Government
Type: Parliamentary democracy.
Independence: July 30, 1980.
Constitution: July 30, 1980.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister (head of government). Legislative--unicameral (52-member parliament). Judicial--Supreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 6 administrative districts.
Political parties: Melanesian Progressive Party (MPP); Union of Moderate Parties (UMP); National United Party (NUP); Vanua'aku Party (VP); Vanuatu Republican Party (VRP); the Confederation of Greens (CG); John Frum group; People's Progressive Party (PPP); National Community Association (NCA).
Suffrage: Universal over 18.
Independence Day: July 30.

VANUATU GOVERNMENT
The constitution created a republican political system headed by a president who has primarily ceremonial powers and is elected by a two-thirds majority in an electoral college consisting of members of Parliament and the presidents of Regional Councils. The president serves a 5-year term. The president may be removed by the Electoral College for gross misconduct or incapacity. The prime minister, who is the head of government, is elected by a majority vote of a three-fourths quorum of the Parliament. The prime minister in turn appoints the Council of Ministers, whose number may not exceed one-fourth of the number of parliamentary representatives. The prime minister and the Council of Ministers constitute the executive government.

Parliament is a 52-member unicameral house elected by all persons over 18 years old. Parliament normally sits for a 4-year term unless dissolved by majority vote of a three-fourths quorum or a directive from the president on the advice of the prime minister. The national Council of Chiefs, called the Malvatu Mauri and elected by district councils of chiefs, advises the government on all matters concerning ni-Vanuatu culture and language.

The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and up to three other judges. Two or more members of this court may constitute a Court of Appeal. Magistrate courts handle most routine legal matters. The legal system is based on British law. The constitution also provides for the establishment of village or island courts presided over by chiefs to deal with questions of customary law.

Principal Government Officials
President--Kalkot Matas Kelekele
Prime Minister--Ham Lini
Foreign Minister/Deputy Prime Minister--Sato Kilman

Vanuatu does not have an embassy in Washington. Its mission to the United Nations is located at 866 UN Plaza, 4th Floor, Room 41, First Avenue and 48th Street, New York, New York 10017. Vanuatu Maritime Services, which provides information on ship registration in Vanuatu, is located at 120 Broadway, Suite 1743, New York, New York 10271.

VANUATU POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Government and society in Vanuatu tend to divide along linguistic--French and English--lines. Historically, English-speaking politicians such as Walter Lini and other leaders of the Vanua'aku Pati favored early independence, whereas French-speaking political leaders favored continuing association with the colonial administrators, particularly France.

On the eve of independence in 1980, Jimmy Stevens' Nagriamel movement, in alliance with private French interests and backed by American libertarians hoping to establish a tax-free haven, declared the island of Espiritu Santo independent of the new government. Following independence, Vanuatu requested assistance from Papua New Guinea, whose forces restored order on Santo. From then until 1991, the Vanua'aku Pati and its predominantly English-speaking leadership controlled the Vanuatu Government, and Walter Lini became widely considered as the nation's founding father.

In December 1991, and following a split in the Vanua'aku Pati, Maxime Carlot Korman, leader of the Francophone Union of Moderate Parties (UMP), was elected Vanuatu's first Francophone prime minister. He formed a coalition government with Walter Lini's breakaway VP faction, now named the National United Party (NUP). From 1995-2004 government leadership changed frequently due to unstable coalitions within the Parliament and within the major parties.

The president dissolved Parliament in May 2004 to forestall a vote of no confidence and called a special election that resulted in losses for most major parties. UMP's leader, Serge Vohor, returned as Prime Minister at the head of an unwieldy coalition government. Following controversy over Vohor's attempt to extend diplomatic relations to Taiwan, he was ousted by a vote of no confidence in December 2004 and replaced by Ham Lini, brother of Walter Lini. The new coalition includes ten parties and features the former opposition leader, Sato Kilman, as Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister.