The centre-right VVD party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte is the biggest winner in the elections, securing 35 out of 150 seats. The second biggest party is the centre-left D66 with 24 seats. Geert Wilders' far-right party loses its support. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in power since 2010, forms his fourth coalition government.
Parliament votes overwhelmingly in favour of recognising the massacres of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman troops in 1915 as genocide.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte forms a coalition after a record 225 days of talks following elections in March.
A Dutch appeals court partly upholds a 2014 ruling that the Netherlands was liable over the killings of more than 300 Bosnian Muslim men and boys who were sheltering with Dutch UN peacekeepers at Srebrenica in Bosnia in 1995.
Diplomatic tension between Turkey and the Netherlands, which blocks Turkish ministers from rallying support among Turkish expatriates for constitutional changes ahead of a referendum.
Far-right politician Geert Wilders is convicted of insulting a group and inciting discrimination for remarks in 2014 promising he would ensure there were fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands, but is not punished.
International prosecutors say flight MH17 was downed over eastern Ukraine in 2014 by a Buk missile that had come from Russia.
A report by the Dutch Safety Board concludes that flight MH17 crashed in rebel-held Ukraine because it was hit by a Russian-made Buk missile, but does not say who fired the missile.
Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur is shot down over Ukraine, close to the border with Russia. The Netherlands declares national mourning for its 193 citizens who are among the 298 people killed.
Netherlands contributes 380 peacekeeping troops to Mali as part of a UN-led mission that takes over from French forces who drove out Islamist and Tuareg insurgents earlier in the year.
Willem-Alexander becomes king.
Liberals and Labour form a coalition headed by Mark Rutte. The new government warns that tough austerity measures will be needed.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte's ruling Liberals win election with 41 seats in parliament, two more than centre-left Labour. The Eurosceptic and anti-immigrant Freedom Party sustains heavy losses.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte resigns after the right-wing Freedom Party refuses to support an austerity budget.
A court upholds a draft law banning foreign tourists from entering cafes that sell cannabis in the three southernmost provinces.
A court rules the Dutch state responsible for the deaths of three Bosnian Muslims in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
Populist politician Geert Wilders is acquitted of charges that comments comparing Islam to Nazism constitute hate speech.
After months of coalition talks, Liberal Party and Christian Democratic Appeal agree to form minority government with parliamentary support from Geert Wilders' right-wing Freedom Party.
The Netherlands Antilles is dissolved and Aruba, Curacao, St Maarten become nations within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba, became autonomous special municipalities of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands withdraws its 1,900 soldiers from Afghanistan, ending a four-year mission that had grown increasingly unpopular at home.
The centre-right Liberal Party emerges as largest party in parliamentary election.
The coalition government collapses following dispute over troops in Afghanistan.
The right-wing Freedom Party, led by Geert Wilders, comes second in European elections in the Netherlands, winning 15% of the vote
Seven people are killed at a parade in a failed attack on the royal family.
Court orders right-wing politician Geert Wilders should stand trial for inciting hatred against Muslims for a film linking radical Islamists' actions to the Koran.
Jan Peter Balkenende is sworn in as head of a three-party centrist coalition, three months after general elections.
Prime Minister Balkenende forms a temporary, minority government after his coalition collapses in a row over immigration, precipitating early elections in November.
Cabinet backs plans to ban the burqa - the full body and face covering - in public places.
Parliament agrees to send an additional 1,400 Dutch troops to join Nato-led forces in southern Afghanistan. The decision comes after weeks of wrangling and international pressure.
Dutch voters reject a proposed EU constitution, days after a French referendum goes against the treaty.
Film-maker Theo Van Gogh is murdered. He was reported to have received death threats after his controversial film about the position of women in Islamic society. A radical Islamist is jailed for life for the murder in July 2005.
Queen mother Juliana dies, aged 94. Juliana reigned for 32 years from 1948.
Centre-right coalition sworn in with Balkenende as premier for second term. New coalition involves Balkenende's Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and Democrats-66.
Animal rights activist Volkert van der Graaf sentenced to 18 years for Fortuyn killing. He said he saw Fortuyn as a threat to democracy. His subsequent appeal is rejected.
Narrow win in general election for Christian Democratic Appeal. Coalition talks begin.
Balkenende's government collapses, brought down by infighting in List Pim Fortuyn Party.
Balkenende becomes prime minister in centre-right coalition with List Pim Fortuyn Party and liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
Widespread shock as anti-immigration party leader Pim Fortuyn is killed by gunman. His party, formed three months earlier, comes second in elections. Moderately conservative Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) led by Jan Peter Balkenende tops poll.
Wim Kok's government resigns following official report criticising its role in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 when just over 100 lightly armed Dutch peacekeepers failed to stop Bosnian Serb forces from murdering thousands of Muslims.
Netherlands adopts the euro.
In the first official ceremony of its kind, four homosexual couples are married in Amsterdam under new legislation. The new laws also allow homosexual couples to adopt children.
Parliament legalises euthanasia, setting strict conditions for doctors.
Wim Kok re-elected as prime minister.
Serious flooding leads to a state of emergency, with a quarter-of-a-million people evacuated from their homes.
Labour party leader Wim Kok becomes prime minister at the head of a three-party coalition.
Netherlands regulates euthanasia by doctors. Official estimates suggest that 2% of all deaths in the Netherlands each year are assisted.
Queen Juliana abdicates; Crown Princess Beatrix becomes queen.
Dutch colony of Surinam achieves independence. Hundreds of thousands of Surinamese emigrate to the Netherlands.
Colony of Netherlands New Guinea is ceded to Indonesia.
The Netherlands is a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community, which is to become the European Economic Community five years later.
The Netherlands abandons its policy of neutrality and becomes a founder member of Nato.
Benelux customs union between Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands comes into effect.
The Dutch East Indies, which had been occupied by Japan during World War Two, becomes independent as Indonesia after a four-year independence struggle against Dutch colonial authorities.
The Netherlands becomes a charter member of the United Nations.
Dutch civilians suffering near-starvation in the "Hunger Winter" as fighting between Allied and German forces disrupt food supplies.
Nazi Germany invades, overwhelming the Dutch armed forces.
A 31-km dam is completed across the Zuider Zee forming a freshwater lake known as the Ijsselmeer. Part of the lake has since been drained and the reclaimed land used to grow crops.
he Netherlands maintains its neutrality during World War One. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany goes into exile in the Netherlands at the end of the war.