After the May 15, 2002 elections the division of the 150 seats in the lower house (Tweede Kamer) was:
| Christen Democratisch Appèl (CDA) | 43 |
| Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF) | 26 |
| Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) | 24 |
| Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) | 23 |
| GroenLinks (GL) | 10 |
| Socialistische Partij (SP) | 9 |
| Democraten 66 (D66) | 7 |
| ChristenUnie (CU) | 4 |
| Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP) | 2 |
| Leefbaar Nederland (LN) | 2 |
On May 17 Queen Beatrix appointed Piet Hein Donner, a CDA member of the Raad van Staat as "informer", to investigate the possibilities for a new government. A coalition between CDA, LPF and VVD was established relatively quickly, despite some initial resistance by the VVD. By July 4 a detailed coalition agreement had been drawn up and the Queen appointed Jan Peter Balkenende, the lijsttrekker (head of the list of candidates) for the CDA, to form a new cabinet.
The cabinet was named on July 16 and was sworn in on July 22. The first departure from the new executive came a few hours later, when Philomena Bijlhout, the State Secretary for Social Affairs and Work Opportunity appointed by the LPF, resigned after evidence was presented that she had been a member of a militia of Desi Bouterse in Suriname in 1982 and 1983 for longer than she had previously declared.
The cabinet Balkenende-1 comprised 14 ministers and 14 state secretaries, with each post allocated to one of the coalition parties. Each of the ministers headed a department, with the exception of one "minister without a portfolio" to deal with "foreigners policy and integration", accommodated by the Ministry of Justice.
In the months following the election, the recently established LPF was beset by power struggles between various factions. This came to a head in October 2002 with a dispute between the cabinet ministers Eduard Bomhoff and Herman Heinsbroek. On October 15 Balkenende asked both to resign from the cabinet, with the LPF faction in parliament making a similar request. On October 16 Bomhoff and Heinsbroek resigned. However party leaders Gerrit Zalm of the VVD and Maxime Verhagen of the CDA said they no longer had confidence in the cabinet. Balkenende announced the resignation of the cabinet on the same day.
Meetings with the Queen did not take place until the week after the resignation, since she had attended the funeral of her husband Claus von Amsberg on October 15 and had travelled to Italy immediately afterwards. On October 21 she accepted the resignation and new elections were called for January 22, 2003. The cabinet remained in place as a "caretaker" administration, without Bomhoff and Heinsbroek, until the elections and formation of a new cabinet.
On December 12, 2002, Benk Korthals resigned as caretaker Minister of Defence after a commission of inquiry into building industry fraud accused him of giving false information to the Lower House during the previous cabinet. After resigning he said he still denied the allegations.
Cabinet actions
| Prime Minister, General Affairs (CDA) | Jan Peter Balkenende |
| Vice Prime Minister, Health and Sport (LPF) | Eduard Bomhoff (resigned October 16, 2002, after which Aart Jan de Geus added this portfolio). |
| Vice Prime Minister, Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations (VVD) | Johan Remkes |
| Foreign Affairs (CDA) | Jaap de Hoop Scheffer |
| Justice (CDA) | Piet Hein Donner |
| Education, Culture and Sciences (CDA) | Maria van der Hoeven |
| Finances (VVD) | Hans Hoogervorst |
| Defence (VVD) | Benk Korthals (resigned December 12, 2002, after which Henk Kamp added this portfolio) |
| Housing, Spacial Planning and Environment (VVD) | Henk Kamp |
| Transport and Water (LPF) | Roelf de Boer |
| Economic Affairs, External Trade (*) (LPF) | Herman Heinsbroek (resigned October 16, 2002, after which Hans Hoogervorst added this portfolio). |
| Agriculture, Nature Management and Fishery (CDA) | Kees Veerman |
| Social Affairs and Work Opportunity (CDA) | Aart Jan de Geus |
| Foreigners Policy and Integration (LPF) | Hilbrand Nawijn |
State Secretaries
| External Affairs (Development Cooperation), Minister of Development Cooperation (*) (CDA) | A.M.A. van Ardenne-van der Hoeven |
| External Affairs (European Affairs) (VVD) | A. Nicolaï |
| Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations (LPF) | R.H. Hessing |
| Education, Culture and Sciences (VVD) | A.D.S. M. Nijs |
| Education, Culture and Sciences (Culture and Media) (LPF) | C.H.J. van Leeuwen |
| Finances (LPF) | S.R.A. van Eijck |
| Defence (CDA) | C. van der Knaap |
| Housing, Spacial Planning and Environment (CDA) | P.B.L.A van Geel |
| Transport and Water (VVD) | M.H. Schultz van Haegen-Maas Geesteranus |
| Economic Affairs (CDA), Minister of Foreign Trade (*) | J.G. Wijn |
| Agriculture, Nature Management and Fishery (LPF) | B.J. Odink |
| Social Affairs and Work Opportunity (VVD) | M. Rutte |
| Social Affairs and Work Opportunity (Emancipation and Family Affairs) (LPF) | Philomena Bijlhout (resigned July 22, 2002), Khee Liang Phoa (from September 9, 2002) |
| Health and Sport (CDA) | Clemence Ross-Van Dorp |
(*) Alternative title that can be used outside the Netherlands.
(sources: http://www.volkskrant.nl/1026900268305.html, http://www.minaz.nl/ministerraad/kabinet_1945/index.html and the report of Balkenende to the Queen from " class="external">http://www.minaz.nl/kabinetsformatie/). See also: