Aruba's first inhabitants are Arawaks. In 1499 the Spanish explorer Alonso de Hojeda discovers the island of Aruba. In 1634 the Netherlands conquer Aruba, followed by other islands in the region, that together become part of the Dutch West Indies. During the napoleonic wars Aruba is occupied by Britain (1805-1816). In 1848 the islands form the seperate colony of Curaçao. Limited self-government is introduced in 1936 and the colony is renamed Netherlands Antilles in 1948.

In 1954 the Netherlands Antilles become a seperate country inside the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At the island of Aruba the main parties are the social democratic Movimento Electoral di Pueblo (People's Electoral Movemen, MEP) and the conservative Arubaanse Volkspartij (Aruban People's Party).

In 1986 Aruba is seceded from the Netherlands Antilles to form a separate Dutch dependency (country inside the Kingdom of the Netherlands). Aruba is a parliamentary democracy. The first government is led by Henny Eman of the AVP. The AVP loses the elections of 1989 and Nelson Oduber of the MEP can form a government. After the elections of 1994 Eman can form a coalition with the Organisacion Liberal Arubano (Aruban Liberal Organization, OLA). This coalition is continued after the elections of 1997. Both parties lose the elections of 2001, which enables Nelson Oduber to become prime minister again.