!!!Trinidad and Tobago: Government
||Country name|''conventional long form'': Republic of Trinidad and Tobago \\ ''conventional short form'': Trinidad and Tobago \\ ''etymology'': explorer Christopher COLUMBUS named the larger island "La Isla de la Trinidad" (The Island of the Trinity) on 31 July 1498 on his third voyage; the tobacco grown and smoked by the natives of the smaller island or its elongated cigar shape may account for the "tobago" name, which is spelled "tobaco" in Spanish \\ 
||Government type|parliamentary republic
||Capital|Port of Spain[{GoogleMap location='Port of Spain' zoom='6'}] \\ ''geographic coordinates'': 10 39 N, 61 31 W \\ ''time difference'': UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) \\ 
||Administrative divisions|9 regions, 3 boroughs, 2 cities, 1 ward''regions'': Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Diego Martin, Mayaro/Rio Claro, Penal/Debe, Princes Town, Sangre Grande, San Juan/Laventille, Siparia, Tunapuna/Piarco \\ ''borough'': Arima, Chaguanas, Point Fortin \\ ''cities'': Port of Spain, San Fernando \\ ''ward'': Tobago \\ 
||Independence|31 August 1962 (from the UK)
||National holiday|Independence Day, 31 August (1962)
||Constitution|previous 1962; latest 1976; amended many times, last in 2007 (2016)
||Legal system|English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court
||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'': 8 years \\ 
||Suffrage|18 years of age; universal
||Executive branch|''chief of state'': President Anthony CARMONA (since 18 March 2013) \\ ''head of government'': Prime Minister Keith ROWLEY (since 9 September 2015) \\ ''cabinet'': Cabinet appointed from among members of Parliament \\ ''elections/appointments'': president indirectly elected by an electoral college of selected Senate and House of Representatives members for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 15 February 2013 (next to be held by February 2018); the president usually appoints the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives as prime minister \\ ''election results'': Anthony CARMONA (independent) elected president; electoral college vote - 100% \\ 
||Legislative branch|''description'': bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, 9 by the president, and 6 by the opposition party; members serve 5-year terms;) and the House of Representatives (41 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms) \\ ''elections'': House of Representatives - last held on 7 September 2015 (next to be held in 2020) \\ ''election results'': House of Representatives - percent of vote - NA; seats by party - PNM 23, UNC 18 \\  \\ ''__note__'': Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly (16 seats; 12 assemblymen directly elected by simple majority vote and 4 appointed councillors - 3 on the advice of the chief secretary and 1 on the advice of the minority leader; members serve 4-year terms) \\ 
||Judicial branch|''highest resident court(s)'': Supreme Court of the Judicature (consists of a chief justice for both the Court of Appeal with 12 judges and the High Court with 24 judges); note - Trinidad and Tobago can file appeals beyond its Supreme Court to the Caribbean Court of Justice, with final appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) \\ ''judge selection and term of office'': Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the parliamentary leader of the opposition; other judges appointed by the Judicial Legal Services Commission, headed by the chief justice and 5 members with judicial experience; all judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 65 \\ ''subordinate courts'': Courts of Summary Criminal Jurisdiction; Petty Civil Courts; Family Court \\ 
||Political parties and leaders|Congress of the People or COP (Prakash RAMADHAR) \\ Democratic Action Congress or DAC (Hochoy CHARLES) (only active in Tobago) \\ Democratic National Alliance or DNA (Charles CARSON) (coalition of NAR, DDPT, MND) \\ Movement for National Development or MND (Garvin NICHOLAS) \\ National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR (Lennox SANKERSINGH) \\ People's National Movement or PNM (Keith ROWLEY) \\ Tobago Organization of the People or TOP (Ashworth JACK) \\ United National Congress or UNC (Kamla PERSAD-BISSESSAR)
||Political pressure groups and leaders|Jamaat-al Muslimeen (Yasin ABU BAKR)
||International organization participation|ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, 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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
||Diplomatic representation in the US|''chief of mission'': Ambassador Anthony Wayne Jerome PHILLIPS SPENCER (since 27 June 2016) \\ ''chancery'': 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 \\ ''telephone'': (1) (202) 467-6490 \\ ''FAX'': (1) (202) 785-3130 \\ ''consulate(s) general'': Miami, New York \\ 
||Diplomatic representation from the US|''chief of mission'': Ambassador John L. ESTRADA (since 19 April 2016) \\ ''embassy'': 15 Queen's Park West, Port of Spain \\ ''mailing address'': P. O. Box 752, Port of Spain \\ ''telephone'': (1) (868) 622-6371 through 6376 \\ ''FAX'': (1) (868) 822-5905 \\ 
||Flag description|red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side; the colors represent the elements of earth, water, and fire; black stands for the wealth of the land and the dedication of the people; white symbolizes the sea surrounding the islands, the purity of the country's aspirations, and equality; red symbolizes the warmth and energy of the sun, the vitality of the land, and the courage and friendliness of its people
||National symbol(s)|scarlet ibis (bird of Trinidad), cocrico (bird of Tobago), Chaconia flower; national colors: red, white, black
||National anthem|''name'': "Forged From the Love of Liberty" \\ ''lyrics/music'': Patrick Stanislaus CASTAGNE \\  \\ ''__note__'': adopted 1962; song originally created to serve as an anthem for the West Indies Federation; adopted by Trinidad and Tobago following the Federation's dissolution in 1962 \\