Short facts about the government of Monaco

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:

Monaco

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:

21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state:  Prince RAINIER III (since 9 May 1949); Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT Alexandre Louis Pierre, son of the monarch (born 14 March 1958) head of government:  Minister of State Patrick LECLERQUE (since 5 January 2000) cabinet:  Council of Government is under the authority of the monarch elections:  none; the monarch 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 (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections:  last held 1 and 8 February 1998 (next to be held NA January 2003) election results:  percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UND 18

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 [leader NA]; National Union for the Future of Monaco or UNAM [leader NA]; Rally for the Monegasque Family [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

International organization participation:

ACCT, ECE, IAEA, ICAO, ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

Monaco does not have an embassy in the US consulate(s) general:  New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:

the US does not have an embassy in Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille (France) is accredited to Monaco

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

Source: World Factbook