Government of Grenada
| Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Grenada |
| Government type: | parliamentary democracy |
| 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 UK) |
| National holiday: | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) |
| Constitution: | 19 December 1973 |
| Legal system: | based on English common law |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; 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 27 November 2003 (next to be held by November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NNP 46.6%, NDC 44.1%, other 9.3%; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7 |
| Judicial branch: | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of a court of Appeal and a High Court of Justice (a High Court judge is assigned to and resides in Grenada) |
| 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: | NA |
| International organization participation: | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, 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 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 represent the seven administrative divisions |