Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: cochiefs of state Captain Regent Pietro BERTI and
Captain Regent Paolo BOLLINI (for the period 1 October 1998-31 March
1999)
head of government: Secretary of State for Foreign and Political
Affairs Gabriele GATTI (since NA July 1986)
cabinet: Congress of State elected by the Great and General Council
for a five-year term
elections: cochiefs of state (captain regents) elected by the Great
and General Council for a six-month term; election last held NA
September 1998 (next to be held NA March 1999); secretary of state
for foreign and political affairs elected by the Great and General
Council for a five-year term; election last held NA June 1998 (next
to be held NA June 2003)
election results: Pietro BERTI and Paolo BOLLINI elected captain
regents; percent of legislative vote—NA; Gabriele GATTI reelected
secretary of state for foreign and political affairs; percent of
legislative vote—NA
note: the popularly elected parliament (Great and General Council)
selects two of its members to serve as the Captains Regent (cochiefs
of state) for a six-month period; they preside over meetings of the
Great and General Council and its cabinet (Congress of State) which
has ten other members, all selected by the Great and General
Council; assisting the captains regent are three secretaries of
state—Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, and Finance—and several
additional secretaries; the secretary of state for Foreign Affairs
has assumed many of the prerogatives of a prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral Great and General Council or Consiglio Grande e Generale (60 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 31 May 1998 (next to be held by NA May 2003) election results: percent of vote by party—PDCS 40.8%, PSS 23.3%, PPDS 18.6%, AP 9.8%, RC 3.3%, Reformist Socialists 4.2%; seats by party—PDCS 25, PSS 14, PPDS 11, AP 6, RC 2, RS 2
Judicial branch: Council of Twelve or Consiglio dei XII
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party or PDCS
MACINA, secretary general]; Reformist Socialists or RS (formerly San
International organization participation: CE, ECE, ICAO, ICFTU,
ICRM, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (guest), OPCW,
OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: San Marino does not have an
embassy in the US
honorary consulate(s) general: Washington, DC, and New York
honorary consulate(s): Detroit
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in San Marino; the US Consul General in Florence (Italy) is accredited to San Marino
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and light blue with the national coat of arms superimposed in the center; the coat of arms has a shield (featuring three towers on three peaks) flanked by a wreath, below a crown and above a scroll bearing the word LIBERTAS (Liberty)
Economy