Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands)

Ministry of Economic Affairs
Dutch: Ministerie van Economische Zaken
Former logo

Building of the Ministry of Economic Affairs
Department overview
Formed17 August 1905; 119 years ago (1905-08-17)
JurisdictionKingdom of the Netherlands
HeadquartersBezuidenhoutseweg 73, The Hague, Netherlands
Annual budget€5,2 billion (2018)[1]
Minister responsible
Department executive
  • Sandor Gaastra, Secretary-General
WebsiteMinistry of Economic Affairs

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (Dutch: Ministerie van Economische Zaken; EZ) is the Netherlands' ministry responsible for international trade, commercial, industrial, investment, technology, space policy, as well as tourism.

The Ministry was created in 1905 as the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce and has had several name changes before it became the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 1946. In 2010 the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality was merged with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which was renamed as the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. In 2012 the name was reverted as the Ministry of Economic Affairs but kept the responsibilities of the former Ministry of Agriculture. In 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality was reinstated but the Ministry of Economic Affairs took on several of the environmental policies portfolios from the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, which was renamed Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The Ministry of Economic Affairs was renamed Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. The old name was restored in 2024, when the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth was spun off.

The Minister of Economic Affairs (Dutch: Minister van Economische Zaken) is the head of the Ministry and a member of the Cabinet of the Netherlands. The current Minister is Dirk Beljaarts who has been in office since July 2024.

Part of the Politics series
Politics of the Netherlands
Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or. [The seven arrows stand for the seven provinces of the Union of Utrecht.] The shield is crowned with the (Dutch) royal crown and supported by two lions Or armed and langued gules. They stand on a scroll Azure with the text (Or) "Je Maintiendrai" (French for "I will maintain".)
Constitution
Monarchy
Cabinet
States General
Judiciary
Elections
Local government
Foreign relations
Related topics
icon Politics portal
  1. ^ (in Dutch) Begroting 2018, Rijksoverheid