deeply skeptical of the parliamentary system and tried to bypass it covertly more than once.

She also arranged the marriage of her daughter Juliana to Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, a German aristocrat. Although it was claimed that he was initially a supporter of the Nazi regime, no hard evidence of this has ever been found or publicized. The prince however, was a member of the Nazi Party and of the so-called ''Reiter-SS'' (SS Cavalry Corps), as was proved by the Dutch national institute for war documentation, NIOD.

In 1939, the government proposed a refugee camp for German Jews fleeing the Nazi regime. Wilhelmina intervened, as she felt the planned location was "too close" to her summer residence. The camp was finally erected about 10 km from the village of Westerbork.

World War II

On 10 May 1940, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands. Queen Wilhelmina had wanted to stay in the Netherlands: she had planned to go to the southern province of Zeeland with her troops in order to coordinate further resistance from the town of Breskens and remain there until help arrived, much as King Albert I of Belgium had done during World War I. She fled The Hague, and she boarded HMS ''Hereward'', a British destroyer which was to take her south; however, after she was aboard, Zeeland came under heavy attack from the Luftwaffe and it was considered too dangerous to return. Wilhelmina was then left with no option but to accept George VI's offer of refuge. She retreated to Britain, planning to return as soon as possible.

The Dutch armed forces in the Netherlands, apart from those in Zeeland, surrendered on 15 May. In Britain, Queen Wilhelmina took charge of the Dutch government in exile, setting up a chain of command and immediately communicating a message to her people.

Relations between the Dutch government and the Queen were tense, with mutual dislike growing as the war progressed. Wilhelmina went on to be the most prominent figure, owing to her experience and knowledge. She was also very popular and respected among the leaders of the world. The government did not have a parliament to back them and had few employees to assist them. The Dutch prime minister, Dirk Jan de Geer, believed the Allies would not win and intended to open negotiations with the Nazis for a separate peace. Therefore Wilhelmina sought to remove De Geer from power. With the aid of a minister, Pieter Gerbrandy, she succeeded.

During the war her photograph was a sign of resistance against the Germans. Like Winston Churchill, Queen Wilhelmina broadcast messages to the Dutch people over Radio Oranje. The Queen called Adolf Hitler "the arch-enemy of mankind". Her late-night broadcasts were eagerly awaited by her people, who had to hide in order to listen to them illegally. An anecdote published in her ''New York Times'' obituary illustrates how she was valued by her subjects during this period:

Queen Wilhelmina visited the United States from 24 June to 11 August 1942 as guest of the U.S. government. She vacationed in Lee, Massachusetts, and visited New York City, Boston, and Albany, New York. She addressed the U.S. Congress on 5 August 1942, and was the first queen to do so.

Queen Wilhelmina went to Canada in 1943 to attend the christening of her grandchild Princess Margriet on 29 June 1943 in Ottawa and stayed awhile with her family before returning to England.

During the war, the Queen was almost killed by a bomb that took the lives of several of her guards and severely damaged her country home near South Mimms in England. In 1944, Queen Wilhelmina became only the second woman to be inducted into the Order of the Garter. Churchill described her as the only real man among the governments-in-exile in London.

In England, she developed ideas about a new political and social life for the Dutch after the liberation. She wanted a strong cabinet formed by people active in the resistance. She dismissed De Geer during the war and installed a prime minister with the approval of other Dutch politicians. The Queen "hated" politicians, instead stating a love for the people. When the Netherlands was liberated in 1945 she was disappointed to see the same political factions taking power as before the war. Prior to the end of the war, in mid-March 1945, she travelled to the Allied occupied areas of the south of the Netherlands, visiting the region of Walcheren and the city of Eindhoven where she received a rapturous welcome from the local population.

Following the end of World War II, Queen Wilhelmina made the decision not to return to her palace but to move into a mansion in The Hague, where she lived for eight months. She travelled through the countryside to motivate people, sometimes using a bicycle instead of a car. However, in 1947, while the country was still recovering from World War II, the revolt in the oil-rich Dutch East Indies saw sharp criticism of the Queen by the Dutch economic elite.

Around the same time, Wilhelmina's health started failing her. Bad health caused her to cede the throne to her daughter Juliana temporarily towards the end of 1947 (October 14 through December 1). She considered abdication but Juliana pressed her to stay on for the stability of the nation, urging her to complete 60 years on the throne. Wilhelmina tried to comply, but exhaustion forced her to cede the throne again on May 12, 1948. This time the timing was unfortunate, as it left Juliana to deal with the early elections due to the ceding of the Indonesian colonies.

Wilhelmina kept her promise to her daughter formally, remaining queen formally until September 4. Then, being extremely disappointed about the return to pre-war politics, she abdicated.

Later years

As of 1948, Wilhelmina was the only survivor of the 16 European kings and one queen who were sitting on their thrones at the time of her coronation in 1898. The Dutch Royal Family was also one of seven European royal houses remaining in existence.

On 4 September 1948, after a reign of 57 years and 286 days, Wilhelmina abdicated in favour of her daughter Juliana, because of advancing age and illness which had already caused two regencies, and the strain of the war years. She was thenceforward styled "Her Royal Highness Princess Wilhelmina of the Netherlands". After her reign, the influence of the Dutch monarchy began to decline but the country's love for its royal family continued. No longer queen, Wilhelmina retreated to Het Loo Palace, making few public appearances until the country was devastated by the North Sea flood of 1953. Once again she travelled around the country to encourage and motivate the Dutch people.

During her last years she wrote her autobiography entitled ''Eenzaam, maar niet alleen'' (Lonely but Not Alone), in which she gave account of the events in her life, and revealed her strong religious feelings and motivations.

Queen Wilhelmina died in Het Loo at the age of 82 on 28 November 1962, and was buried in the Dutch Royal Family crypt in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft, on 8 December. The funeral was, at her request and contrary to protocol, completely in white to give expression to her belief that earthly death was the beginning of eternal life.

Had Wilhelmina not given the throne to her daughter before her death, she would have reigned for 72 years 5 days, which would have been the second-longest reign in Europe (behind that of Louis XIV of France), seventh-longest in the world, and the longest reign by a female monarch in history.

Titles

Her Royal Highness Princess Pauline of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau (1880–1890) Her Majesty Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau (1890–1948) Her Royal Highness Princess Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Duchess of Mecklenburg (1948–1962)

Ancestry

{{ahnentafel-compact5 |style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; |border=1 |boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. Wilhelmina of the Netherlands |2= 2. William III of the Netherlands |3= 3. Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont |4= 4. William II of the Netherlands |5= 5. Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia |6= 6. George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont |7= 7. Princess Helena of Nassau |8= 8. William I of the Netherlands |9= 9. Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia |10= 10. Paul I of Russia |11= 11. Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg |12= 12. George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont |13= 13. Princess Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym |14= 14. William, Duke of Nassau |15= 15. Princess Pauline of Württemberg |16= 16. William V, Prince of Orange |17= 17. Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia |18= 18. Frederick William II of Prussia |19= 19. Landgravine Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt |20= 20. Peter III of Russia |21= 21. Princess Sophie of Anhalt-ZerbstCatherine II of Russia |22= 22. Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg |23= 23. Margravine Friederike Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt |24= 24. George I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont |25= 25. Princess Auguste of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen |26= 26. Victor II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym |27= 27. Princess Amelia of Nassau-Weilburg |28= 28. Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg |29= 29. Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg |30= 30. Prince Paul of Württemberg |31= 31. Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen }}

See also

Dutch monarchs family tree

List of heirs to the Dutch throne

References

;General ;Specific

External links

Royal House of the Netherlands and Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg

Grand-Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Queen Wilhelmina (1880-1962) at The Dutch Royal House website

