Administrative divisions: 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and
Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint
John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick
Independence: 7 February 1974 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 7 February (1974)
Constitution: 19 December 1973
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the queen is a hereditary monarch; governor general appointed by the queen; prime minister appointed by the governor general from among the members of the House of Assembly
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 20 June 1995 (next to be held by NA October 2000) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 5, GULP 2
Judicial branch: West Indies Associate States Supreme Court, an associate judge resides in Grenada
Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Congress or NDC
[George BRIZAN]; Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Sir Eric GAIRY];
The National Party or TNP [Ben JONES]; New National Party or NNP
[Keith MITCHELL]; Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement or MBPM [Terrence
MARRYSHOW]; The Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Francis ALEXIS]