conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Capital City: Bissau
Type of Government: republic
Date of Independence: 24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (from Portugal)
National Holidays: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
chief of state: President Manuel Serifo NHAMADJO (since 11 May 2012)
Capital City: Bissau
Type of Government: republic
Date of Independence: 24 September 1973 (declared); 10 September 1974 (from Portugal)
National Holidays: Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
chief of state: President Manuel Serifo NHAMADJO (since 11 May 2012)
Chief of state: President Manuel Serifo NHAMADJO
head of government: Prime Minister Rui Duarte BARROS (since 16 May 2012)
Head of government: Prime Minister Rui Duarte BARROS
Executive Branch: chief of state: [Transitional] President Manuel Serifo NHAMADJO (since 11 May 2012) Head of government: Prime Minister Rui Duarte BARROS (since 16 May 2012) cabinet: NA. elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held on 18 March 2012 with a runoff between the two leading candidates scheduled for 22 April 2012; prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature
Legislative Branch: unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 16 November 2008 (no legislative elections currently scheduled)
Judicail Branch: Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at more than $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases valued at less than $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases)
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Ambassador in the U.S.: None, Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC
Location of Embassy in the U.S.: None, Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC
Location of consulates in the U.S.: None
Ambassador from the U.S.: None, the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta
Location of U.S. Embassy in Guinea-Bissau: None
Location of U.S. consulates in Guinea-Bissau: None
Representative to the UN: None
two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; yellow symbolizes the sun; green denotes hope; red represents blood shed during the struggle for independence; the black star stands for African unity