Queen Wilhelmina State Park near Mena, Arkansas

|-

Category:Recipients of the House Order of the Wendish Crown Category:1880 births Category:1962 deaths Category:Dutch monarchs Category:House of Orange-Nassau Category:Protestant monarchs Category:Queens regnant Category:Monarchs who abdicated Category:Modern child rulers Category:World War II political leaders Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav Category:19th-century monarchs in Europe Category:People from The Hague Category:Heirs presumptive to the Dutch throne Category:Members of the Council of State of the Netherlands Category:Burials in the Royal Crypt at Nieuwe Kerk, Delft Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Category:Extra Ladies of the Order of the Garter Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Military William Order Category:Grand Masters of the Military William Order Category:Grand Masters of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Category:Grand Masters of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau Category:Grand Masters of the Order of the House of Orange Category:Grand Masters of the Order of Orange-Nassau

bs:Vilma, kraljica Holandije bg:Вилхелмина Нидерландска ca:Guillemina I dels Països Baixos cs:Vilemína Nizozemská cy:Wilhelmina, brenhines yr Iseldiroedd da:Vilhelmine af Nederlandene de:Wilhelmina (Niederlande) et:Wilhelmina es:Guillermina I de los Países Bajos eo:Vilhelmina (Nederlando) fr:Wilhelmine des Pays-Bas fy:Wilhelmina fan de Nederlannen gl:Guillermina I de Holanda ko:빌헬미나 hr:Wilhelmina id:Wilhelmina dari Belanda it:Guglielmina dei Paesi Bassi he:וילהלמינה, מלכת הולנד la:Gulielmina (regina Nederlandiae) lb:Wilhelmina vun Holland lt:Vilhelmina hu:I. Vilma holland királynő nl:Wilhelmina der Nederlanden ja:ウィルヘルミナ (オランダ女王) no:Wilhelmina av Nederland nn:Vilhelmina av Nederland oc:Guilhemina dels Païses Basses pl:Wilhelmina (królowa Holandii) pt:Guilhermina dos Países Baixos ro:Wilhelmina a Țărilor de Jos ru:Вильгельмина (королева Нидерландов) simple:Wilhelmina of the Netherlands fi:Vilhelmiina (Alankomaat) sv:Vilhelmina av Nederländerna th:สมเด็จพระราชินีนาถวิลเฮลมินาแห่งเนเธอร์แลนด์ zh:威廉明娜 (荷兰)

name	The Dutchess
type	studio
artist	Fergie
cover	Fergiethedutchess.jpg
released
recorded	2006
genre	Pop, R&B, hip hop
length	54:58
label	A&M, will.i.am music group
producer	Polow da Don, Printz Board, Rgobb Boldt, Ron Fair, George Pajon Jr, Keith Harris, John Legend, will.i.am (exec.)
this album	''The Dutchess''(2006)
misc	}}

''The Dutchess'' is the debut studio album by American recording artist Fergie, who is a member of The Black Eyed Peas. The album was released on September 19, 2006. As of 2008, the album has sold more than six million copies worldwide. The album produced 5 top five singles in the U.S., including three number-one hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "London Bridge", "Big Girls Don't Cry", and "Glamorous", as well as the number two single "Fergalicious" and the number five single "Clumsy". All five of the aforementioned singles have sold over two million digital downloads each in the U.S., thus setting a new record in the digital era for the most multi-platinum singles from one album. The song, "All That I Got (The Make Up Song)" has been remixed slightly and used as one of the two main music themes for Tyra Banks' talk show, ''Tyra''. Edited and Parental Advisory versions of the album were available. In Japan, the United States and Australia, deluxe versions of the album were released.

Background

The title is a derivation and misspelling of the title "The Duchess of York", as Fergie (a derivative of her last name "Ferguson") and Sarah Ferguson, the real Duchess of York, share a surname and nickname. Will.I.Am was an executive producer for the album. Ludacris, B-Real from Cypress Hill and Rita Marley all make guest appearances. Fergie has made it clear in interviews that she will still be an active member of the Black Eyed Peas.

