National holiday: Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)
Constitution: 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the
Netherlands, as amended
Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English
common law influence
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands
(since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH
(since NA October 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 25 February
1994)
cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by
the monarch for a six-year term; following legislative elections,
the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister
by the Staten; election last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held
by NA 2002)
election results: Miguel POURIER elected prime minister; percent of
legislative vote—NA
Legislative branch: unicameral States or Staten (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—PAR 4, PNP 3, SPA 1, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, PLKP 3, WIPM 1, SEA 1, DP-St.M 2, FOL 2; no party won enough seats to form a government note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties
Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by
the monarch)
Political parties and leaders:
Sint Eustatius: Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E
WESTCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten or SPA
ROLLOCKS]
note: political parties are indigenous to each island
International organization participation: Caricom (observer),
ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO, WToO
(associate)
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (represented by the
Kingdom of the Netherlands)