Vanuatu Government

What is the capital of Vanuatu?

Country Name	Vanuatu
Full Country Name	Republic of Vanuatu
Local - Long	Ripablik blong Vanuatu
Local - Short	Vanuatu
Former Name	New Hebrides
Etymology- history of name	derived from the words "vanua" (home or land) and "tu" (stand) that occur in several of the Austonesian languages spoken on the islands and which provide a meaning of "the land remains" but which also convey a sense of "independence" or "our land"
Government Type	parliamentary republic
Capital Name	Port-Vila (on Efate)
Capital - geographic coordinate	17 44 S, 168 19 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Independence	30 July 1980 (from France and the UK)
National Holiday	Independence Day, 30 July (1980)
Constitution	history: draft completed August 1979, finalized by constitution conference 19 September 1979, ratified by French and British Governments 23 October 1979, effective 30 July 1980 at independence amendments: proposed by the prime minister or by the Parliament membership; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by Parliament in special session with at least three fourths of the membership; passage of amendments affecting the national and official languages, or the electoral and parliamentary system also requires approval in a referendum; amended several times, last in 2013

Vanuatu Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Vanuatu Government and Politics

Who is the president of Vanuatu?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: President Nikenike VUROBARAVU (since 23 July 2022) head of government: Prime Minister Charlot SALWAI (since 6 October 2023) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and presidents of the 6 provinces; Vanuatu president serves a 5-year term; election last held on 23 July 2022 (next to be held in 2027); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held on 20 April 2020 (next to be held following general elections in 2024) election results: 2022: Nikenike VUROBARAVU elected president in eighth round; electoral college vote - Nikenike VUROBARAVU (VP) 48 votes, Solas MOLISA (VP) 4 votes; note - Charlot SALWAI (RMC) elected prime minister on 6 October 2023, 29 votes for, 0 against; Prime Minister Sato KILMAN lost no-confidence vote on 6 October 2023, requiring a new election
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: both parents must be citizens of Vanuatu; in the case of only one parent, it must be the father who is a citizen dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years
Legal System:	mixed legal system of English common law, French law, and customary law
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch:	description: unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members directly elected in 8 single-seat and 9 multi-seat constituencies by single non-transferable vote to serve 4-year terms (candidates in multi-seat constituencies can be elected with only 4% of the vote) elections: last held on 13 October 2022 (next to be held in 2026) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GJP 4, NUP 4, RDP 4, IG 3, PPP 2, NCM 2, VNDP 2, LM 1, NAG 1, PUDP 1, UCM 1, VLM 1, VPDP 1, independent 1; composition - men 50, women 1, percentage women 2%; note - political party associations are fluid note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of culture and language
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of 2 or more judges of the Supreme Court designated by the chief justice); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 6 puisne judges - 3 local and 3 expatriate) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other judges appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission, a 4-member advisory body; judges serve until the age of retirement subordinate courts: Magistrates Courts; Island Courts
Regions or States:	6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba
Political Parties and Leaders:	Iauko Group (Eagle Party) or IG [Tony NARI] Laverwo Movement or LM [Seoule SIMEON] Land and Justice Party (Graon mo Jastis Pati) or GJP [Ralph REGENVANU] Leaders Party of Vanuatu or LVP [Nikenike VUROBARAVUJotham NAPAT] Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE] Nagriamel Movement or NAG [Frankie STEVENS Pikioune LEONARD] Namarakieana Movement or NM [John AMOS] Natatok Indigenous People's Democratic Party or NATATOK or NIPDP [Alfred Roland CARLOT] National United Party or NUP [Ham LINI Bruno Leingkon TAU] Nagwasoanda Custom Movement or NCM [Ian Toakalana WILSON] People's Progressive Party or PPP [Sato KILMAN] People's Service United Development Party or PSUDP [Don KEN James BULE] Reunification of Movement for Change or RMC [Charlot SALWAI] Rural Development Party or RDP [Jay NGWELE, spokesman] Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Alatoi Ishmael KALSAKAU] Unity for Change Movement or UCM [Vari Peter JAMES] Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP [Bob LOUGHMAN] Vanuatu Democratic Party [Maxime Carlot KORMAN] Vanuatu First or Vanuatu [Russel NARI] Vanuatu Liberal Democratic Party or VLDP [Tapangararua WILLIE] Vanuatu Liberal Movement or VLM [Gaetan PIKIOUNE] Vanuatu National Development Party or VNDP [Robert Bohn SIKOLChristphoe EMELEE] Vanuatu National Party or VNP [Issac HAMARILIU] Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Marcellino PIPITE] Vanuatu Progressive Development Party or VPDP [John NIL]
International Law Organization Participation:	has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International Organization Participation:	ACP, ADB, AOSIS, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Odo TEVI (since 8 September 2017) note - also Permanent Representative to the UN chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400B, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 661-4323 FAX: [1] (212) 422-3427 email address and website: vanunmis@aol.com https://www.un.int/vanuatu/ note - the Vanuatu Permanent Mission to the UN serves as the embassy
Diplomatic Representation from US:	embassy: the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the US Ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu

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