Government of Turks and Caicos Islands
| Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Turks and Caicos Islands abbreviation: TCI |
| Dependency status: | overseas territory of the UK |
| Government type: | NA |
| Capital: | name: Grand Turk (Cockburn Town) geographic coordinates: 21 28 N, 71 08 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October |
| Administrative divisions: | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Independence: | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| National holiday: | Constitution Day, 30 August (1976) |
| Constitution: | Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 2006 (effective 9 August 2006) |
| Legal system: | based on laws of England and Wales, with a few adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Richard TAUWHARE (since 11 July 2005) head of government: Premier Michael Eugene MISICK (since 15 August 2003); note - the office of premier was created in the 2006 constitution cabinet: Cabinet consists of the governor, the premier, six ministers appointed by the governor from among the members of the House of Assembly, and the attorney general elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is appointed premier by the governor |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats of which 15 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 9 February 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 60%, PDM 40%; seats by party - PNP 13, PDM 2 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
| Political parties and leaders: | People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Floyd SEYMOUR]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Michael Eugene MISICK] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), UPU |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Flag description: | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield is yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus |