Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form:
Montenegro
local long form:
none
local short form:
Crna Gora
former:
People's Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Republic of Montenegro, Republic of Montenegro
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name:
Podgorica; note - the Old Royal Capital is Cetinje mentioned in the constitution
geographic coordinates:
42 26 N, 19 16 E
time difference:
UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time:
+1 hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
23 municipalities (opstine, singular - opstina); Andrijevica, Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Gusinje, Herceg Novi, Kolasin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Niksic, Petnijica, Plav, Pljevlja, Pluzine, Podgorica, Rozaje, Savnik, Tivat, Ulcinj, Zabljak
Independence:
3 June 2006 (from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro)
National holiday:
National Day, 13 July (1878)
Constitution:
several previous; latest adopted 22 October 2007; note - in early 2013, Montenegro's parliamentary constitutional committee began debate on proposed amendments (2013)
Legal system:
civil law
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICC jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
:
chief of state:
President Filip VUJANOVIC (since 6 April 2008)
head of government:
Prime Minister Milo DJUKANOVIC (since 4 December 2012)
cabinet:
Ministers act as cabinet
elections:
president elected by direct vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 April 2013 (next to be held in 2018); prime minister proposed by president, accepted by Assembly
election results:
Filip VUJANOVIC re-elected president; Filip VUJANOVIC 51.2%, Miodrag LEKIC 48.8%%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Assembly (81 seats; members elected by direct vote to serve four-year terms)
elections:
last held on 14 October 2012 (next to be held by 2016)
election results:
percent of vote by party/coalition - Coalition for European Montenegro 45.6%, Democratic Front 22.8%, SNP 11.1%, Positive Montenegro 8.2%, Bosniak Party, 4.2%, other (including Albanian and Croatian minority parties) 8.1%; seats by party - Coalition for European Montenegro 39, Democratic Front 20, SNP 9, Positive Montenegro 7, Bosniak Party 3, Albanian and Croatian minority parties 3
Judicial branch:
highest court(s):
Supreme Court or Vrhovni Sud (consists of the court president and 6 judges); Constitutional Court or Ustavni Sud (consists of the court president and 6 judges)
judge selection and term of office:
president of Supreme Court proposed jointly by the president of Montenegro, the speaker of the Assembly, and the prime minister; other judges elected by the Judicial Council; court president term is 5 years; term of other judges is 9 years; Constitutional Court judges proposed by the president of Montenegro and elected by the Assembly; court president elected among its members; term of judges is 9 years; court president term is 3 years
subordinate courts:
Administrative Court; Court of Appeal; regional and first instance courts
Political parties and leaders:
Albanian Coalition (includes Democratic League in Montenegro or DSCG [Mehmed BARDHI], Democratic Party [Fatmir DJEKA], and Albanian Alternative or AA [Djerdj DAMAJ])
Bosniak Party or BS [Rafet HUSOVIC]
Coalition for European Montenegro (bloc) [Milo DJUKANOVIC] (includes Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC], Liberal Party of Montenegro or LP [Andrija POPOCVIC], and the Social Democratic Party or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC])
Coalition FORCA for Unity (includes FORCA [Nazif CUNGU] and Civic Initiative [Vaselj Sinistaj])
Croatian Civic Initiative or HGI [Marija VUCINOVIC]
Democratic Center or DC [Goran BATRICEVIC]
Democratic Front (bloc) [Miodrag LEKIC] (includes New Serb Democracy or NOVA [Andrija MANDIC] and Movement for Change or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC], a splinter faction of the Socialist People's Party or SNP)
Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Mehmet ZENKA]
Just Montenegro [Rade BOJOVIC]
Positive Montenegro [Darko PAJOVIC]
Serbian National Alliance (bloc)(includes Party of Serb Radicals or SSR, Democratic Serb Party or DSS [Ranko KADIC], and the Serbian National Council)
Serbian Unity (bloc) (includes Serbian People's Party or NS [Predrag POPOVIC], the Serb List or SL, the Serbian Homeland Party, the Serbian Radical Party, and the Democratic Centre of Boka or DCB [Dejan COROVIC])
Socialist People's Party or SNP [Srdan MILIC]
Together (bloc) (includes Pensioners' Party [Vojo VULETIC], Disabled and Social Justice, and the Yugoslav Communist Party of Montenegro or JKPCG)
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation:
CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Srdjan DARMANOVIC (since 30 November 2010)
chancery:
1610 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20009
telephone:
[1] (202) 234-6108
FAX:
[1] (202) 234-6109
consulate(s) general:
New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Sue K. BROWN (since 27 April 2011)
embassy:
Dzona Dzeksona 2, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[382] (0) 20 410 500
FAX:
[382] (0) 20 241 358
Flag description:
a red field bordered by a narrow golden-yellow stripe with the Montenegrin coat of arms centered; the arms consist of a double-headed golden eagle - symbolizing the unity of church and state - surmounted by a crown; the eagle holds a golden scepter in its right claw and a blue orb in its left; the breast shield over the eagle shows a golden lion passant on a green field in front of a blue sky; the lion is symbol of episcopal authority and harkens back to the three and a half centuries that Montenegro was ruled as a theocracy
National symbol(s):
double-headed eagle
National anthem:
name:
"Oj, svijetla majska zoro" (Oh, Bright Dawn of May)
lyrics/music: Sekula DRLJEVIC/unknown, arranged by Zarko MIKOVIC
note: adopted 2004; the anthem's music is based on a Montenegrin folk song