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Peru Government Profile

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Country nameconventional long form: Republic of Peru

conventional short form: Peru

local long form: Republica del Peru

local short form: Peru

etymology: exact meaning is obscure, but the name may derive from a native word "biru" meaning "river"
Government typepresidential republic
Capitalname: Lima

geographic coordinates: 12 03 S, 77 03 W

time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology: the word "Lima" derives from the Spanish pronunciation of "Limaq," the native name for the valley in which the city was founded in 1535; "limaq" means "talker" in coastal Quechua and referred to an oracle that was situated in the valley but which was eventually destroyed by the Spanish and replaced with a church
Administrative divisions25 regions (regiones, singular - region) and 1 province* (provincia); Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Callao, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Ica, Junin, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Lima*, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes, Ucayali

note: Callao, the largest port in Peru, is also referred to as a constitutional province, the only province of the Callao region
Independence28 July 1821 (from Spain)
National holidayIndependence Day, 28-29 July (1821)
Constitutionhistory: several previous; latest promulgated 29 December 1993, enacted 31 December 1993

amendments: proposed by Congress, by the president of the republic with the approval of the "Cabinet, " or by petition of at least 0.3% of voters; passage requires absolute majority approval by the Congress membership, followed by approval in a referendum; a referendum is not required if Congress approves the amendment by greater than two-thirds majority vote in each of two successive sessions; amended many times, last in 2021
Legal systemcivil law system
International law organization participationaccepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenshipcitizenship by birth: yes

citizenship by descent only: yes

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 2 years
Suffrage18 years of age; universal and compulsory until the age of 70
Executive branchchief of state: President Jose Pedro CASTILLO Terrones (since 28 July 2021); First Vice President Dina Ercilia BOLUARTE Zegarra (since 28 July 2021); Second Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Jose Pedro CASTILLO Terrones (since 28 July 2021); First Vice President Dina Ercilia BOLUARTE Zegarra (since 28 July 2021); Second Vice President (vacant)

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for nonconsecutive terms); election last held on 11 April 2021 with a runoff on 6 June 2021 (next to be held in April 2026)

election results:
2021: Jose Pedro CASTILLO Terrones elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Jose Pedro CASTILLO Terrones (Free Peru) 18.9%, Keiko Sofia FUJIMORI Higuchi (Popular Force) 13.4%, Rafael LOPEZ ALIAGA Cazorla (Popular Renewal) 11.8%, Hernando DE SOTO Polar (Social Integration Party) 11.6%, Yonhy LESCANO Ancieta (Popular Action) 9.1%, Veronika MENDOZA Frisch (JP) 7.9%, Cesar ACUNA Peralta (APP) 6%, George FORSYTH Sommer (VN) 5.7%, Daniel Belizario URRESTI Elera (We Can Peru) 5.6%, other 10%; percent of vote second round - Jose Pedro CASTILLO Terrones (Free Peru) 50.1%, Keiko Sofia FUJIMORI Higuchi (Popular Force) 49.9%

2016: Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Keiko FUJIMORI Higuchi (Popular Force) 39.9%, Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard (PPK) 21.1%, Veronika MENDOZA (Broad Front) 18.7%, Alfredo BARNECHEA (Popular Action) 7%, Alan GARCIA (APRA) 5.8%, other 7.5%; percent of vote in second round - Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard 50.1%, Keiko FUJIMORI Higuchi 49.9%

note: President Martin Alberto VIZCARRA Cornejo assumed office after President Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard resigned from office on 21 March 2018; after VIZCARRA was impeached on 9 November 2020, the constitutional line of succession led to the inauguration of the President of the Peruvian Congress, Manuel Arturo MERINO, as President of Peru on 10 November 2020; following his resignation only days later on 15 November 2020, Francisco Rafael SAGASTI Hochhausler - who had been elected by the legislature to be the new President of Congress on 16 November 2020 - was then sworn in as President of Peru on 17 November 2020 by line of succession and remained president until the inauguration of Jose Pedro CASTILLO Terrones, winner of the 2021 presidential election

note:
Prime Minister Guido BELLIDO Ugarte (since 29 July 2021) does not exercise executive power; this power rests with the president
Legislative branchdescription: unicameral Congress of the Republic of Peru or Congreso de la Republica del Peru (130 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote to serve single 5-year terms)

elections: last held on 11 April 2021 (next to be held in April 2026)

