Country name
conventional long form: Principality of Monaco
conventional short form: Monaco
local long form: Principaute de Monaco
local short form: Monaco

Data code MN

Government type constitutional monarchy

National capital Monaco

Administrative divisions 4 quarters (quartiers, singular - quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo

Independence 1419 (rule by the House of Grimaldi)

National holiday National Day, 19 November

Constitution 17 December 1962

Legal system based on French law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch
chief of state: Prince RAINIER III (since 9 May 1949); Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT Alexandre Louis Pierre (born 14 March 1958)
head of government: Minister of State Michel LEVEQUE (since 3 February 1997)
cabinet: Council of Government is under the authority of the prince
elections: none; the prince is a hereditary monarch; minister of state appointed by the prince from a list of three French national candidates presented by the French Government

Legislative branch unicameral National Council or Conseil National (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 and 31 January 1993 (next to be held NA January 1998)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - National and Democratic Union 15, other 3

Judicial branch Supreme Court or Tribunal Supreme, judges named by the prince on the basis of nominations by the National Council

Political parties and leaders National and Democratic Union or UND [Jean-Louis CAMPORA]

International organization participation ACCT, ECE, IAEA, ICAO, ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in the US Monaco does not have an embassy in the US
consulate(s): New York
honorary consulate(s) general: Boston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
honorary consulate(s): Dallas, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC

Diplomatic representation from the US the US does not have an embassy in Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille (France) is accredited to 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 red

NOTE: The information regarding Monaco on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Monaco Government 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Monaco Government 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.