Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Bermuda
Former: Somers Islands
Etymology: the islands making up Bermuda are named after Juan de BERMUDEZ, an early 16th century Spanish sea captain and the first European explorer of the archipelago
History: several previous (dating to 1684); latest entered into force 8 June 1968 (Bermuda Constitution Order 1968)
Amendments: proposal procedure - NA; passage by an Order in Council in the UK; amended several times, last in 2012 (2018)
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the UK
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor John RANKIN (since 5 December 2016)
Head of government: Premier David BURT (since 19 July 2017)
Cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the premier, appointed by the governor
Elections appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed premier by the governor
Description: bicameral Parliament consists of:<br />Senate (11 seats; 3 members appointed by the governor, 5 by the premier, and 3 by the opposition party; members serve 5-year terms) and the House of Assembly (36 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve up to 5-year terms)<br /> House of Assembly (36 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve up to 5-year terms)
Elections: <br />Senate - last appointments in August 2017 (next appointments in 2022)<br />House of Assembly - last held on 18 July 2017 (next to be held not later than 2022)
Election results: Senate - composition - men 7, women 4, percent of women 36.4%<br />House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - PLP 58.9%, OBA 40.6%, other 0.5%; seats by party - PLP 24, OBA 12; composition - men 28, women 8, percent of women 22.2%; note - total Parliament percent of women 25.5%
Highest courts: Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and at least 2 justices); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice, 4 puisne judges, and 1 associate justice); note - the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) is the court of final appeal
Judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal justice appointed by the governor; justice tenure by individual appointment; Supreme Court judges nominated by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission and appointed by the governor; judge tenure based on terms of appointment
Subordinate courts: commercial court (began in 2006); magistrates' courts
Name: Hail to Bermuda
Lyrics music: Bette JOHNS
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