History of Aruba political status

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

1. 1.

   Claim: Gilberto François "Betico" Croes founded and led the Movimiento Electoral di Pueblo (MEP), campaigning for Aruba's secession from the Netherlands Antilles; a general strike on 11 August 1977 that shut down the island, during which riot police made multiple charges, was a significant episode in this campaign.

   • Betico Croes (Wikipedia) link, 1977 general strike section. Source record
2. 2.

   Claim: Aruba achieved "status aparte" on 1 January 1986, seceding from the Netherlands Antilles and becoming a separate constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands with internal autonomy, on the original condition that Aruba would become fully independent in 1996.

   • Status aparte (Wikipedia) link, 1986 status aparte section. Source record
3. 3.

   Claim: In 1990, Aruba, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles jointly decided to postpone the originally planned 1996 independence indefinitely, and in 1995 the agreement for full independence was formally repealed; Aruba has remained a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since.

   • Status aparte (Wikipedia) link, 1990-1995 postponement and repeal section. Source record
4. 4.

   Claim: With the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in October 2010, the term "status aparte" fell out of use for Aruba, since its constituent-country status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands became the standard arrangement for all remaining constituent countries rather than a status separate from the dissolved Netherlands Antilles.

   • Status aparte (Wikipedia) link, 2010 dissolution section. Source record