New Caledonia Government

What is the capital of New Caledonia?

Country Name New Caledonia
Full Country Name Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
Local - Long Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances
Local - Short Nouvelle-Caledonie
Etymology- history of name British explorer Captain James COOK discovered and named New Caledonia in 1774; he used the appellation because the northeast of the island reminded him of Scotland (Caledonia is the Latin designation for Scotland)
Government Type parliamentary democracy (Territorial Congress); an overseas collectivity of France
Capital Name Noumea
Capital - geographic coordinate 22 16 S, 166 27 E
Capital Time Difference UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Independence none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but was rejected; a new referendum must be held before 2019
National Holiday Fete de la Federation, 14 July (1789); note - the local holiday is New Caledonia Day, 24 September (1853)
Constitution 4 October 1958 (French Constitution with changes as reflected in Noumea Accord of 5 May 1998)
Dependency Status territorial collectivity (or a sui generis collectivity) of France since 1998

New Caledonia Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

New Caledonia Government and Politics

Who is the president of New Caledonia?

Executive Branch: chief of state: President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by High Commissioner Laurent PREVOST (since 5 August 2019)

head of government: President of the Government Thierry SANTA (since 9 July 2019); Temporary Vice President Gilbert TUIENON (since 9 July 2019); note - Temporary Vice President Gilbert TUIENON was elected so that the new government could take over; Philippe GERMAIN' s government remained caretaker government until the new government was settled

cabinet: Cabinet elected from and by the Territorial Congress

elections/appointments: French president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of New Caledonia elected by Territorial Congress for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 13 June 2017 (next to be held in 2022)

election results: Thierry SANTA elected president by Territorial Congress with 6 votes out of 11
Citizenship Criteria: see France
Legal System: civil law system based on French law; the 1988 Matignon Accords (signed in the Matignon Hotel) set up a 10-year period of development during which the Kanak community received substantial autonomy but agreed not to raise the independence issue
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch: description: unicameral Territorial Congress or Congrès du Territoire (54 seats; members indirectly selected proportionally by the partisan makeup of the 3 Provincial Assemblies or Assemblés Provinciales; members of the 3 Provincial Assemblies directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - the Customary Senate is the assembly of the various traditional councils of the Kanaks, the indigenous population, which rules on laws affecting the indigenous population

New Caledonia indirectly elects 2 members to the French Senate by an electoral colleges for a 6-year term with one seat renewed every 3 years and directly elects 2 members to the French National Assembly by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term

elections:

Territorial Congress - last held on 12 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2024)

French Senate - election last held on 24 September 2017 (next to be held not later than 2019)

French National Assembly - election last held on 11 and 18 June 2017 (next to be held by June 2022)

election results:

Territorial Congress - percent of vote by party - N/A; seats by party -Future With Confidence 18, UNI 9, UC 9, CE 7, FLNKS 6, Oceanic Awakening 3, PT 1, LKS 1 (Anti-Independence 28, Pro-Independence 26); composition - men 30, women 24, percent of women 44.4%

French Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2

French National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CE 2
Judicial Branch: highest resident court(s): Court of Appeal in Noumea or Cour d'Appel; organized into civil, commercial, social, and pre-trial investigation chambers; court bench normally includes the court president and 2 counsilors); Administrative Court (number of judges NA); note - final appeals beyond the Court of Appeal are referred to the Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation in Paris; final appeals beyond the Administrative Court are referred to the Administrative Court of Appeal in Paris

judge selection and term of office: judge appointment and tenure based on France's judicial system

subordinate courts: Courts of First Instance include: civil, juvenile, commercial, labor, police, criminal, assizes, and also a pre-trial investigation chamber; Joint Commerce Tribunal; administrative courts
Regions or States: 3 provinces; Province Iles (Islands Province), Province Nord (North Province), and Province Sud (South Province)
Political Parties and Leaders: Build Our Rainbow Nation

Caledonia Together [Philippe GERMAIN]

Caledonian Union or UC [Daniel GOA]

Future Together (l'Avenir Ensemble) [Harold MARTIN]

Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS (alliance includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM) [Roch WAMYTAN]

Labor Party (Parti Travailliste) or PT [Louis Kotra UREGEI]

National Union for Independence (Union Nationale pour l'Independance) or UNI

Party of Kanak Liberation (Parti de Liberation Kanak) or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE]

Socialist Kanak Liberation or LKS [Nidoish NAISSELINE]

The Republicans (formerly The Rally or UMP) [Pierre FROGIER]

Union for Caledonia in France; note - dissolved in July 2014
International Organization Participation: ITUC (NGOs), PIF (associate member), SPC, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WMO
Diplomatic Representation in the US: none (overseas territory of France)
Diplomatic Representation from US: none (overseas territory of France)
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