Republic of El Salvador
Capital City: San Salvador
Type of Government: Republic Date of Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain) National Holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821) Chief of State: President Salvador Sanchez Ceren Head of Government: President Salvador Sanchez Ceren Executive Branch: chief of state: President Salvador SANCHEZ CEREN Vice President Salvador Oscar ORTIZ note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Salvador SANCHEZ CEREN ; Vice President Salvador Oscar ORTIZ cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a single 5-year term; election last held on 2 February 2014, with a runoff on 9 March 2014 (next to be held in February 2019) Legislative Branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies and a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote to serve 3-year terms) Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (CSJ) (consists of 15 judges assigned to constitutional, civil, penal, and administrative conflict divisions) judge selection and term of office: judges elected by the Legislative Assembly on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judicature, an independent body elected by the Legislative Assembly; judges elected for a 9-year term, with renewal of one-third of judges every 3 years; consecutive re-election is allowed subordinate courts: Appellate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Courts of Peace Suffrage: 18 years of age: universal Ambassador to US: Ambassador Francisco Roberto Altschul Fuentes Embassy in US: 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 100, Washington, DC 20036 Consulates: Elizabeth and Newark, New Jersey US Ambassador: Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte US Embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena Sur, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador UN Representative: Reuben Zamora |
President Salvador Sanchez Ceren-
Chief of State and Head of Government |
Flag Description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; the banner is based on the former blue-white-blue flag of the Federal Republic of Central America; the blue bands symbolize the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, while the white band represents the land between the two bodies of water, as well as peace and prosperity
National Anthem: "Himno Nacional de El Salvador" Click here to listen National Symbols: turquoise-browed motmot (bird); national colors: blue, white International Disputes: International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, in 1992, with final agreement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca advocating Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not identified in the ICJ decision, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca Refugees: N/A Internally Displaced Persons: N/A Stateless Persons: N/A Human Trafficking: Prevalent, but not prominent Illicit Drug Trafficking: transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of marijuana produced for local consumption; significant use of cocaine |
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