In Australia, with the success of her first number-one single "Big Girls Don't Cry", the album peaked at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart on July 23, 45 weeks after it was released. The album has shifted over 210,000 copies and is certified triple platinum by ARIA. It has spent an impressive 62 weeks inside the nation's top 50, and 21 weeks inside the top 10. It spent four consecutive weeks at number one. Fergie has also had five consecutive top 4 hits from a debut album, the first artist to do so was Delta Goodrem with her 2003 album, ''Innocent Eyes'', which had five consecutive number ones. Due to the re-release of ''The Dutchess'' in the U.S, the original album bounced back from #104 to #28, because of the 11,000 copies of the deluxe edition sold in its first week.

On December 21, 2007, Fergie performed "Finally" on the 9th Annual ''A Home for the Holidays'' special on CBS and on ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' 2008 on ABC, where Ryan Seacrest announced that it would be a single in 2008. It was released to radio on February 26, 2008. Fergie's current single is "Finally". The music video for "Finally" was filmed by Marc Webb, but has yet to be released. Some songs were written with Fergie's old band, Wild Orchid members Renee Sands, and Stefanie Ridel.

Singles

"London Bridge" was released as the lead single from the album on July 18, 2006, and was Fergie's first single as a solo artist. As of January 1, 2008, the single has sold 1,792,912 copies in the U.S. "Fergalicious" is the second single from the album, ''The Dutchess''. It features Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am, who also produced the track. "Fergalicious" was not officially released as the second single in the UK, where "Glamorous" was officially made the second single instead. However, "Fergalicious" still managed to chart at number 26 on the UK Official Download Chart and will be released as the fourth single there, over a year after the song's initial release, as a double A-side with "Clumsy". This is possibly due to the huge success of "Big Girls Don't Cry" in the UK which reached #2, saved the album, and even made it reach a new peak position at #18. As of August 2008, the single has sold over 2,700,000 copies.

"Glamorous" is the third single of ''The Dutchess''; the song features Ludacris. The beat was originally presented to Gwen Stefani as a remix for her single "Luxurious", but the singer ultimately decided not to use it. Ludacris' verse is leftover from that version. In March 2007, the song became Fergie's second number-one single in the United States. The single was released on March 19, 2007 in the UK and was the second single taken from the album. The single was not as successful in Latin America (excluding Mexico, where it proved to be a hit) as "London Bridge" and "Fergalicious". "Glamorous" is the fourth single from the album in Brazil, where "Big Girls Don't Cry" was released as the third single. Fergie sang this song along with "Big Girls Don't Cry" at the Concert for Diana. As of March 2008, the single has sold 2,300,000 copies. "Big Girls Don't Cry", also known as "Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal)", is a song written by Fergie and Toby Gad for Fergie's debut solo album ''The Dutchess'' (2006). The song was released as the album's fourth single in 2007 (see 2007 in music) and topped the charts in several countries, most notably in Australia (for nine consecutive weeks - also becoming the number-one single in the ARIA's Year End Charts for 2007), and in the United States. It was the most played song of 2007 in Brazil (the success of the song there is due to Big Brother Brasil, which chose the song as the theme of the most popular couple of the show) and the most downloaded track in the U.S., with astonishing sales of more than 2,750,000 copies sold. In July 2007, Fergie performed the song at the Concert for Diana and Live Earth. By the end of August 2007, the song became Fergie's third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was nominated in the 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance' category at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, which was held February 10, 2008.

"Clumsy" was written by Fergie and will.i.am, sampling Little Richard's "The Girl Can't Help It", Deee-Lite's "Who Was That", and a small part of MC Lyte's "Poor Georgie". The song was released as the album's fifth single. The song peaked at number five in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the fifth consecutive top-five single from ''The Dutchess''. Fergie has also had five consecutive top 5 hits from a debut album on the ARIA Charts in Australia making her the first artist to do so since Delta Goodrem in 2003 with ''Innocent Eyes'' who had five consecutive number ones. Initially "Clumsy" was Fergie's least successful single, but later it was replaced by "Finally".

Promotional singles

"Here I Come" is a song produced and featured Will.i.am. The track was released in Australia in January 2008. It reached 22 on Australia Singles Chart and 122 on Hot 100. It was used on the commercials that advertised the debut of the new channel CW and in a Motorola Rockr commercial for Brazil and Portugal featuring Fergie. "Finally" is the sixth single from ''The Dutchess''. It is the album's least successful single. It featured John Legend on piano.

