Jan Peter Balkenende
Prime Minister

(pronounced "YAWN PAY-ter BAHL-kay-nehnd")

"The Dutch government has made security one of its priorities. When our security is at stake, we cannot compromise or turn a blind eye. When one person threatens another, it strikes at the very foundations of our free, democratic society."

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is the largest of the three Benelux countries, the other two being Belgium and Luxembourg. The country shares its borders with Belgium to the south and Germany to the east; the northern and western shores face the North Sea. Though the Netherlands is often called Holland, this is in fact the official name of two of its 12 provinces, Nord Holland and Zuid Holland. Also considered part of the Netherlands is the Netherlands Antilles, an island group in the Caribbean. The Netherlands's 33,883 sq km of...