Country name:conventional long form: none conventional short form: Saint Lucia
Government type:parliamentary democracy
Capital:name: Castries
Geographic coordinates: 14 01 N, 61 00 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort
Independence:22 February 1979 (from UK)
National holiday:Independence Day, 22 February (1979)
Constitution:22 February 1979
Legal system:based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:chiefof state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented byGovernor General Dame Pearlette LOUISY (since September 1997) headof government: Prime Minister Stephenson KING (since 9 September 2007);note - Sir John COMPTON died in office Friday, 7 September 2007 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections:the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by themonarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majorityparty or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed primeminister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed bythe governor general
Legislative branch:bicameralParliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; six members appointed onthe advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader ofthe opposition, and two after consultation with religious, economic,and social groups) and the House of Assembly (17 seats; members areelected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Assembly - last held 11 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - UWP 50%, SLP 46.9%, other 3.1%; seats by party - UWP 11, SLP 6
Judicial branch:EasternCaribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends to Anguilla, Antigua andBarbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat,Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and theGrenadines)Political parties and leaders:NationalAlliance or NA [George ODLUM]; Saint Lucia Freedom Party or SFP[Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY];Sou Tout Apwe Fete Fini or STAFF [Christopher HUNTE]; United WorkersParty or UWP [Stephenson KING]
International organization participation:ACCT,ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM,IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, ITUC,MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:chief of mission: vacant; note - Clenie GREER-LACASCADE (Charge d'Affaires) chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6723 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia
Flag description:blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border
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