Politics and governance

King’s Commissioner

The King’s Commissioner is chair of both the Provincial Council and the Provincial Executive. In contrast to other provincial administrators, the King’s Commissioner is not elected by the inhabitants, but appointed by the Crown (His Majesty the King and his Government).

The King’s Commissioner endorses all decrees issued by the province. She pays regular working visits in order to remain abreast of current affairs in the province.

Furthermore, he coordinates emergency services in the event of disasters, while she proposes candidates to the Minister of the Interior for the post of Mayor.

But above all, the King’s Commissioner acts as an ambassador for the province, which she represents at official functions, and whose interests she pursues in both The Hague and Brussels.

Provincial Council

The Provincial Council comprises the complete range of representatives of the people within the province. As it is a large province (over 2,500,000 inhabitants) Noord-Brabant accounts for 55 members of the Provincial Council.

These members are directly elected by those inhabitants who are entitled to vote every four years. The Provincial Council members have three primary duties. Firstly, they define the frameworks within which the Provincial Executive governs the province. In addition, they perform a role as representatives of the people in monitoring the Provincial Executive’s execution of its duties. The role of the Provincial Council is therefore comparable to that of the Lower House in The Hague.

Provincial Executive

The day-to-day administration of the province is in the hands of the Provincial Executive. They take decisions about the execution of the policies agreed upon and they prepare new policies for the Provincial Council.

The board consists of executives or vice governors who each have their individual portfolios. They are elected by the Provincial Council, but are not Council members themselves. All decisions are taken jointly. The entire executive is responsible for decisions on all policy areas. This is called 'joint administration'.