Country name:
conventional long form: Overseas Collectivity of Saint Martin
conventional short form: Saint Martin
local long form: Collectivite d'outre mer de Saint-Martin
local short form: Saint-Martin
etymology: explorer Christopher COLUMBUS named the island after Saint MARTIN of Tours because the 11 November 1493 day of discovery was the saint's feast day

Dependency status:
overseas collectivity of France

Capital:
name: Marigot
geographical coordinates: 18 04 N, 63 05 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Independence:
none (overseas collectivity of France)

National holiday:
Fete de la Federation, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is Schoalcher Day (Slavery Abolition Day) 12 July (1848)

Constitution:
4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system:
French civil law

Citizenship:
see France

Suffrage:
18 years of age, universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Francois HOLLANDE (since 15 May 2012); represented by Deputy Prefect Philippe CHOPIN (since 16 November 2011)
head of government: President of Territorial Council Aline HANSON (since 17 April 2013)
cabinet: Executive Council; note - there is also an advisory economic, social, and cultural council
elections/appointments: French president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prefect appointed by French president on the advice of French Ministry of Interior; president of Territorial Council elected by its members for a 5-year term; election last held on 17 April 2013 (next to be held in 2018)
election results: Aline HANSON elected president by the Territorial Council

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Territorial Council (23 seats; members directly elected by absolute majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
note: Saint Martin elects 1 member to the French Senate; election last held on 28 September 2014 (next to be held not later than September 2017); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 1; one seat (shared with Saint Barthelemy) was elected to the French National Assembly on 17 June 2012 (next to be held by June 2017); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 1
elections: last held on 18 and 25 March 2012 (next to be held in July 2017)
election results: percent of seats by party - RRR 34.1%, Team Daniel Gibbs 2012 32%, UPP 13.3%, Saint-Martin pour tous 9.4%, other 11.2%; seats by party - NA; second round, percent of seats by party - RRR 56.9%, Team Daniel Gibbs 43.1%; seats by party - RRR 17, Team Daniel Gibbs 6

Political parties and leaders:
Rally Responsibility Success (Rassemblement Responsabilite Reussite or RRR [Alain RICHARDSON] Team Daniel Gibbs [Daniel GIBBS] Union for Progress (Union Pour le Progres or UPP) [Louis-Constant FLEMING]; affiliated with UMP

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (overseas collectivity of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (overseas collectivity of France)

Flag description:
the flag of France is used

National symbol(s):
brown pelican

National anthem:
name: "O Sweet Saint Martin's Land"
lyrics/music: Gerard KEMPS
note: the song, written in 1958, is used as an unofficial anthem for the entire island (both French and Dutch sides); as a collectivity of France, in addition to the local anthem, "La Marseillaise" remains official on the French side (see France); as a constituent part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in addition to the local anthem, "Het Wilhelmus" remains official on the Dutch side (see Netherlands)