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Executive branch
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Head of government
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President of the General Council Jacques GILLOT (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Victorin LUREL (since 2 April 2004)
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Prime Minister David CAMERON (since 11 May 2010)
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Flag description
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unofficial, local flag based upon the arms of the city of Pointe-a-Pitre; the field is divided horizontally with a narrow, blue stripe along the top edge charged with three gold fleurs-de-lis; the wider, lower portion of the field is black and charged with green sugar cane leaves - representing one of Guadeloupe's main crops - surmounted by a gold radiant sun representing the tropical climate; the only official flag is the national flag of France
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blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, and British overseas territories
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Judicial branch
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Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique
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Supreme Court of the UK (established in October 2009 taking over appellate jurisdiction formerly vested in the House of Lords is the final court of appeal); Senior Courts of England and Wales (comprising the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice, and the Crown Courts); Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland); Scotland's Court of Session and High Court of the Justiciary
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Legal system
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French legal system
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common law system; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998
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Legislative branch
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unicameral General Council or Conseil General (42 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
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bicameral Parliament consists of House of Lords
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Legislative branch
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A note
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<a href=/country/gp><a href=/country/gp>Guadeloupe</a></a> elects two representatives to the <a href=/kp/French><a href=/country/fr>French</a></a> <a href=/encyclopedia/United-States-Senate>Senate</a>; elections last held <a href=/kp/NA><a href=/encyclopedia/natural-abundance>NA</a></a> September 1995 (next to be held <a href=/kp/NA><a href=/encyclopedia/natural-abundance>NA</a></a> September 2004); percent of vote by party - <a href=/kp/NA>NA</a>%; seats by party - RPR 1, FGPS 1; <a href=/country/gp><a href=/country/gp>Guadeloupe</a></a> elects four representatives to the <a href=/kp/French><a href=/country/fr>French</a></a> <a href=/encyclopedia/National-Assembly-of-the-Republic-of-China>National Assembly</a>; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held <a href=/kp/NA><a href=/encyclopedia/natural-abundance>NA</a></a> 2002); percent of vote by party - <a href=/kp/NA><a href=/encyclopedia/natural-abundance>NA</a></a>%; seats by party - RPR 1, PS 2, <a href=/encyclopedia/personal-computer>PC</a> 1
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in 1998 elections were held for a <a href=/kp/Northern>Northern</a> <a href=/country/ei><a href=/country/ei>Ireland</a></a> <a href=/encyclopedia/Parliament-(band)>Parliament</a> (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to <a href=/kp/Northern>Northern</a> <a href=/country/ei><a href=/country/ei>Ireland</a></a> came only at the end of 1999 and was twice rescinded before reinstatement in November 2001); in 1999 there were elections for a new <a href=/encyclopedia/Scotland><a href=/encyclopedia/Scotland>Scottish</a></a> <a href=/encyclopedia/Parliament-(band)>Parliament</a> and a new <a href=/encyclopedia/Wales>Welsh</a> Assembly
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Legislative branch
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Election results
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General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - left-wing candidates 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCG 3, UDF 1; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PS 58.4%, UMP 41.6%; seats by party - PS 29, UMP 12
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House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Conservative 36.1%, Labor 29%, Liberal Democrats 23%, other 11.9%; seats by party - Conservative 305, Labor 258, Liberal Democrat 57, other 30
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Legislative branch
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Elections
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General Council - last held March 2004 (next to be held by in 2010); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008 to elect half of the body)
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House of Lords - no elections (note - in 1999, as provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain there; elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary peerage arise); House of Commons - last held on 6 May 2010 (next to be held by June 2015)
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Legislative branch
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Note
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Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate; elections last held September 2004 (next to be held September 2013); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA, Guadeloupe elects four representatives to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2, PS 1, different right parties 1
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in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Assembly (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and has been suspended four times, the latest occurring in October 2002 and lasting until 8 May 2007); in 1999, the UK held the first elections for a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly, the most recent of which were held in May 2007
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National holiday
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Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
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the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday
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Political parties and leaders
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Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG [Mona CADOCE]; FGPS [Dominique LARIFLA]; Left Radical Party or PRG [Flavien FERRANT]; Progressive Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU]; Socialist Party or PS [Jules OTTO]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Claudine LACAVE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (including Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR) [Gabrielle LOUIS-CARABIN]
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Conservative [David CAMERON]<br />Democratic Unionist Party or DUP (Northern Ireland) [Peter ROBINSON]<br />Labor Party [Ed MILIBAND]<br />Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems) [Nick CLEGG]<br />Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Leanne WOOD]<br />Scottish National Party or SNP [Alex SALMOND]<br />Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]<br />Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Alasdair MCDONNELL]<br />Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Mike NESBITT]<br />United Kingdom Independent Party or UKIP [Nigel FARAGE]
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Political pressure groups and leaders
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Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG; General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G; General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG; Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI; The Socialist Renewal Movement
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Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament<br />Confederation of British Industry<br />National Farmers' Union<br />Trades Union Congress
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Transnational Issues
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Disputes
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International
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none
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in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement between the UK and Spain; the Government of Gibraltar insisted on equal participation in talks between the two countries; Spain disapproved of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory); in 2001, the former inhabitants of the archipelago, evicted 1967 - 1973, were granted U.K. citizenship and the right of return, followed by Orders in Council in 2004 that banned rehabitation, a High Court ruling reversed the ban, a Court of Appeal refusal to hear the case, and a Law Lords' decision in 2008 denied the right of return; in addition, the United Kingdom created the world's largest marine protection area around the Chagos islands prohibiting the extraction of any natural resources therein; UK rejects sovereignty talks requested by Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm
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