Government of Honduras
Long Conventional Name
Republic of Honduras
Short Conventional Name
Honduras
Long Local Name
Republica de Honduras
Short Local Name
Hondurasq
Government Type
Democratic Republic
Capital City
Vacant
Administrative Divisions
18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro
Independence Day
Saturday, 15th September 1821
Constitutional History
11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times
Legal System
Rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction with reservations.
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive Branch
Chief of State
President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006)
Head of Government
President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006)
Cabinet
Cabinet appointed by president
Elections
President elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009)
Legislative Branch
Unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms).
Judical Branch
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress).
Flag Description
Three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band.
