Jamaica Government

What is the capital of Jamaica?

Country Name	Jamaica
Full Country Name	none
Etymology- history of name	from the native Taino word "haymaca" meaning "land of wood and water" or possibly "land of springs"
Government Type	parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Capital Name	Kingston
Capital - geographic coordinate	18 00 N, 76 48 W
Capital Time Difference	UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Independence	6 August 1962 (from the UK)
National Holiday	Emancipation Day, 1 August (1834); Independence Day, 6 August (1962)
Constitution	several previous (preindependence); latest drafted 1961-62, submitted to British Parliament 24 July 1962, entered into force 6 August 1962 (at independence); amended many times, last in 2015

Jamaica Capital City Map

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Jamaica Government and Politics

Who is the president of Jamaica?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Sir Patrick L. ALLEN (since 26 February 2009) head of government: Prime Minister Andrew HOLNESS (since 3 March 2016) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: yes citizenship by descent: yes dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 4 out of the previous 5 years
Legal System:	common law system based on the English model
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch:	description: bicameral Parliament consists of: Senate (21 seats; members appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister and the opposition leader, 13 seats allocated to the ruling party, and 8 seats allocated to the opposition party; members serve 5-year terms or until Parliament is dissolved) House of Representatives (63 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms or until Parliament is dissolved) elections: Senate - last full slate of appointments on 10 March 2016 (next no later than February 2021) House of Representatives - last held on 25 February 2016; by-election for 5 seats held on 30 October 2017 (3 seats), 5 March 2018, and 4 April 2019 (next to be held no later than February 2021) election results: Senate - percent by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 16, women 5, percent of women 23.8% House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.7%, other 0.2%; seats by party - JLP 32, PNP 31; note - as of June 2019, by-elections have changed House seats to JLP 34, PNP 29; composition - men 51, women 12, percent of women 19%; note - total Parliament percent of women 20%
Judicial Branch:	highest resident court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of president of the court and a minimum of 4 judges; Supreme Court (40 judges organized in specialized divisions); note - appeals beyond Jamaica's highest courts are referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) rather than to the Caribbean Court of Justice (the appellate court implemented for member states of the Caribbean Community) judge selection and term of office: chief justice of the Supreme Court and president of the Court of Appeal appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister; other judges of both courts appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission; judges of both courts serve till age 70 subordinate courts: resident magistrate courts, district courts, and petty sessions courts
Regions or States:	14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation
Political Parties and Leaders:	Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Andrew HOLNESS] People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER] National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS]
International Law Organization Participation:	has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International Organization Participation:	ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph Samuel THOMAS (since 9 September 2015) chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0036 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York consulate(s): Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Concord (MA), Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia (PA), Richmond (VA), San Francisco, Seattle
Diplomatic Representation from US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Luis G. MORENO (since 13 January 2015) embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5 telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000 FAX: [1] (876) 702-6348

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