Curaçao's first Prime Minister was Gerrit Schotte. His government stepped down upon losing a majority in the Estates of Curaçao, the unicameral legislature and continued to operate in a demissionary capacity, responsible for current affairs and called elections. The majority of the estates however demanded that he should be removed from his office before the elections. The motions to that effect were passed outside normal parliamentary procedure, as the president of the Estates did convene the estates before the elections.[1]