The Government of Honduras - The World Countries

Honduras - Government

Based on the etymolgy of Honduras, it was the name means "depths" in Spanish and refers to the deep anchorage in the northern Bay of Trujillo. The Government system in this country is the presidential republic type and the different Administrative divisions includes: 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

National symbols

Scarlet macaw, white-tailed deer; national colors: blue, white.

The flag

The National flag of Honduras has three equal horizontal bands of cerulean blue (top), white, and cerulean blue, with five cerulean, 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; the blue bands symbolize the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; the white band represents the land between the two bodies of water and the peace and prosperity of its people.

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 words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band

The National Anthem

Title	"Himno Nacional de Honduras" (National Anthem of Honduras)
Lyric/music	Augusto Constancio COELLO/Carlos HARTLING

note: adopted 1915; the anthem's seven verses chronicle Honduran history; on official occasions, only the chorus and last verse are sung

More about the government of Honduras

Constitution
Date of Independence	15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday	Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Legal system	civil law system
International law organization participation	accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
History	Several previous; latest approved 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982
Amendments	Proposed by the National Congress with at least two-thirds majority vote of the membership; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of Congress in its next annual session; constitutional articles, such as the form of government, national sovereignty, the presidential term, and the procedure for amending the constitution, cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2021
Citizenship
Citizenship by birth	yes
Citizenship by descent only	yes
Dual citizenship recognized	yes
Residency requirement for naturalization	1 to 3 years
Executive Branch
Chief of state	President Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (since 27 January 2022)
Head of government	President Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (since 27 January 2022)
Cabinet	Cabinet appointed by president
Elections/appointments	president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 4-year term; election last held on 28 November 2021 (next to be held on 30 November 2025); note - in 2015, the Constitutional Chamber of the Honduran Supreme Court struck down the constitutional provisions on presidential term limits
Election results	2021: Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya elected president; percent of vote - Iris Xiomara CASTRO de Zelaya (LIBRE) 51.1%, Nasry Juan ASFURA Zablah (PNH) 36.9%, Yani Benjamin ROSENTHAL Hidalgo (PL) 10%, other 2% 2017: Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado reelected president; percent of vote - Juan Orlando HERNANDEZ Alvarado (PNH) 43%, Salvador NASRALLA (Alianza de Oposicion contra la Dictadura) 41.4%, Luis Orlando ZELAYA Medrano (PL) 14.7%, other 0.9%
Legislative branch
Description	Unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members directly elected in 18 multi-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections	Last held on 28 November 2021 (next to be held on 30 November 2025)
Election results	Percent of vote by party - LIBRE 39.8%, PNH 31.3%, PL 16.4%, PSH 10.9%, DC 0.8%, PAC 0.8%; seats by party - LIBRE 51, PNH 40, PL 21, PSH 14, DC 1, PAC 1; composition - men 93, women 35, percentage women 27.3%
Judicial branch
Highest court(s)	Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 principal judges, including the court president, and 6 alternates; court organized into civil, criminal, constitutional, and labor chambers); note - the court has both judicial and constitutional jurisdiction
Judge selection and term of office	Court president elected by his peers; judges elected by the National Congress from candidates proposed by the Nominating Board, a diverse 7-member group of judicial officials and other government and non-government officials nominated by each of their organizations; judges elected by Congress for renewable, 7-year terms
Subordinate courts	Courts of appeal; courts of first instance; justices of the peace
Diplomatic representation in the US
Chief of mission	Ambassador Javier Efrain BU SOTO (since 12 December 2022)
Chancery	1220 19th Street NW, Suite #320, Washington, DC 20036
Telephone	[1] (202) 966-7702
FAX	[1] (202) 966-9751
Email address and website	[email protected] https://hondurasembusa.org/
Consulate(s) general	Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte (NC), Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, McAllen (TX), Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
Diplomatic representation from the US
Chief of mission	Ambassador Laura F. DOGU (since 12 April 2022)
Embassy	Avenida La Paz, Tegucigalpa M.D.C.
Mailing address	3480 Tegucigalpa Place, Washington DC 20521-3480
Telephone	[504] 2236-9320,
FAX	[504] 2236-9037
Email address and website	[email protected] https://hn.usembassy.gov/
National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites	2 (1 cultural, 1 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales	Maya Site of Copan (c); Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (n)