Grenada: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Grenada etymology: probably named for the Spanish city of Granada; in Spanish "granada" means "pomegranate" |
|---|---|
| Government type | parliamentary democracy (Parliament); a Commonwealth realm |
| Capital | Saint George's
Saint George
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 | previous 1967; latest presented 19 December 1973, effective 7 February 1974, suspended 1979 following a revolution, but restored in 1983; amended 1991 (Constitutional Judicature Act, 1991); note - in late 2015, as part of constitutional reform, Parliament completed its first reading of a package of amendments (2016) |
| Legal system | common law based on English model |
| 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: 7 years for persons from a non-Caribbean state and 4 years for a person from a Caribbean state |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Cecile LA GRENADE (since 7 May 2013) head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 20 February 2013) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
| Legislative branch | description: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (13 seats; members appointed by the governor general - 10 on the advice of the prime minister and 3 on the advice of the opposition party leader; members serve 5-year terms) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms) elections: last held on 19 February 2013 (next to be held in 2018) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NNP 59%, NDC 41%; seats by party - NNP 15 |
| Judicial branch | highest court(s): the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the itinerant superior court of record for the 9-member Organization of Eastern Caribbean States to include Grenada; the ECSC - with its headquarters on St. Lucia - is comprised of the Court of Appeal with 3 justices and the High Court with 19 judges; sittings of the Court of Appeal and High Court rotate among the member states judge selection and term of office: chief justice of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed by the Her Majesty, Queen ELIZABETH II; other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, and independent body of judicial officials; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62 subordinate courts: magistrates' courts; Court of Magisterial Appeals |
| Political parties and leaders | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP (Wilfred HAYES) 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, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ethelstan A. FRIDAY (since 3 September 2013) chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (1) (202) 265-2561 FAX: (1) (202) 265-2468 consulate(s) general: Miami |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: the US does not have an embassy in Grenada; 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 1176 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 stand for the seven administrative divisions, with the central star denoting the capital, St. George; yellow represents the sun and the warmth of the people, green stands for vegetation and agriculture, and red symbolizes harmony, unity, and courage |
| National symbol(s) | Grenada dove, Bougainvillea flower; national colors: red, yellow, green |
| National anthem | name: "Hail Grenada" lyrics/music: Irva Merle BAPTISTE/Louis Arnold MASANTO note: adopted 1974 |