Country name:
conventional long form: Departement of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana
local long form: none
local short form: Guyane

Data code: FG

Dependency status: overseas departement of France

Government type: NA

Capital: Cayenne

Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jacques Chirac of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique Vian (since January 1997)
head of government: President of the General Council Andre Lecante (since March 1998); President of the Regional Council Antoine Karam (since 22 March 1992)
cabinet: NA
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 20-27 March 1994 (next to be held NA 2000); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSG 8, FDG 4, RPR 1, other left 2, other right 2, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2
note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 25 May - 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1, PSG 1

Judicial branch: Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana)

Political parties and leaders: Action Democrate Guiana or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Democratic and European Rally of the Senate or RDSE [leader NA]; Guianese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Nationalist Popular Party of Guyana (Parti Nationaliste Populaire Guiana) or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE]; Socialist Party or PS [Pierre RIBARDIERE] (may be a subset of PSG); Union for French Democracy or UDF [R. CHOW-CHINE]; Union of Social Democrats (Union des Socialistes Democates) or USD [Theodore ROUMILLAC] (umbrella group of RPR and UDF); Walwari Committee [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON]

International organization participation: FZ, WCL, WFTU

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas department of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas department of France)

Flag description: the flag of France is used

See also : French Guiana