Conventional Long Form Name: none
Capital City: Belmopan Type of Government: parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm Date of Independence: 21 September 1981 (from the UK) National Holiday: Independence Day, 21 September (1981) Chief of State: Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Sir Colville Young, Sr. (since 17 November 1993) Head of Government:Prime Minister Dean Oliver Barrow (since 8 February 2008); Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega (since 12 February 2008) Executive Branch and Powers: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister Legislative Branch and Powers: bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 seats; members appointed by the governor general - 6 on the advice of the prime minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 1 each on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Better Business Bureau, and the National Trade Union Congress and the Civil Society Steering Committee; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (31 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) Judicial Branch and Powers: Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Privy Council in the UK; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ); Summary Jurisdiction Courts (criminal) and District Courts (civil jurisdiction) Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Belize Ambassador to the United States: Ambassador Nestor Mendez Belize Embassy in the U.S.: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 Belize Consultates in the U.S.: Los Angeles U.S. Ambassador to Belize: Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally U.S Embassy in Belize: Floral Park Road, Belmopan City, Cayo District, Belize U.S. Consulates in Belize: none Belize Representative in the U.N.: H.E. Mr. Stuart W. Leslie Flag Description: blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland of 50 mahogany leaves; the colors are those of the two main political parties: blue for the PUP and red for the UDP; various elements of the coat of arms - the figures, the tools, the mahogany tree, and the garland of leaves - recall the logging industry that led to British settlement of Belize National Symbols: Baird's tapir (a large, browsing, forest-dwelling mammal); keel-billed toucan |
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