Country name:
Dutch long form: Land Curacao
Dutch short form: Curacao
Papiamentu long form: Pais Korsou
Papiamentu short form: Korsou
former: Netherlands Antilles; Curacao and Dependencies
Dependency status:
constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 2010; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs
Government type:
parliamentary
Capital:
name: Willemstad
geographic coordinates: 12 06 N, 68 55 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Independence:
none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
National holiday:
Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980)
Constitution:
Staatsregeling, 10 October 2010; revised Kingdom Charter pending
Legal system:
based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
:
chief of state: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980); represented by Governor General Frits GOEDGEDRAG (since 10 October 2010)
head of government: Prime Minister Gerrit SCHOTTE (since 10 October 2010)
cabinet: Executive Council
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the parliament
Legislative branch:
unicameral parliament or Staten (21 seats; members elected by popular vote for four year terms)
elections: last held 27 August 2010 (next to be held in 2014)
election results: percent of vote by party - PAR 30%, MFK 21%, PS 19%, MAN 9%, FOL 7%, PNP 6%; seats by party - PAR 8, MFK 5, PS 4, MAN 2, FOL 1, PNP 1
Judicial branch:
Common Court of Justice, Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch)
Political parties and leaders:
Frente Obrero Liberashon (Workers' Liberation Front) or FOL [Anthony GODETT]; Movimentu Antiyas Nobo (New Antilles Movement) or MAN [Charles COOPER]; Movementu Futuro Korsou or MFK [Gerrit SCHOTTE]; Partido Antia Restruktura or PAR [Emily DE JONGH-ELHAGE]; People's National Party or PNP [Ersilia DE LANNOOY]; Pueblo Soberano or PS [Herman WIELS]
International organization participation:
Caricom (observer), FATF, ITU, UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Consul General Valerie BELON
consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad, Curacao
mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao
telephone: [599] (9) 4613066
FAX: [599] (9) 4616489
Flag description:
on a blue field a horizontal yellow band somewhat below the center divides the flag into proportions of 5:1:2; two five-pointed white stars - the smaller above and to the left of the larger - appear in the canton; the blue of the upper and lower sections symbolizes the sky and sea respectively; yellow represents the sun; the stars symbolize Curacao and its uninhabited smaller sister island of Klein Curacao; the five star points signify the five continents from which Curacao's people derive
National anthem:
name: Himmo di Korsou (Anthem of Curacao)
lyrics/music: Guillermo ROSARIO, Mae HENRIQUEZ, Enrique MULLER, Betty DORAN/Frater Candidus NOWENS, Errol "El Toro" COLINA
note: adapted 1978; the lyrics, originally written in 1899, were rewritten in 1978 to make them less colonial in nature