Chile: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Chile conventional short form: Chile local long form: Republica de Chile local short form: Chile etymology: derivation of the name is unclear, but it may come from the Mapuche word "chilli" meaning "limit of the earth" or from the Quechua "chiri" meaning "cold" |
|---|---|
| Government type | presidential republic |
| Capital | Santiago; note - Valparaiso is the seat of the national legislature
Santiago, note - Valparaiso is the seat of the national legislature
geographic coordinates: 33 27 S, 70 40 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions | 15 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aysen, Antofagasta, Araucania, Arica y Parinacota, Atacama, Biobio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Los Rios, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica |
| Independence | 18 September 1810 (from Spain) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 18 September (1810) |
| Constitution | many previous; latest adopted 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended many times, last in 2011; note - in late 2015, the Chilean Government initiated a process to reform its constitution (2016) |
| Legal system | civil law system influenced by several West European civil legal systems; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Tribunal |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: yes citizenship by descent: yes dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Michelle BACHELET Jeria (since 11 March 2014); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Michelle BACHELET Jeria (since 11 March 2014) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a single 4-year term; election last held on 17 November 2013 with a runoff held on 15 December 2013 (next to be held on 19 November 2017) election results: Michelle BACHELET Jeria elected president; percent of vote - Michelle BACHELET Jeria (PS) 62.2%; Evelyn Rose MATTHEI Fornet (UDI) 37.8% |
| Legislative branch | description: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (38 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by majority vote to serve 8-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 4 years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (120 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by majority vote to serve 4-year terms); note - in both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, the party winning at least two-thirds of the votes is entitled to 2 seats in the constituency; if it obtains less than two-thirds of the votes, it is entitled to 1 seat with the remaining seat awarded to the next highest winning party elections: Senate - last held on 17 November 2013 (next to be held on 15 November 2017); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 17 November 2013 (next to be held on 15 November 2017) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - New Majority Coalition (formerly known as Concertacion) 19 (PDC 6, PS 6, PPD 6, MAS 1), Coalition for Change (formerly known as the Alianza coalition) 15 (RN 6, UDI 8, Amplitude Party 1), independents 4; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - New Majority 68 (PDC 21, PS 16, PPD 14, PC 6, PRSD 6, Citizen Left 1, independents 4), Coalition for Change 47 (UDI 29, RN 14, independents 3, EP 1), Liberal Party 1, independents 4 note: In January 2015, the Chilean Congress voted to end the binomial system that was put in place under Gen. Augusto PINOCHET; the Congress also voted to expand its size and establish rules to ensure that there is equitable gender representation; the new electoral system will be put in place in 2017 |
| Judicial branch | highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (consists of a court president and 20 members or ministros); Constitutional Court (consists of 7 members); Elections Qualifying Court (consists of 5 members) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the president and ratified by the Senate from lists of candidates provided by the court itself; judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 70; Constitutional Court members appointed - 3 by the Supreme Court, 1 by the president of the republic, 2 by the National Security Council, and 1 by the Senate; members serve 8-year terms with partial membership replacement every 4 years (the court reviews constitutionality of legislation); Elections Qualifying Court member appointments - 4 by the Supreme Court and 1 - a former president or vice-president of the Senate or Chamber of Deputies - also selected by the Supreme Court; members appointed for 4-year terms subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; oral criminal tribunals; military tribunals; local police courts; specialized tribunals and courts in matters such as family, labor, customs, taxes, and electoral affairs |
| Political parties and leaders | Broad Social Movement or MAS (Alejandro NAVARRO Brain) Citizen Left or IC (Sergio AGUILO) Coalition for Change or CC (also known as the Alliance for Chile (Alianza) or APC) (including National Renewal or RN (Cristian MONCKEBERG Bruner), and Independent Democratic Union or UDI (Hernan LARRAIN Fernandez) Coalition of Parties for Democracy (Concertacion) or CPD (including Christian Democratic Party or PDC (Jorge PIZARRO Soto), Party for Democracy or PPD (Jaime Daniel QUINTANA Leal), Radical Social Democratic Party or PRSD (Ernesto VELASCO Rodriguez), and Socialist Party or PS (Isabel ALLENDE Bussi)) Communist Party of Chile (Partido Comunista de Chile) or PC (Guillermo TEILLIER del Valle) Ecological Green Party (Felix GONZALEZ Gatica) Equality Party (Guillermo GONZALEZ Castro) Humanist Party or PH (Octavio GONZALEZ) Independent Regionalist Party or PRI (Alejandra BRAVO Hidalgo) Liberal Party (Partido Liberal de Chile) (Vlado MIROSEVIC) Political Evolution or EP (Felipe KAST) Progressive Party or PRO (Patricia MORALES) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Roman Catholic Church, particularly conservative groups such as Opus Dei United Labor Central or CUT (includes trade unionists from the country's five largest labor confederations)other: university student federations at all major universities |
| International organization participation | APEC, BIS, CAN (associate), CD, CELAC, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), 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, NAM, OAS, OECD (Enhanced Engagement, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance, PCA, SICA (observer), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Juan Gabriel VALDES Soublette (since 21 May 2014) chancery: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: (1) (202) 785-1746 FAX: (1) (202) 887-5579 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael HAMMER (since April 2014) embassy: Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago mailing address: APO AA 34033 telephone: (56) (2) 2330-3000 FAX: (56) (2) 2330-3710, 2330-3160 |
| Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red represents the blood spilled to achieve independence note: design was influenced by the US flag |
| National symbol(s) | huemul (mountain deer), Andean condor; national colors: red, white, blue |
| National anthem | name: "Himno Nacional de Chile" (National Anthem of Chile) lyrics/music: Eusebio LILLO Robles and Bernardo DE VERA y Pintado/Ramon CARNICER y Battle note: music adopted 1828, original lyrics adopted 1818, adapted lyrics adopted 1847; under Augusto PINOCHET"s military rule, a verse glorifying the army was added; however, as a protest, some citizens refused to sing this verse; it was removed when democracy was restored in 1990 |