Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. Since then, the economy has slowly rebounded.
Country Name
Conventional long form:Republic of Honduras
Conventional short form:Honduras
Local long form:Republica de Honduras
Local short form:Honduras
Government Type
democratic constitutional republic
Capital
Name:Tegucigalpa
Geographic coordinates:14 06 N, 87 13 W
Time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
Administrative divisions
18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro
Independence
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National Holiday
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution
11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times
Legal system
rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch
Chief of state: President Porfirio LOBO Sosa (since 27 January 2010); Vice President Maria Antonieta Guillen de BOGRAN (since 27 January 2010); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government:President Porfirio LOBO Sosa (since 27 January 2010); Vice President Maria Antonieta Guillen de BOGRAN (since 27 January 2010)
Cabinet:Cabinet appointed by president
(For more information visit the World Leaders website)
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held on 29 November 2009 (next to be held in November 2013)
Election results:Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa elected president; percent of vote - Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa 56.3%, Elvin SANTOS Lozano 38.1%, other 5.6%
Legislative branch
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members elected proportionally by department to serve four-year terms)
Elections:last held on 29 November 2009 (next to be held in November 2013)
Election results:percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PNH 71, PL 45, PDC 5, PUD 4, PINU 3
Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)
Political Parties and Leaders
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Lucas Evangelisto AGUILERA Pineda]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Cesar HAM]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National Party of Honduras or PNH [Antonio ALVAREZ Arias]; Social Democratic Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Jorge Rafael AGUILAR Paredes]
Political pressure groups and leaders
Beverage and Related Industries Syndicate or STIBYS; Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH
International organization participation
BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC (suspended), IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS (suspended), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG (suspended), SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO (suspended), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US
Chief of mission:Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires David Alfonso HERNANDEZ Caballero
Chancery:Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: [1] (202) 966-2604
FAX:[1] (202) 966-9751
Consulate(s) general:Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco
honorary consulate(s): Jacksonville
Diplomatic representation from the US
Chief of mission: Ambassador Hugo LLORENS
Embassy:Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa
Mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa
Telephone:[504] 236-9320, 238-5114
FAX: [504] 238-4357
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue, with five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua
note: similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band
