Government & politics — Andorra

• the origin of the country's name is obscure
• the name may derive from the Arabic "ad-darra" meaning "the forest," a reference to its location as part of the Spanish March (defensive buffer zone) against the invading Moors in the 8th century
• an alternate explanation is that the name originates from a Navarrese word "andurrial" meaning "shrub-covered land"

• history: drafted 1991, approved by referendum 14 March 1993,
• effective 28 April 1993 amendments: proposed by the coprinces jointly or by the General Council; passage requires at least a two-thirds majority vote by the General Council, ratification in a referendum, and sanctioning by the coprinces

• chief of state: Co-prince Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by Patrick STROZDA (since 14 May 2017); and Co-prince Archbishop Joan-Enric VIVES i Sicilia (since 12 May 2003); represented
• by Josep Maria MAURI (since 20 July 2012) head of government: P
• rime Minister Xavier Espot ZAMORA (since 16 May 2019) cabinet: Executive Council of 12 minister
• s designated by the head of government elections/appointments: head of government indirectly elected by the General Council (Andorran parliament), formally appointed by the co-princes for a 4-year term; election last held on 2 April 2023 (next to be held in April 2027); the leader of the majority party in the General C
• ouncil is usually elected head of government election results: 2023: Xaviar Espot ZAMORA (DA) re-elected head of government; percent of General Council vote - 57.1% 2019: Xaviar Espot ZAMORA (DA) elected head of government; percent of General Council vote - 60.7

Description

unicameral General Council of the Valleys or Consell General de les Valls (a minimum of 28 seats; 14 members directly elected in two-seat constituencies (7 parishes) by simple majority vote and 14 directly elected in a single national constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms);

Note

voters cast two separate ballots - one for national and one for their parish

Elections

last held on 2 April 2023 (next to be held in April 2027)

Election Results

• percent of vote by party - DA 57.1%, Concord 17.8%, Forward 10.7%, SDP 10.7%, L'A 3.6%
• seats by party - DA 16, Concord 5, Forward 3, SDP 3, L'A 1
• composition as of August 2023 - men 14, women 14, percent of women 50%

• highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice of Andorra or Tribunal Superior de la Justicia d'Andorra (consists of the court president and 8 judges organized into civil, criminal, and administrative chambers); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (
• consists of 4 magistrates) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president and judges appointed by the Supreme Council of Justice, a 5-member judicial policy and administrative body appointed 1 each by the coprinces, 1 by the General Council, 1 by the executive council president, and 1 by the courts; judges serve 6-year renewable terms; Constitutional magistrates - 2 appointed by the coprinces and 2 by the General Council; magistrates' appointm
• ents limited to 2 consecutive 8-year terms subordinate courts: Tribunal of Judges or Tribunal de Batlles; Tribunal of the Courts or Tribunal de Corts

• Action for Andorra or ACCIO [Judith PALLARES]
• Committed Citizens or CC [David BARO Riva]
• Concord [Cerni ESCALE Cabre]
• Democrats for Andorra or DA [Xaviar ESPOT ZAMORA]
• Forward Andorra or AE [Carine Montaner RAYNAUD]
• Liberals of Andorra or L'A [Joseph Maria CABANES]
• Social Democracy and Progress or SDP [Victor NAUDI]
• Social Democratic Party or PS [Pere Lopez AGRAS]
• Note: Andorra has several smaller parties at the parish level (one is Lauredian Union)

• no citizenship by descent only: the mother must be an Andorran citizen or the father must have been born in Andorra and both parents mainta
• no residency requirement for naturalization: 25 years

embassy

the US does not have an embassy in Andorra; the US ambassador to Spain is accredited to Andorra; US interests in Andorra are represented by the US Consulate General's office in Barcelona (Spain); mailing address: Paseo Reina Elisenda de Montcada, 23, 08034 Barcelona, Espana;

telephone

[34] (93) 280-22-27;

FAX

[34] (93) 280-61-75; email address: Barcelonaacs@state.gov

chief of mission

Ambassador Elisenda VIVES BALMANA (since 2 March 2016)

chancery

2 United Nations Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017

telephone

[1] (212) 750-8064

FAX

[1] (212) 750-6630

Email address and website

• contact@andorraun.org
• https://www.exteriors.ad/en/embassies-of-andorra/andorra-usa-embassy