GOVERNMENT
Country
name:
conventional long form: Department of Guadeloupe
conventional short form: Guadeloupe
local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe
local short form: Guadeloupe
Data
code: GP
Dependency
status: overseas department of France
Government
type: NA
National
capital: Basse-Terre
Administrative
divisions: none (overseas department of France)
Independence:
none (overseas department of France)
National
holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Constitution:
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal
system: French legal system
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive
branch:
chief of state: President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since
17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean FEDINI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Dominique
LARIFLA (since NA); President of the Regional Council Lucette
MICHAUX-CHEVRY (since 22 March 1992)
cabinet: NA
elections: prefect appointed by the president of France
on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents
of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members
of those councils
election results: NA
Legislative
branch: unicameral General Council or Conseil General (42
seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
and the unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats;
members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council—last held 22 March 1992
(next to be held by NA 1996); Regional Council—last held
16 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: General Council—percent of vote
by party—NA; seats by party—FRUI.G 13, RPR/DUD 13, PPDG
8, FGPS 3, PCG 3, UPLG 1, PSG 1, independent 1; Regional Council—percent
of vote by party—RPR 48.03%, PS/PPDG/DVG 24.49%, PCG 5.29%,
DVD 5.73%; seats by party—RPR 25, PS/PPDG/DVG 12, PCG 2,
DVD 2
note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French
Senate; elections last held in September 1995 (next to be held
NA September 2004); percent of vote by party—NA; seats by
party—RPR 1, FGPS 1; Guadeloupe elects four representatives
to the French National Assembly; elections last held on 25 May—1
June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); percent of vote by party—NA;
seats by party—FGPS 2, RPR 1, PCG 1
Judicial
branch: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction
over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique
Political
parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic or RPR [Lucette
MICHAUX-CHEVRY]; Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG [Mona CADOCE];
Socialist Party or PS [Georges LOUISOR]; Popular Union for the
Liberation of Guadeloupe or UPLG [Claude MAKOUKE]; FGPS Dissidents
or FRUI.G [Dominique LARIFLA]; Union for French Democracy or UDF
[Marcel ESDRAS]; Progressive Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU];
Movement for an Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI [Luc REIETTE];
Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG; DVG
[Jacques GILLOT]; DVD [Simon IBO]
Political
pressure groups and leaders: Movement for Independent Guadeloupe
or MPGI; General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG; General
Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G; Christian Movement
for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG
International
organization participation: FZ, WCL, WFTU
Diplomatic
representation in the US: none (overseas department of France)
Diplomatic
representation from the US: none (overseas department of France)
Flag
description: three horizontal bands, a narrow green band (top),
a wide red band, and a narrow green band; the green bands are
separated from the red band by two narrow white stripes; a five-pointed
gold star is centered in the red band toward the hoist side; the
flag of France is used for official occasions
