Country name: conventional long form: Principality of Monaco
conventional short form: Monaco
local long form: Principaute de Monaco
local short form: Monaco
Government type: constitutional monarchy
Capital:
name: Monaco
geographic coordinates: 43 44 N, 7 25 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday
in October
Administrative divisions: none; there are no first-order
administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four
quarters (quartiers, singular - quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine,
Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo
Independence: 1419 (beginning of the rule by the House of Grimaldi)
National holiday: National Day (Prince of Monaco Holiday), 19 November
Constitution: 17 December 1962
Legal system: based on French law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Prince ALBERT II (since 6 April 2005)
head of government: Minister of State Jean-Paul PROUST (since 1 June 2005)
cabinet: Council of Government is under the authority of the monarch
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; minister of state appointed by
the monarch from a list of three French national candidates presented by the
French Government
Legislative branch: unicameral National Council or Conseil National
(24 seats; 16 members elected by list majority system, 8 by proportional
representation; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 February 2003 (next to be held February 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UNAM
21, UND 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supreme (judges appointed
by the monarch on the basis of nominations by the National Council)
Political parties and leaders: National and Democratic Union or UND
[Guy MAGNAN]; Union for Monaco or UPM (including National Union for the Future
of Monaco or UNAM)
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACCT, CE, FAO, IAEA, ICAO,
ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, OIF, OPCW,
OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white;
similar to the flag of Indonesia which is longer and the flag of Poland which is
white (top) and red.
This information comes from the CIA
World Factbook.
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