"Party People" was released as the first single from Nelly's fifth studio album ''Brass Knuckles''. The song is also a single from the Deluxe Edition of ''The Dutchess''. It reached 40 in the USA and 14 in the UK. "Labels or Love" is the second single from the Deluxe Edition of ''The Dutchess'', and eighth overall. The song did not chart on Hot 100, but in UK it reached 56. This is the last single from the album and a music video was filmed.

Critical reception

Initial critical response to ''The Dutchess'' was mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 58, based on 15 reviews, which indicates "average reviews". Andy Kellman from Allmusic gave to the album a rating of 2/5 stars and claimed that: "The Dutchess has all the characteristics of a release fronted by someone who has been itching to go solo and prove herself, once and for all, as a versatile force all her own". But that "The whole process, produced mostly by fellow Pea will.i.am, is mildly entertaining but tremendously taxing". A positive review came from Bill Lamb of About.com, who gave to the album a rating of 4/5 stars. He stated that "Fergie proves herself a skilled entertainer that can make you dance, laugh, nearly cry, and just have a really good time." He finished the review, saying that "The Dutchess is one of the top debuts of the year. Similar to Gwen Stefani's experience, this album is good enough to pull into question the wisdom of Fergie sticking with The Black Eyed Peas or considering striking out on her own. Another favorable review came from ''Entertainment Weekly'''s Leah Greenblatt' who say that "The Dutchess reaches further than most albums by contemporary divas." The ''Uncut'' review of ''The Dutchess'' was also positive, considering the album "One of the most rambunctiously entertaining and high-spirited records of 2006". Dan Gennoe from ''Dot Music'' was also favorable to the album, naming ''The Dutchess'' as an "exceptionally random R&B mixtape". Kathryn Perry from ''The Phoenix'' described ''The Dutchess'' as "An eclectic, danceable collection of hip-hop, R&B, and pop confections".

Chart performance

''The Dutchess'' debuted at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200 in the United States with sales of more than 150,000 in its first week. 51 weeks after its release, ''The Dutchess'' climbed to a new peak of number two in the U.S. In the UK, it debuted at number 27 with 9,110 copies sold. The song "Losing My Ground" was the upcoming single, though it was replaced for "Glamorous" for unknown reasons. In a matter of weeks it dropped out of the chart altogether until the success of "Glamorous" when the album shot up from 77 to 28. Again, after the success of "Big Girls Don't Cry", the album climbed to 19 and after dropping a few places, went back up to its number 18 peak. To date, the album has produced three ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one hits, including "London Bridge", "Glamorous", and "Big Girls Don't Cry", with "Fergalicious" peaking at number two. Fifth single "Clumsy" peaked at the number five on the chart. A remix of "Big Girls Don't Cry", which features Sean Kingston, became an iTunes-only single and the new song "Pick It Up" (which appears on the Japanese re-released edition of the album) will become a single in Japan.

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Charts

!Chart	!Peakposition
UK Albums Chart

;The Dutchess EP

!Chart (2008)	!Peakposition	!Sales/shipments
		14,466

End of year charts

! Year	! Country	! Chart	! Ranking
2007
2008

Certifications

!Country	! ;MuchMusic Video Awards Best International Video - "Fergalicious" (2007) Best International Video - Artist (2008) ;Juno Awards Best International Album - "The Dutchess" (2008) ;ASCAP Awards Song Of The Year - "Big Girls Don't Cry" (2008) ;MTV Japan Video Music Awards Best Female Video - "Big Girls Don't Cry" (2008) ;Teen Choice Awards Best (2008) References External links ''The Dutchess'' at [[Metacritic">Music recording sales certifications
	Gold
	3× Platinum
	Platinum
	3× Platinum
	Gold
	Gold
	Platinum
	Platinum
	Platinum
	3× Platinum
	Gold
	3× Platinum

Awards

;MTV Australia Video Music Awards

Sexiest Video - "Fergalicious" (2007)

;MuchMusic Video Awards

Best International Video - "Fergalicious" (2007)

Best International Video - Artist (2008)

;Juno Awards

Best International Album - "The Dutchess" (2008)

;ASCAP Awards

Song Of The Year - "Big Girls Don't Cry" (2008)

;MTV Japan Video Music Awards

Best Female Video - "Big Girls Don't Cry" (2008)

;Teen Choice Awards

Best (2008)

References

External links

''The Dutchess'' at [[Metacritic

Category:2006 albums Category:Albums produced by Polow da Don Category:Albums produced by Ron Fair Category:Albums produced by will.i.am Category:A&M Records albums Category:Debut albums Category:Fergie albums Category:Interscope Records albums Category:Albums certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan

ca:The Dutchess cs:The Dutchess da:The Dutchess de:The Dutchess es:The Dutchess fr:The Dutchess id:The Dutchess it:The Dutchess he:The Dutchess lt:The Dutchess hu:The Dutchess ja:プリンセス・ファーギー no:Fergie - The Dutchess pl:The Dutchess pt:The Dutchess ru:The Dutchess fi:The Dutchess sv:The Dutchess th:เดอะดัตเชส tr:The Dutchess

fullname	Mesut Özil
dateofbirth	October 15, 1988
cityofbirth	Gelsenkirchen
countryofbirth	West Germany
height
position	Attacking midfielder
currentclub	Real Madrid
clubnumber	10
youthyears1	1995–1998
youthclubs1	Westfalia 04 Gelsenkirchen
youthyears2	1998–1999
youthclubs2	Teutonia Schalke-Nord
youthyears3	1999–2000
youthclubs3	Falke Gelsenkirchen
youthyears4	2000–2005
youthclubs4	Rot-Weiss Essen
youthyears5	2005–2006
youthclubs5	Schalke 04
years1	2006–2008
clubs1	Schalke 04
caps1	30
goals1	0
years2	2008–2010
clubs2	Werder Bremen
caps2	71
goals2	13
years3	2010–
clubs3	Real Madrid
caps3	37
goals3	6
nationalyears1	2006–2007
nationalteam1	Germany U19
nationalcaps1	11
nationalgoals1	4
nationalyears2	2007–2009
nationalteam2	Germany U21
nationalcaps2	16
nationalgoals2	5
nationalyears3	2009–
nationalteam3	Germany
nationalcaps3	26
nationalgoals3	4
club-update	18:23, 28 August 2011 (UTC)
nationalteam-update	7 June 2011 }}

Mesut Özil (, ; born 15 October 1988) is a footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and for the German national team. Özil has been a youth national team member since 2006, and a member of the German national team since 2009. He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated for the Golden Ball Award which is awarded to the tournament's best player. Following his breakout performance at the World Cup, he was transferred to Real Madrid in August 2010.

His nicknames include "der Rabe"-The Raven (or the Spanish, "El Cuervo")- playing on his smart and opportunistic style of play, “''der neue Diego''” – the new Diego – in reference to Brazilian Diego Ribas da Cunha whose playmaker-role he inherited at Werder Bremen, "''German Messi''" and "''German Zidane''".

Club career

Gelsenkirchen and Rot-Weiss Essen

Özil began his youth career playing for various clubs in Gelsenkirchen and then played five years for Rot-Weiss Essen.

Schalke 04

In 2005, he moved to the youth department of FC Schalke 04. He was a midfielder and wore 17 as his squad number, after starting as play-maker and central attacking midfielder in the place of the suspended Lincoln in Ligapokal matches against Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich for Schalke. On making the first team there, he was described as 'the next big thing', but he eventually fell out with club management and moved on to Werder Bremen in January 2008.

