the prime minister, three on the advice
of the leader of the opposition, and two after consultation with
religious, economic, and social groups) and the House of Assembly
(17 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year
terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 11 December 2006 (next to
be held in December 2011)
election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - UWP
50%, SLP 46.9%, other 3.1%; seats by party - UWP 11, SLP 6

Judicial branch:

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends to Anguilla,
Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada,
Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines)

Political parties and leaders:

National Alliance or NA [George ODLUM]; Saint Lucia Freedom Party or
SFP [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth
ANTHONY]; Sou Tout Apwe Fete Fini or STAFF [Christopher HUNTE];
United Workers Party or UWP [Stephenson KING]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

International organization participation:

ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, ITUC,
MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Michael LOUIS
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795
FAX: [1] (202) 364-6723
consulate(s) general: Miami, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:

the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to
Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia

Flag description:

blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the
upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border

Economy
Saint Lucia

Economy - overview:

The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and
investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism
industries, with a surge in foreign direct investment in 2006,
attributed to the construction of several tourism projects. Tourism
is the main source of foreign exchange, with almost 900,000 arrivals
in 2007. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern
Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalize the
banana industry. Saint Lucia is vulnerable to a variety of external
sh