!!!Saint Lucia: Government
||Country name|''conventional long form'': none \\ ''conventional short form'': Saint Lucia \\ ''etymology'': named after Saint LUCY of Syracuse by French sailors who were shipwrecked on the island on 13 December 1502, the saint's feast day \\ 
||Government type|parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
||Capital|Castries[{GoogleMap location='Castries' zoom='6'}] \\ ''geographic coordinates'': 14 00 N, 61 00 W \\ ''time difference'': UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) \\ 
||Administrative divisions|10 districts; Anse-la-Raye, Canaries, Castries, Choiseul, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort
||Independence|22 February 1979 (from the UK)
||National holiday|Independence Day, 22 February (1979)
||Constitution|previous 1958, 1960 (preindependence); latest presented 20 December 1978, effective 22 February 1979; note - in mid-2015, an amendment was proposed to replace the London-based Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice as the country's highest appellate court (2016)
||Legal system|English common law
||International law organization participation|has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
||Citizenship|''citizenship by birth'': yes \\ ''citizenship by descent'': at least one parent must be a citizen of Saint Lucia \\ ''dual citizenship recognized'': yes \\ ''residency requirement for naturalization'': 8 years \\ 
||Suffrage|18 years of age; universal
||Executive branch|''chief of state'': Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Dame Pearlette LOUISY (since September 1997) \\ ''head of government'': Prime Minister Allen CHASTANET (since 7 June 2016) \\ ''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 governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by governor general \\ 
||Legislative branch|''description'': bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; 6 members appointed on the advice of the prime minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 2 upon consultation with religious, economic, and social groups; members serve 5-year terms) and the House of Assembly (17 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms) \\ ''elections'': House of Assembly - last held on 6 June 2016 (next to be held in 2021) \\ ''election results'': House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - UWP 54.8%, SLP 44.1%; seats by party - UWP 11, SLP 6 \\ 
||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; the ECSC - with its headquarters on St. Lucia - is headed by the chief justice and is comprised of the Court of Appeal with 3 justices and the High Court with 16 judges; sittings of the Court of Appeal and High Court rotate among the member states; 3 High Court judges reside on Saint Lucia; note - Saint Lucia is a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice \\ ''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, an 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'': magistrate's court \\ 
||Political parties and leaders|Lucian People's Movement or LPM (Therold PRUDENT) \\ Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP (Kenny ANTHONY) \\ United Workers Party or UWP (Allen CHASTANET)
||Political pressure groups and leaders|NA
||International organization participation|ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CD, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
||Diplomatic representation in the US|''chief of mission'': Ambassador Elizabeth Darius CLARKE (since 3 August 2015) \\ ''chancery'': 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 \\ ''telephone'': (1) (202) 364-6792 through 6795 \\ ''FAX'': (1) (202) 364-6723 \\ ''consulate(s) general'': New York \\ 
||Diplomatic representation from the US|the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia
||Flag description|cerulean blue with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border; the blue color represents the sky and sea, gold stands for sunshine and prosperity, and white and black the racial composition of the island (with the latter being dominant); the two major triangles invoke the twin Pitons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton), cone-shaped volcanic plugs that are a symbol of the island
||National symbol(s)|twin pitons (volcanic peaks), Saint Lucia parrot; national colors: cerulean blue, gold, black, white
||National anthem|''name'': "Sons and Daughters of St. Lucia" \\ ''lyrics/music'': Charles JESSE/Leton Felix THOMAS \\  \\ ''__note__'': adopted 1967 \\