Werder Bremen

On 31 January 2008, he moved to Werder Bremen for a reported fee of , signing a contract with the German club until 30 June 2011. Fresh off his fallout at Schalke 04 he stepped into the shoes of Brazilian playmaker Diego to fire the northern club to the 2009 DFB-Pokal with the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin. He also excelled in Europe where he led Werder Bremen to the final of the last ever UEFA Cup, losing out to Shakhtar Donetsk. Although Bremen failed to get going in their 2008–09 Bundesliga season, eventually finishing in a disappointing 10th, Özil managed to make a significant impact in most games and came away with a respectable three goals and 15 assists that highlighted his attacking credentials. The transfer fee is believed to be in the region of €15 million. He made his debut on 22 August in a friendly match against Hércules, which Real Madrid won 3–1.

He then made his La Liga debut for Real Madrid as a substitute for Ángel di María in the 62nd minute against Mallorca, which Real Madrid drew 0–0. Özil made his season debut in Champions League on 15 September. He got his first assist with Real Madrid in the 74th minute against Ajax after he crossed in the ball, resulting in a Higuaín goal. Özil's performances for Real Madrid have been praised by media, fans and players.

He walked off the pitch as a second half substitute to standing ovations in his first two games as a starter at the Santiago Bernabéu. His first goal came in a league match against Deportivo La Coruña on 3 October 2010, in a 6–1 victory. Özil's first Champions League goal with Real came in the 14th minute against Milan on 19 October 2010. On 22 December he made his debut in Copa del Rey, scoring once in a 8–0 victory over Levante.

On 6 March 2011, after providing two assists in a 3–1 victory over Racing Santander, Özil was greatly praised by worldwide media thanks to his performance on the pitch, thus consolidating his outstanding season so far. He finished his 2010/2011 season with Madrid with 25 assists, which was the highest for any player in any major European competition that season.

Özil will wear the number 10 shirt for Real Madrid in 2011–12, signalling Jose Mourinho's intent to use the German international as his main playmaker. On 17 August 2011, Özil was sent off in the last minute of the second leg of the 2011 Supercopa de España after an altercation with David Villa.

International career

In September 2006, Özil was called up for the Germany U-17 team. Özil has been a member of the German U-21 team since 2007. On 29 June 2009, Özil was selected the man of the match in a 4–0 win over England during the U-21 European Championship final.

He made his debut for the Germany national football team during a friendly match against Norway on 11 February 2009. He scored his first goal for the senior team in his third appearance, another friendly, against South Africa on 5 September in Leverkusen.

2010 World Cup

He was selected for the Germany national squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, starting in all of the teams games. He scored a left-footed half-volley from the edge of the 18 yard box against Ghana in the final group game, ensuring Germany progressed to the second round as group winners. On 27 June 2010, he played in Germany's win over England in the last 16 match, setting up the fourth goal with a cross to Thomas Müller as Germany triumphed 4–1. During the quarter-final match against Argentina he assisted the second goal for Miroslav Klose with a low cross to make it 4–0 to the Germans. Germany went on to win the match 4–0. FIFA announced him as one of the ten nominations for the Golden Ball.

Style of play

Germany Under-21 manager Horst Hrubesch once said, "We in Germany are prone to rave about foreign players. We praise Wayne Rooney to the heavens, likewise (Cristiano) Ronaldo or Messi. But we have our own Messi. Our Messi is Ozil." Özil brings finesse and improvisation to the midfield and his magical left-foot can open any doors. Özil possesses a great footwork and is known for his amazing passes in difficult situations assisting his teammates to score goals. He has superb ball control, like Messi, and has great vision which at its best can devastate any defense. He also boasts a powerful shot from distance, as evident during his match against Ghana during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life

Özil is a third-generation Turkish-German, who, in reference to his game, concludes, "My technique and feeling for the ball is the Turkish side to my game. The discipline, attitude and always-give-your-all is the German part." His ancestors are from Devrek, Zonguldak in Northern Turkey.

He attended Gesamtschule Berger Feld.

He is a practicing Muslim. He recites the Quran before his matches. Talking to the Berlin-based daily Der Tagesspiegel, Özil said, "I always do that before I go out (on the pitch). I pray and my team-mates know that they cannot talk to me during this brief period."

In 2010, Özil received the Bambi award for being a prime example of successful integration into German society.

