Dutch Minister of State

The Dutch Minister of State is a honorary title for Dutch retired politicians, with only the monarch able to award this title and the Dutch active ministers able to nominate them. There is no criteria or legal basis and the job's main task includes "advising the government on political questions" upon request as the members are not actively participating in the coalition nor legal senior advisors. Emiel van Lennep's membership despite him never being minister but most members all being high ranking members that turned out to be members or worked for the Dutch Deep State implies it to be a network for powerful deep politicians.deep state milieu

Dutch Minister of State link (deep state milieu)
Start	1806
The Minister of State is a honorary title for Dutch retired politicians, with only the monarch able to award this title. An actual advisor to the monarch was named Minister of State in the constitution but this was removed in the 1850s. There is no criteria or legal basis nowadays. The members are all high ranking members that turned out to be members or worked for the Dutch Deep State.

Selection

Newspaper AD revealed the Prime-Minister and leading monarch decide. Former PM Jan Peter Balkenende is allegedly de facto blacklisted until his death for the role, according to newspaper AD. Called a "mysterious role without any legal basis in which Mark Rutte has lied about what is needed to become one", the newspaper cited sources confirming JP to not have any chance and ... conveniently noted in another paragraph in their article that it may have to do something with his role in not "protecting" the royal family during the affair of Mabel van Oranje and drug kingpin turned third rail topic Klaas Bruinsma along with his failure to keep control of Pim Fortuyn's political party with whom he was in coalition with even after Fortuyn got assassinated when leading the election polls. Perhaps Dries van Agt and his opinion on the Cold War and Israel are also a reason Van Agt will also never be given the title.

Protection

Members have a diplomatic passport. Something former presidents, former ambassadors and ministers aren't allowed to have. Although the government likes to downplay the role, 6 people have been stripped of the title before the cold war & one has been murdered in a case that has become the target of multiple "conspiracy theories" and even an official opposition narrative regarding motives ranging from protecting the sexual blackmail of Joris Demmink to even more explosive allegations. Interestingly enough, the assistant of Demmink - Winnie Sorgdrager - was on the nomination for the title in 2018 possibly hinting the dots are there but the true lines connecting them will perhaps not be that much different.

Although the members are all highly regarded, the government does not have an English page for Ministers of State on their website to honour them, perhaps without harmful intent, it does give the idea someone should not ask questions when all these members are being listed with a description not being the victim of compartmentalization as seen below.

Seizing Cases

In Nieuwsuur, Sigrid Kaag revealed the Dutch Ministers of State were handed the structural reports of sexual intimidation and sexual abuse regarding employees of Dutch representatives in her D66 party. An unusual decision as the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security was already investigating the party for "forced sexual relations", but decided to not persecute.