Country name:conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI
Dependency status:overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing
Capital:name: Road Town
Geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:none (overseas territory of the UK)
Independence:none (overseas territory of the UK)
National holiday:Territory Day, 1 July (1956)
Constitution:13 June 2007
Legal system:English law
Suffrage:18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006) head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections:the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; followinglegislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leaderof the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor
Legislative branch:unicameralHouse of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio memberin the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members;members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) electionresults: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1
Judicial branch:EasternCaribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice andthe Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident ofthe islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court;Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction
Political parties and leaders:ConcernedCitizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party orNDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; VirginIslands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]
International organization participation:Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU
Diplomatic representation in the US:none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation from the US:none (overseas territory of the UK)
Flag description:blue,with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the VirginIslander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coatof arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column ofsix oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (BeWatchful)
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
