70 years Celebration of Parliament in the Netherlands Antilles

Fort Oranje
Fort Oranje
The Netherlands Antilles has celebrated 70 years of Parliament on their respective islands. This has certainly been a tremendous mile stone for the parliament of the Netherlands Antilles. Festivities were held on the different islands separately, commemorating the 70 years event. St.Eustatius celebrated the occasion on Thursday April 10th 2008 with an Ecumenical Church Service which was held at 5:00PM at the Bethel Methodist Church. Immediately following the church service there was a public reception and programme, combined with a cultural manifestation and dinner at Fort Oranje. The programme included a variety of cultural presentations by various organizations and local artists exhibiting their raw talents, making the evening a super enjoyable one. Highlight of the evening was a nice representation of the different islands namely; St.Kitts, Suriname, Guyana, Santo Domingo, and Statia, with a delicious touch of their local dishes. These are the following federal officials of St.Eustatius who served in various capacities in the parliament of the Netherlands Antilles. Mr Ralph Berkel, the first to hold the status of an observer in parliament (spokesman), a form of representation for the island of St.Eustatius from 1981-1983, followed by Mr Kenneth Lopes, also an observer in parliament 1983-1986. Mr Kenneth van Putten, became the first member of parliament and Senator, representing the island of St.Eustatius, 1986-1998, Mr Ellis Woodley, Minister of Education 1987-1990, Mr Cyril Lopes, State Secretary General Affairs, 1992-1994, Mrs Leonora Sneek-Gibbs, State Secretary for Constitutional Affairs,1994-1996, Mr Ralph Berkel, State Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, 1997-1998, Mr Clyde van Putten, Senator, 1998-2002, Miss Maria Bass, State Secretary of General Affairs, 1999-2002, Mr Julian Woodley, Senator, 2002-2007, Mr Ernie Simmons, State Secretary of Justice, 2006 until present. This has been the positions held by the abovementioned individuals in the parliament of the Netherlands Antilles.