| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
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| Government type | NA |
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| Capital | name: Plymouth
geographic coordinates: 16 44 N, 62 14 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note: Plymouth was abandoned in 1997 because of volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat |
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| Administrative divisions | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter |
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| Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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| National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
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| Constitution | effective 19 December 1989 |
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| Legal system | English common law and statutory law |
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| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
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| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Deborah BARNES-JONES (since 10 May 2004)
head of government: Chief Minister Lowell LEWIS (since 2 June 2006)
cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister |
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| Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members
elections: last held 31 May 2006 (next to be held by 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - MCAP 36.1%, NPLM 29.4%, MDP 24.4%, independents 10.1%; seats by party - MCAP 4, NPLM 3, MDP 1, independents 1
note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
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| Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) |
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Political parties
and leaders | Montserrat Democratic Party or MDP [Lowell LEWIS]; Movement for Change and Prosperity or MCAP [Roselyn CASSELL-SEALY]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] |
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Political pressure
groups and leaders | NA |
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International organization
participation | Caricom, CDB, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU |
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| Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross |
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