Government of Macau
| Country name: | conventional long form: Macau Special Administrative Region conventional short form: Macau local long form: Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese) local short form: Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese) |
| Dependency status: | special administrative region of China |
| Government type: | limited democracy |
| Administrative divisions: | none (special administrative region of China) |
| Independence: | none (special administrative region of China) |
| National holiday: | National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 20 December 1999 is celebrated as Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day |
| Constitution: | Basic Law, approved on 31 March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" |
| Legal system: | based on Portuguese civil law system |
| Suffrage: | direct election 18 years of age, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; indirect election limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (257 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of one government secretary, three legislators, four businessmen, one pro-Beijing unionist, and one pro-Beijing educator elections: chief executive chosen by a 300-member Election Committee for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 29 August 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Edmund HO Hau-wah reelected received 296 votes; three members submitted blank ballots; one member was absent |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral Legislative Assembly (29 seats; 12 members elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 25 September 2005 (next in September 2009) election results: percent of vote - New Democratic Macau Association 18.8%, Macau United Citizens' Association 16.6%, Union for Development 13.3%, Union for Promoting Progress 9.6%, Macau Development Alliance 9.3%, others 32.4%; seats by political group - New Democratic Macau Association 2, Macau United Citizens' Association 2, Union for Development 2, Union for Promoting Progress 2, Macau Development Alliance 1, others 3; 10 seats filled by professional and business groups; seven members appointed by chief executive |
| Judicial branch: | Court of Final Appeal in Macau Special Administrative Region |
| Political parties and leaders: | Civil Service Union [Jose Maria Pereira COUTINHO]; Development Union [KWAN Tsui-hang]; Macau Development Alliance [Angela LEONG On-kei]; Macau United Citizens' Association [CHAN Meng-kam]; New Democratic Macau Association [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong]; United Forces |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | none (special administrative region of China) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | the US has no offices in Macau; US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong |
| Flag description: | light green with a lotus flower above a stylized bridge and water in white, beneath an arc of five gold, five-pointed stars: one large in center of arc and four smaller |