election results: percent of vote by party/coalition - Free Peru 14.02%, Popular Force 11.17%, AP 9.22%, Popular Renewal 9.13%, APP 7.61%, Avanza Pais 7.40%, JP 6.63%, We Are Peru 6.02%, We Can Peru 5.73%, Purple Party 5.31%; seats by party/coalition - Free Peru 37, Popular Force 24, AP 16, APP 15, Popular Renewal 13, Avanza Pais 7, We Are Peru 5, We Can Peru 5, JP 4, Purple Party 4; composition - men 96, women 34, percent of women 26.2%
Judicial branchhighest courts: Supreme Court (consists of 16 judges and divided into civil, criminal, and constitutional-social sectors)

judge selection and term of office: justices proposed by the National Board of Justice (a 7-member independent body), nominated by the president, and confirmed by the Congress; justices can serve until mandatory retirement at age 70

subordinate courts: Court of Constitutional Guarantees; Superior Courts or Cortes Superiores; specialized civil, criminal, and mixed courts; 2 types of peace courts in which professional judges and selected members of the local communities preside
Political parties and leaders

Alliance for Progress (Alianza para el Progreso) or APP [Cesar ACUNA Peralta]
American Popular Revolutionary Alliance or APRA [Cesar TRELLES Lara]
Broad Front (Frente Amplio; also known as El Frente Amplio por Justicia, Vida y Libertad) (coalition includes Nuevo Peru [Veronika MENDOZA], Tierra y Libertad [Marco ARANA Zegarra], and Fuerza Social [Susana VILLARAN de la Puente]
Free Peru (Peru Libre) [Vladimir CERRON Rojas]
National Solidarity (Solidaridad Nacional) or SN [Luis CASTANEDA Lossio]
National Victory (Victoria Nacional) or VN [George FORSYTH Sommer]
Peru Posible or PP (coalition includes Accion Popular and Somos Peru) [Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique]
Peruvian Aprista Party (Partido Aprista Peruano) or PAP [Javier VELASQUEZ Quesquen] (also referred to by its original name Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana or APRA)
Peruvian Nationalist Party [Ollanta HUMALA]
Peruvians for Change (Peruanos Por el Kambio) or PPK [Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI]
Popular Action (Accion Popular) or AP [Mesias GUEVARA Amasifuen]
Popular Christian Party (Partido Popular Cristiano) or PPC [Lourdes FLORES Nano]
Popular Force (Fuerza Popular; formerly Fuerza 2011) [Keiko FUJIMORI Higuchi]
Popular Renewal (Renovacion Popular) [Rafael LOPEZ ALIAGA]
Purple Party (Partido Morado) [Julio Armando GUZMAN Caceres]
Social Integration Party (Avanza Pais - Partido de Integracion Social) [Pedro CENAS Casamayor]
Together For Peru (Juntos por el Peru) or JP [Robert SANCHEZ Palomino]
We Are Peru (Somos Peru) [Patricia LI]
We Can Peru (Podemos Peru) [Jose Leon LUNA Galvez]

International organization participationAPEC, BIS, CAN, CD, CELAC, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance, PCA, SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNOCI, UN Security Council (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the USchief of mission: Ambassador Hugo DE ZELA Martínez (since 8 July 2019)

chancery: 1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone: [1] (202) 833-9860 through 9869

FAX: [1] (202) 659-8124

email address and website:
Webadmin@embassyofperu.us

consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Hartford (CT), Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paterson (NJ), San Francisco, Washington DC
Diplomatic representation from the USchief of mission: Ambassador Lisa Suzanne KENNA (since 18 March 2021)

embassy: Avenida La Encalada, Cuadra 17 s/n, Surco, Lima 33

mailing address: 3230 Lima Place, Washington DC  20521-3230

telephone: [51] (1) 618-2000

FAX: [51] (1) 618-2724

email address and website:
LimaACS@state.gov

https://pe.usembassy.gov/
Flag descriptionthree equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), white, and red with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a shield bearing a vicuna (representing fauna), a cinchona tree (the source of quinine, signifying flora), and a yellow cornucopia spilling out coins (denoting mineral wealth); red recalls blood shed for independence, white symbolizes peace
National anthemname: "Himno Nacional del Peru" (National Anthem of Peru)

lyrics/music: Jose DE LA TORRE Ugarte/Jose Bernardo ALZEDO

note: adopted 1822; the song won a national anthem contest
National symbol(s)vicuna (a camelid related to the llama); national colors: red, white

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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