Grenada Government Profile 2009

Country name

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada

Government type

parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Capital

name: Saint George's
geographic coordinates: 12 03 N, 61 45 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions

6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petite Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick

Independence

7 February 1974 (from the UK)

National holiday

Independence Day, 7 February (1974)

Constitution

19 December 1973

Legal system

based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Carlyle Arnold GLEAN (since 27 November 2008)
head of government: Prime Minister Tillman THOMAS (since 9 July 2008)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (13 seats, 10 appointed by the government and 3 by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 8 July 2008 (next to be held in 2013)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NDC 11, NNP 4

Judicial branch

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of a court of Appeal and a High Court of Justice (two High Court judges are assigned to and reside in Grenada); Itinerant Court of Appeal three judges; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

Political parties and leaders

Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Gloria Payne BANFIELD]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Tillman THOMAS]; New National Party or NNP [Keith MITCHELL]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Committee for Human Rights in Grenada or CHRG; New Jewel Movement Support Group; The British Grenada Friendship Society; The New Jewel 19 Committee

International organization participation

ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561
FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada
embassy: Lance-aux-Epines Stretch, Saint George's
mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's
telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1177
FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820

Flag description

a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions

Group

All, APLAA, North America/Caribbean, Central America