Belize Capital: Belmopan
Government: Parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
Independence Day: September 21 1981. (from the UK)
National Holiday: Independence Day. Celebrations include all types of fiestas.
Government: Parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
Independence Day: September 21 1981. (from the UK)
National Holiday: Independence Day. Celebrations include all types of fiestas.
Queen Elizabeth II
Prime Minister Dean Olive Barrow
Executive: 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: 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: Supreme Court of Judicature (consists of the Court of Appeal with the court president and 3 justices, and the Supreme Court with the chief justice and 2 judges. Court of Appeal president and justices appointed by the governor general upon advice of the prime minister after consultation with the National Assembly opposition leader; justices' tenures vary by terms of appointment; Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general upon the advice of the prime minister and the National Assembly opposition leader; other judges appointed by the governor-general upon the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Section of the Public Services Commission and with the concurrence of the prime minister after consultation with the National Assembly opposition leader; judges can be appointed beyond age 65 but must retire by age 75.
Suffrage: 18 years old
Name of Ambassador: Ambassador Nestor Mendez
Location of Embassy: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Consulates: Los Angeles
Ambassador: Vacant
Location of Embassy: Floral Park Road, Belmopan City, Cayo District
Consulates: P.O. Box 497, Belmopan City, Cayo District, Belize
Ambassador to UN: Mr. Stuart W. Leslie
Legislative: 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: Supreme Court of Judicature (consists of the Court of Appeal with the court president and 3 justices, and the Supreme Court with the chief justice and 2 judges. Court of Appeal president and justices appointed by the governor general upon advice of the prime minister after consultation with the National Assembly opposition leader; justices' tenures vary by terms of appointment; Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general upon the advice of the prime minister and the National Assembly opposition leader; other judges appointed by the governor-general upon the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Section of the Public Services Commission and with the concurrence of the prime minister after consultation with the National Assembly opposition leader; judges can be appointed beyond age 65 but must retire by age 75.
Suffrage: 18 years old
Name of Ambassador: Ambassador Nestor Mendez
Location of Embassy: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Consulates: Los Angeles
Ambassador: Vacant
Location of Embassy: Floral Park Road, Belmopan City, Cayo District
Consulates: P.O. Box 497, Belmopan City, Cayo District, Belize
Ambassador to UN: Mr. Stuart W. Leslie
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 Symbol: Baird's tapir (a large, browsing, forest-dwelling mammal); keel-billed toucan
Disputes: Guatemala persists in its territorial claim to half of Belize, but agrees to the Line of Adjacency to keep Guatemalan squatters out of Belize's forested interior; both countries agreed in April 2012 to hold simultaneous referenda, scheduled for 6 October 2013, to decide whether to refer the dispute to the ICJ for binding resolution; Belize and Mexico are working to solve minor border demarcation discrepancies arising from inaccuracies in the 1898 border treaty
Stateless people: 2,698
Refugees: 21
Drugs: transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis, primarily for local consumption; offshore sector money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and other crimes
Disputes: Guatemala persists in its territorial claim to half of Belize, but agrees to the Line of Adjacency to keep Guatemalan squatters out of Belize's forested interior; both countries agreed in April 2012 to hold simultaneous referenda, scheduled for 6 October 2013, to decide whether to refer the dispute to the ICJ for binding resolution; Belize and Mexico are working to solve minor border demarcation discrepancies arising from inaccuracies in the 1898 border treaty
Stateless people: 2,698
Refugees: 21
Drugs: transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis, primarily for local consumption; offshore sector money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and other crimes