International goals

BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany 23 June 2010 8 October 2010 7 June 2011

# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1	5 September 2009	|		2–0	2–0	Friendly match>Friendly
2	|	Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa		1–0	1–0	2010 FIFA World Cup
3	|	Olympic Stadium (Berlin)>Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany		2–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
4	|	Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan		1–0	3–1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Career statistics

''Last update: 28 August 2011.''

0 0 1 3 9 1 17 1

Club	Season	League	Cup1	Continental	Total
	!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists
rowspan="2" valign="center"	Schalke 04		19	|	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	21	0	1
2007–08 Fußball-Bundesliga	2007–08	11	|	4	1	1	0	4	0	0	16	1	4
colspan="2">Total
rowspan="4" valign="center"	Werder Bremen		12	1	|	0	0	0	2	0	0	14	1	1
2008–09 Fußball-Bundesliga	2008–09	28	|	12	5	2	1	14	0	7	47	5	20
2009–10 Fußball-Bundesliga	2009–10	31	|	12	5	0	2	8	0	7	44	9	21
2010–11 Fußball-Bundesliga	2010–11		|	0	1	—			1	0	1
colspan="2">Total	!71!!13!!25!!11!!2!!4!!24!!0!!14!!106!!15!!43
rowspan="2" valign="center"	Real Madrid		36	6	|	6	3	2	11	1	6	53	10	25
2011–12 La Liga	2011–12	1	|	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	3	1	1
Total		!37!!6!!18!!8!!4!!2!!11!!1!!6!!56!!11!!26
Career totals		!138!!19!!48!!21!!7!!6!!40!!1!!20!!199!!27!!74

:¹Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España.

Honours

Club

;Werder Bremen

DFB-Pokal: 2009

UEFA Cup: 2008–09 Runner up

;Real Madrid

Copa del Rey: 2010–11

Country

;Germany

FIFA World Cup: Third place – Bronze medal (2010)

UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2009

Individual

FIFA Ballon d'Or 2010 Nominee

FIFPro 2010 Nominee

2010 FIFA World Cup Adidas Golden Ball Nominee

2010 FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Nominee

2010 FIFA World Cup Most assists

References

External links

Mesut Özil at Realmadrid.com Mesut Özil at kicker.de Mesut Özil at transfermarkt.de

The Polite Boy with the Faux-Hawk

ESPN Profile

Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:People from Gelsenkirchen Category:German footballers Category:German Muslims Category:German people of Turkish descent Category:Germany international footballers Category:Rot-Weiss Essen players Category:FC Schalke 04 players Category:SV Werder Bremen players Category:Real Madrid C.F. players Category:Fußball-Bundesliga players Category:Germany under-21 international footballers Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:La Liga footballers Category:Expatriate footballers in Spain Category:German expatriate footballers Category:German expatriates in Spain

ar:مسعود أوزيل az:Məsut Özil bg:Месут Йозил ca:Mesut Özil cs:Mesut Özil da:Mesut Özil de:Mesut Özil et:Mesut Özil el:Μέζουτ Οζίλ es:Mesut Özil eo:Mesut Özil fa:مسعوت اوزیل fr:Mesut Özil gl:Mesut Özil ko:메수트 외질 hy:Մեսութ Օզիլ hr:Mesut Özil id:Mesut Özil it:Mesut Özil he:מסוט אוזיל jv:Mesut Özil lv:Mesuts Ezils lt:Mesut Özil hu:Mesut Özil mk:Мезит Озил mr:मेसुत ओझिल ms:Mesut Özil nl:Mesut Özil ja:メスト・エジル no:Mesut Özil nn:Mesut Özil nds:Mesut Özil pl:Mesut Özil pt:Mesut Özil ro:Mesut Özil ru:Озиль, Месут sq:Mesut Özil simple:Mesut Özil sk:Mesut Özil sr:Месут Езил fi:Mesut Özil sv:Mesut Özil ta:மெசுட் ஓசிழ் th:เมซุท เอิทซิล tr:Mesut Özil uk:Месут Езіл vi:Mesut Özil zh:梅苏特·厄齐尔