Provinces of the Netherlands and Municipalities in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a Governor, who is called Commissaris der Koningin (Commissioner of the Queen),

except for the province Limburg where the commissioner is called Gouverneur (Governor) which underlines the more "non-Dutch" mentality.
All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), 458 in total (1 January 2006). The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. As of 1 January 2005 there are 27. The creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. In fact, the Dutch water boards are one of the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence.