Christmas Island Government 2008

Country name:
conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island
conventional short form: Christmas Island

Dependency status:
non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services

Government type:
NA

Capital:
name: The Settlement
geographic coordinates: 10 25 S, 105 43 E
time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
none (territory of Australia)

Independence:
none (territory of Australia)

National holiday:
Australia Day, 26 January (1788)

Constitution:
Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992

Legal system:
under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian law

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia

Legislative branch:
unicameral Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held 20 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court

Political parties and leaders:
none

Political pressure groups and leaders:
none

International organization participation:
none

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (territory of Australia)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territory of Australia)