What is the capital of Andorra?
Country Name | Andorra |
Full Country Name | Principality of Andorra |
Local - Long | Principat d'Andorra |
Local - Short | Andorra |
Etymology- history of name | the origin of the country's name is obscure; the name may derive from the Arabic "ad-darra" meaning "the forest," a reference to its location as part of the Spanish March (defensive buffer zone) against the invading Moors in the 8th century; an alternate explanation is that the name originates from a Navarrese word "andurrial" meaning "shrub-covered land" |
Government Type | parliamentary democracy (since March 1993) that retains its chiefs of state in the form of a co-principality; the two princes are the President of France and Bishop of Seu d'Urgell, Spain |
Capital Name | Andorra la Vella |
Capital - geographic coordinate | 42 30 N, 1 31 E |
Capital Time Difference | UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Daylight Savings Time | +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Independence | 1278 (formed under the joint sovereignty of the French Count of Foix and the Spanish Bishop of Urgell) |
National Holiday | Our Lady of Meritxell Day, 8 September (1278) |
Constitution |
history: drafted 1991, approved by referendum 14 March 1993, effective 28 April 1993 amendments: proposed by the coprinces jointly or by the General Council; passage requires at least a two-thirds majority vote by the General Council, ratification in a referendum, and sanctioning by the coprinces |
Who is the president of Andorra?
Executive Branch: |
chief of state: Co-prince Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by Patrick STROZDA (since 14 May 2017); and Co-prince Archbishop Joan-Enric VIVES i Sicilia (since 12 May 2003); represented by Josep Maria MAURI (since 20 July 2012) head of government: Prime Minister Xavier Espot ZAMORA (since 16 May 2019) cabinet: Executive Council of 12 ministers designated by the head of government elections/appointments: head of government indirectly elected by the General Council (Andorran parliament), formally appointed by the co-princes for a 4-year term; election last held on 2 April 2023 (next to be held in April 2027); the leader of the majority party in the General Council is usually elected head of government election results: 2023: Xaviar Espot ZAMORA (DA) re-elected head of government; percent of General Council vote - 57.1% 2019: Xaviar Espot ZAMORA (DA) elected head of government; percent of General Council vote - 60.7 |
Citizenship Criteria: |
citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: the mother must be an Andorran citizen or the father must have been born in Andorra and both parents maintain permanent residence in Andorra dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 25 years |
Legal System: | mixed legal system of civil and customary law with the influence of canon (religious) law |
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
Legislative Branch: |
description: unicameral General Council of the Valleys or Consell General de les Valls (a minimum of 28 seats; 14 members directly elected in two-seat constituencies (7 parishes) by simple majority vote and 14 directly elected in a single national constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms); note - voters cast two separate ballots - one for national and one for their parish elections: last held on 2 April 2023 (next to be held in April 2027) election results: percent of vote by party - DA 57.1%, Concord 17.8%, Forward 10.7%, SDP 10.7%, L'A 3.6%; seats by party - DA 16, Concord 5, Forward 3, SDP 3, L'A 1; composition as of August 2023 - men 14, women 14, percent of women 50% |
Judicial Branch: |
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice of Andorra or Tribunal Superior de la Justicia d'Andorra (consists of the court president and 8 judges organized into civil, criminal, and administrative chambers); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 4 magistrates) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president and judges appointed by the Supreme Council of Justice, a 5-member judicial policy and administrative body appointed 1 each by the coprinces, 1 by the General Council, 1 by the executive council president, and 1 by the courts; judges serve 6-year renewable terms; Constitutional magistrates - 2 appointed by the coprinces and 2 by the General Council; magistrates' appointments limited to 2 consecutive 8-year terms subordinate courts: Tribunal of Judges or Tribunal de Batlles; Tribunal of the Courts or Tribunal de Corts |
Regions or States: |
7 parishes (parroquies, singular - parroquia) Andorra la Vella, Canillo, Encamp, Escaldes-Engordany, La Massana, Ordino, Sant Julia de Loria |
Political Parties and Leaders: |
Action for Andorra or ACCIO [Judith PALLARES] Committed Citizens or CC [David BARO Riva] Concord [Cerni ESCALE Cabre] Democrats for Andorra or DA [Xaviar ESPOT ZAMORA] Forward Andorra or AE [Carine Montaner RAYNAUD] Liberals of Andorra or L'A [Joseph Maria CABANES] Social Democracy and Progress or SDP [Victor NAUDI] Social Democratic Party or PS [Pere Lopez AGRAS] note: Andorra has several smaller parties at the parish level (one is Lauredian Union) |
International Law Organization Participation: | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
International Organization Participation: | CE, FAO, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, Union Latina, UNWTO, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WTO (observer) |
Diplomatic Representation in the US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Elisenda VIVES BALMANA (since 2 March 2016) chancery: 2 United Nations Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 750-8064 FAX: [1] (212) 750-6630 email address and website: contact@andorraun.org https://www.exteriors.ad/en/embassies-of-andorra/andorra-usa-embassy |
Diplomatic Representation from US: | embassy: the US does not have an embassy in Andorra; the US ambassador to Spain is accredited to Andorra; US interests in Andorra are represented by the US Consulate General's office in Barcelona (Spain); mailing address: Paseo Reina Elisenda de Montcada, 23, 08034 Barcelona, Espana; telephone: [34] (93) 280-22-27; FAX: [34] (93) 280-61-75; email address: Barcelonaacs@state.gov |