Government & politics — Monaco
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Government & politics at a glance
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations. Key figure for Monaco: Principality of Monaco
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Identity & names
- Full Country Name
Principality of Monaco
- Country Name
Monaco
- Local - Long
Principaute de Monaco
- Local - Short
Monaco
- Etymology- history of name
founded as a Greek colony in the 6th century B.C., the name derives from two Greek words "monos" (single, alone) and "oikos" (house) to convey the sense of a people "living apart" or in a "single habitation"
- Independence
1419 (beginning of permanent rule by the House of GRIMALDI)
- National Holiday
National Day (Saint Rainier's Day), 19 November (1857)
Political system
- Government Type
constitutional monarchy
- Constitution
- history: previous 1911 (suspended 1959);
- latest adopted 17 December 1962 amendments: proposed by joint agreement of the chief of state (the prince) and the National Council; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of National Council members; amended 2002
- Legal System:
civil law system influenced by French legal tradition
- Executive Branch:
- Prince ALBERT II (since 6 April 2005) head of government: Mini
- ster of State Christophe MIRMAND (since 21 July 2025) cabinet: Council of Government un
- der the authority of the monarch election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; minister of state appointed by the monarch from a list of three French national candidates presented by the French Government
- Legislative Branch:
Description
unicameral National Council or Conseil National (24 seats; 16 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 8 directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections
last held on 5 February 2023 (next to be held in February 2028)
Election Results
- percent of vote by coalition - Monegasque National Union 100%
- seats by coalition - Monegasque National Union 24;
Composition
men 13, women 11, percent of women 45.8%
- Judicial Branch:
- highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of 5 permanent
- members and 2 substitutes) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court members appointed by the monarch upon the proposals of the National Council, State Council, Crown Council, Court of Appeal,
- and Trial Court subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; Civil Court of First Instance
- Regions or States:
none; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 quarters (quartiers, singular - quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo; note - Moneghetti, a part of La Condamine, is sometimes called the 5th quarter of Monaco
- Political Parties and Leaders:
- Monegasque National Union [Brigitte BOCCONE-PAGES] (includes Horizon Monaco, Primo!, Union Monegasque)
- Horizon Monaco [Laurent NOUVION]
- Priorite Monaco or Primo! [Stephane VALERI]
- Union Monegasque [Jean-Francois ROBILLON]
- Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
- Citizenship Criteria:
- no citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Monaco; in the case of a child born out of wedlock, the mother mus
- no residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years
Capital & time
- Capital Name
Monaco
- Capital - geographic coordinate
43 44 N, 7 25 E
- Capital Time Difference
UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Daylight Savings Time
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
International role
- International Organization Participation:
CD, CE, FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITSO, ITU, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Schengen Convention (de facto member), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
- International Law Organization Participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
- Diplomatic Representation from US:
embassy
US does not have an embassy in Monaco; the US Ambassador to France is accredited to Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille (France), under the authority of the US Ambassador to France, handles diplomatic and consular matters concerning Monaco; +(33)(1) 43-12-22-22, enter zero "0" after the automated greeting; US Embassy Paris, 2 Avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris, France
- Diplomatic Representation in the US:
chief of mission
Ambassador Maguy MACCARIO-DOYLE (since 3 December 2013)
chancery
888 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
telephone
[1] (202) 234-1530
FAX
[1] (202) 244-7656
Email address and website
- info@monacodc.org
- https://monacodc.org/index.html
consulate(s) general
New York