The Senate and House of Representatives will convene on Thursday, November 20, 2025, in a Special United Assembly in the Grote Kerk in The Hague. This meeting commemorates the fact that it has been 80 years since the parliament first met jointly after World War II. The Special United Assembly begins at 10:30 a.m. and lasts about an hour. King Willem-Alexander and the Princess of Orange are guests at the assembly. Speeches will be given by the chairpersons of both chambers, outgoing Prime Minister Schoof, and retired General Van Uhm. The assembly is divided into three periods: past, present, and future. The meeting will be broadcast live by NOS from 10:20 a.m.
10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Period 1940-1945 - situation immediately after liberation
- -Opening of the Special United Assembly by the Chairperson of the United Assembly of the States General
- -Joint speech by the Chairpersons of the Senate and House of Representatives
Developments and efforts from the post-war period to now
- -Speech by outgoing Prime Minister Schoof
- -Speech by retired General Van Uhm
Looking to the future - ongoing efforts to preserve freedom
- -Young people from across the Kingdom on fundamental rights and freedom
- -Poet Myron Hamming
Closing of the Special United Assembly by the Chairperson of the United Assembly of the States General
November 20, 1945, marks an important moment in our parliamentary history: on this day, the Senate and House of Representatives met together again for the first time since they were suspended during World War II. After liberation, the Dutch Kingdom faced not only physical reconstruction but also the restoration of parliamentary democracy. The first United Assembly of the States General in 1945 was a first step towards this. In a provisionally restored Ridderzaal in The Hague, Queen Wilhelmina delivered the speech from the throne. The message was that the Netherlands had to rebuild itself from the ruins of the war. The United Assembly itself was a symbolic turning point whose value cannot be underestimated: after a period of oppression and great human suffering, parliamentary democracy could start again.
The Special United Assembly is only organized on exceptional occasions. The last was in October 2015 on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the States General. The Senate and House of Representatives seize the symbolic date of November 20, 2025, to reflect on the end of the war and the meaning of freedom in a time of conflict and polarization. Passing on the values of freedom and the rule of law to future generations is an important theme of this assembly.
