following legislative elections, the
leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by
the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the
governor general on the advice of the prime minister

Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives
and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular
vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2005 (next to be held 2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - ULP 55.26%, NDP 44.68%;
seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3

Judicial branch:
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of
the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

Political parties and leaders:
New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; Unity Labor Party or
ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent
Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU)

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ellsworth I. A. JOHN
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730
FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines

Flag description:
three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and
green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V
pattern

Economy Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Economy - overview:
Economic growth in this lower-middle-income country hinges upon
seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors.
Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994,
1995, and 2002, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean suffered low
arrivals in the immediate aftermath of 11 September 2001. The
islands had more than 160,000 tourist arrivals in 2005, mostly to
the Grenadines. Saint Vincent is home to a small offs