ier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville,
Monte-Carlo

Independence:

1419 (beginning of rule by the House of Grimaldi)

National holiday:

National Day (Saint Rainier's Day), 19 November (1857)

Constitution:

17 December 1962

Legal system:

based on French law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: Prince ALBERT II (since 6 April 2005)
head of government: Minister of State Jean-Paul PROUST (since 1 June
2005)
cabinet: Council of Government is under the authority of the monarch
elections: the monarchy is hereditary; minister of state appointed
by the monarch from a list of three French national candidates
presented by the French Government

Legislative branch:

unicameral National Council or Conseil National (24 seats; 16
members elected by list majority system, 8 by proportional
representation; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 February 2008 (next to be held February 2013)
election results: percent of vote by party - UPM 52.2%, REM 40.5%,
Monaco Together 7.3%; seats by party - UPM 21, REM 3

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court or Tribunal Supreme (judges appointed by the monarch
on the basis of nominations by the National Council)

Political parties and leaders:

Union for Monaco or UPM (including National Union for the Future of
Monaco or UNAM); Rally and Issues for Monaco or REM; Monaco Together

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

International organization participation:

CE, FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO,
IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITSO, ITU, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Schengen
Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador to the US and UN Gilles NOGHES
chancery: 2314 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 234-1530
FAX: (202) 552-5778

Diplomatic representation from the US:

the US does not have an embassy in Monaco; the US Ambassador to
France is accredited to Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille
(France), under the authority of the US ambassador to France,
handles routine diplomatic and consular matters concerning Monaco

Flag description:

two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the
flag of Indonesia which is longer and the flag of Poland which is
white (top) and