Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Chile
conventional short form:
Chile
local long form:
Republica de Chile
local short form:
Chile
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name:
Santiago; note - Valparaiso is the seat of the national legislature
geographic coordinates:
33 27 S, 70 40 W
time difference:
UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time:
+1hr, under a new pilot program that begins second Sunday in September and ends fourth Sunday in April
Administrative divisions:
15 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aysen, Antofagasta, Araucania, Arica y Parinacota, Atacama, Biobio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Los Rios, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso
note:
the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica
Independence:
18 September 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 18 September (1810)
Constitution:
many previous; latest adopted 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended many times, last in 2011 (2011)
Legal system:
civil law system influenced by several West European civil legal systems; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Tribunal
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
:
chief of state:
President Michelle BACHELET Jeria (since 11 March 2014); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government:
President Michelle BACHELET Jeria (since 11 March 2014)
cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the president
elections:
president elected by popular vote for a single four-year term; election last held on 17 November 2013 with a runoff election held on 15 December 2013 (next to be held on 19 November 2017)
election results:
Michelle BACHELET Jeria elected president; percent of vote - Michelle BACHELET Jeria 62.2%; Evelyn Rose MATTHEI Fornet 37.8%
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (38 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve eight-year terms; one-half elected every four years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections:
Senate - last held on 13 December 2009 (next to be held in November 2013); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 13 December 2009 (next to be held in November 2013)
election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPD 9 (PDC 4, PPD 3, PS 2), APC 9 (RN 6, UDI 3); Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 58 (UDI 37, RN 18, other 3), CPD 57 (PDC 19, PPD 18, PS 11, PRSD 5, PC 3, other 1), PRI 3, independent 2; note - as of 19 February 2013, the composition of the entire legislature is as follows: Senate - seats by party - CPD 19 (PDC 9, PPD 4, PS 5, PRSD 1), Coalition for Change (former APC) 16 (RN 8, UDI 8), independent 2, MAS 1; Chamber of Deputies - seats by party - Coalition for Change (former APC) 56 (UDI 39, RN 17), CPD 53 (PDC 19, PPD 18, PS 11, PRSD 5), independent 5, PC 3, PRI 2, IC 1
Judicial branch:
highest court(s):
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (consists of a court president and 20 members or ministros); Constitutional Court (consists of 7 members); Electoral Court (consists of 5 members)
judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court judges appointed by the president and ratified by the Senate from lists of candidates provided by the court itself; judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 70; Constitutional Court members appointed - 3 by the Supreme Court, 1 by the president of the republic, 2 by the National Security Council, and 1 by the Senate; members serve 8-year terms with partial court replacement every 4 years (the court reviews constitutionality of legislation); Electoral Court member appointments - 4 by the Supreme Court and 1 a former president or vice-president of the Senate or Chamber of Deputies selected by the Supreme Court; member term NA
subordinate courts:
Courts of Appeal; oral criminal tribunals; military tribunals; local police courts; specialized tribunals and courts in matters such as family, labor, customs, taxes, and electoral affairs
Political parties and leaders:
Broad Social Movement or MAS [Alejandro NAVARRO Brain]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Roman Catholic Church, particularly conservative groups such as Opus Dei
other: university student federations at all major universities
International organization participation:
APEC, BIS, BRICS, CAN (associate), CD, CELAC, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OECD (Enhanced Engagement, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance, PCA, SICA (observer), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Juan Gabriel VALDES Soublette (since 21 May 2014)
chancery:
1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone:
[1] (202) 785-1746
FAX:
[1] (202) 887-5579
consulate(s) general:
Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Stephen M. LISTON
embassy:
Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago
mailing address:
APO AA 34033
telephone:
[56] (2) 330-3000
FAX:
[56] (2) 330-3710, 330-3160
Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red represents the blood spilled to achieve independence
note:
design was influenced by the US flag
National symbol(s):
huemul (mountain deer); Andean condor
National anthem:
name:
"Himno Nacional de Chile" (National Anthem of Chile)
lyrics/music: Eusebio LILLO Robles and Bernardo DE VERA y Pintado/Ramon CARNICER y Battle
note: music adopted 1828, original lyrics adopted 1818, adapted lyrics adopted 1847; under Augusto PINOCHET"s military rule, a verse glorifying the army was added; however, as a protest, some citizens refused to sing this verse; it was removed when democracy was restored in 1990
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Chile on this page is re-published from the 2015 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Chile Government 2015 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Chile Government 2015 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 10-Feb-15