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conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala
conventional short form:
Guatemala
local long form:
Republica de Guatemala
local short form:
Guatemala
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constitutional democratic republic
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name: Guatemala City
geographic coordinates:
14 37 N, 90 31 W
time difference:
UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time:
+1hr, begins last Sunday in April; ends last Friday in September; note - there is no DST planned for 2010
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22 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu, Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez, Totonicapan, Zacapa
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15 September 1821 (from Spain)
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Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
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31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; suspended 25 May 1993; reinstated 5 June 1993; amended November 1993
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civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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18 years of age; universal; note - active duty members of the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day
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chief of state: President Alvaro COLOM Caballeros (since 14 January 2008); Vice President Jose Rafael ESPADA (since 14 January 2008); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government:
President Alvaro COLOM Caballeros (since 14 January 2008); Vice President Jose Rafael ESPADA (since 14 January 2008)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president
(For more information visit the World Leaders website )
elections:
president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held on 9 September 2007; runoff held on 4 November 2007 (next to be held in September 2011)
election results:
Alvaro COLOM Caballeros elected president; percent of vote - Alvaro COLOM Caballeros 52.8%, Otto PEREZ Molina 47.2%
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unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica (158 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections:
last held on 9 September 2007 (next to be held in September 2011)
election results:
percent of vote by party - UNE 30.4%, GANA 23.4%, PP 18.9%, FRG 9.5%, PU 5.1%, other 12.7%; seats by party - UNE 48, GANA 37, PP 30, FRG 15, PU 8, CASA 5, EG 4, PAN 4, UCN 4, URNG 2, UD 1
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Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitucionalidad is Guatemala's highest court (five judges are elected by Congress for concurrent five-year terms); Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (13 members are elected by Congress to serve concurrent five-year terms and elect a president of the Court each year from among their number; the president of the Supreme Court of Justice also supervises trial judges around the country, who are named to five-year terms)
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Center of Social Action or CASA [Feliz Adolfo RUANO de Leon]; Democracy Front or FRENTE [Alfonso CABRERA]; Democratic Union or UD [Edwin Armando MARTINEZ Herrera]; Encounter for Guatemala or EG [Nineth MONTENGRO]; Grand National Alliance or GANA [Jaime Antonio MARTINEZ Lohayza]; Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Hector Alfredo NUILA Ericastilla]; Guatemalan Republican Front or FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt]; Independent Bloc Guatemala or BG [Macario Efrain OLIVA Muralles]; Independent Democratic Freedom Renewed or LIDER [Roberto Ricardo VILLATE Villatoro]; National Advancement Party or PAN [Carlos YAT Sierra]; National Unity for Hope or UNE [Roberto KESTLER Velasquez]; Nationalist Change Union or UCN [Cesar Leonel SOTO Arango]; Patriot Party or PP [Ingrid Roxana BALDETTI Elias]; Unionista Party or PU [Pablo Manuel DURATE Saenz de Tejada]
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Agrarian Owners Group or UNAGRO; Alliance Against Impunity or AAI; Committee for Campesino Unity or CUC; Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations or CACIF; International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala or CICIG; Mutual Support Group or GAM
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BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, SICA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco VILLAGRAN de Leon
chancery:
2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 745-4952
FAX:
[1] (202) 745-1908
consulate(s) general:
Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Providence, San Francisco
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chief of mission: Ambassador Stephen G. MCFARLAND
embassy:
7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City
mailing address:
APO AA 34024
telephone:
[502] 2326-4000
FAX:
[502] 2326-4654
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three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and light blue, with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird) representing liberty and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles signifying Guatemala's willingness to defend itself and a pair of crossed swords representing honor and framed by a laurel wreath symbolizing victory; the blue bands stand for the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and the sea and sky; the white band denotes peace and purity
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