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Colombia: Colombia Government Profile 2011

2010/07/06

Colombia is governed under the constitution of 1991. It is a republic, with executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The executive branch is composed of the president, his cabinet, a vice president, and the heads of the administrative departments. The president is elected for four years by direct vote and may not succeed himself.

Legislative power is vested in Congress, which consists of the Senate and House of Representatives. Members are directly elected by the people to terms of four years. Colombia has universal suffrage for persons 18 years of age and older.

The judiciary consists of the supreme court in Bogotá, superior courts in each of the judicial districts, regional courts, a number of lower courts, and a constitutional court. There is no capital punishment. Colombia maintains an army, a navy, an air force, and a national police force.

Country name

Conventional long form:

Republic of Colombia

Conventional short form:

Colombia

Local long form:

Republica de Colombia

Local short form:

Colombia

Government type:

republic; executive branch dominates government structure

Capital

Name:

Bogota

Geographic coordinates:

4 36 N, 74 05 W

Time difference:

UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada

Independence:

20 July 1810 (from Spain)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 20 July (1810)

Constitution:

5 July 1991; amended many times

Legal system:

based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted into law in 2004 and reached full implementation in January 2008; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Chief of state:

President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS Calderon (since 7 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS Calderon (since 7 August 2002)

Cabinet:

Cabinet consists of a coalition of the three largest parties that supported President URIBE's reelection - the PSUN, PC, and CR - and independents

Elections:

president and vice president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 28 May 2006 (next to be held in 30 May 2010)

Election results:

President Alvaro URIBE Velez reelected president; percent of vote - Alvaro URIBE Velez 62%, Carlos GAVIRIA Diaz 22%, Horacio SERPA Uribe 12%, other 4%

Legislative branch:

bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Senate or Senado (102 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2010); House of Representatives - last held 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSUN 20, PC 18, PL 18, CR 15, PDI 10, other parties 21; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 35, PSUN 33, PC 29, CR 20, PDA 8, other parties 41

Judicial branch:

four roughly coequal, supreme judicial organs; Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected by their peers from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council for eight-year terms); Council of State (highest court of administrative law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council for eight-year terms); Constitutional Court (guards integrity and supremacy of the constitution; rules on constitutionality of laws, amendments to the constitution, and international treaties); Superior Judicial Council (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; resolves jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms)

Political parties and leaders :

Colombian Conservative Party or PC [Fernando ARAUJO]; Alternative Democratic Pole or PDA [Jaime DUSSAN]; Liberal Party or PL [Rafael PARDO]; Radical Change or CR [German VARGAS Lleras]; Social National Unity Party or U Party [Juan Manuel SANTOS] note: Colombia has 5 major political parties, and numerous smaller movements

Political pressure groups and leaders:

National Liberation Army or ELN; Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC note: two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia

International organization participation:

BCIE, CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, FAO, G-3, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Flag description:

three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red note: similar to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears the Ecuadorian coat of arms superimposed in the center

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