Saint Helena Government 2007

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena

Dependency status:
overseas territory of the UK

Government type:
NA

Capital:
name: Jamestown
geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 44 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha*

Independence:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday:
Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926)

Constitution:
1 January 1989

Legal system:
English common law and statutes, supplemented by local statutes

Suffrage:
NA years of age

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Andrew GURR (since 11 November 2007)
cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, three ex-officio officers, and five elected members of the Legislative Council
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, three ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 August 2005 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 12

Judicial branch:
Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders:
none

Political pressure groups and leaders:
none

International organization participation:
UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (overseas territory of the UK)