Traditional woven basket with peaked lid; national colors: blue, yellow, green.
Title | "Rwanda nziza" (Rwanda, Our Beautiful Country) |
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Lyric/music | Faustin MURIGO/Jean-Bosco HASHAKAIMANA |
Date of Independence | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Legal system | mixed legal system of civil law, based on German and Belgian models, and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court |
International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
Constitution | |
History | Several previous; latest adopted by referendum 26 May 2003, effective 4 June 2003 |
Amendments | Proposed by the president of the republic (with Council of Ministers approval) or by two-thirds majority vote of both houses of Parliament; passage requires at least three-quarters majority vote in both houses; changes to constitutional articles on national sovereignty, the presidential term, the form and system of government, and political pluralism also require approval in a referendum; amended several times, last in 2015 |
Citizenship | |
Citizenship by birth | no |
Citizenship by descent only | the father must be a citizen of Rwanda; if the father is stateless or unknown, the mother must be a citizen |
Dual citizenship recognized | no |
Residency requirement for naturalization | 10 years |
Executive Branch | |
Chief of state | President Paul KAGAME (since 22 April 2000) |
Head of government | Prime Minister Edouard NGIRENTE (since 30 August 2017) |
Cabinet | Council of Ministers appointed by the president |
Elections/appointments | president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); note - a constitutional amendment approved in December 2016 reduced the presidential term from 7 to 5 years but included an exception that allowed President KAGAME to serve another 7-year term in 2017, potentially followed by two additional 5-year terms; election last held on 4 August 2017 (next to be held on 15 July 2029); prime minister appointed by the president |
Election results | 2024: Paul KAGAME reelected president; Paul KAGAME (RPF) 99.2%, Frank HABINEZA (DGPR) 0.50%, Philippe MPAYIMANA (independent) 0.32% 2017: Paul KAGAME reelected president; Paul KAGAME (RPF) 98.8%, Philippe MPAYIMANA (independent), other 1.2%
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Legislative branch | |
Description | Bicameral Parliament consists of: Senate or Senat (26 seats; 12 members indirectly elected by local councils, 8 appointed by the president, 4 appointed by the Political Organizations Forum - a body of registered political parties, and 2 selected by institutions of higher learning; members serve 8-year terms) Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (80 seats; 53 members directly elected by proportional representation vote, 24 women selected by special interest groups, and 3 selected by youth and disability organizations; members serve 5-year terms) |
Elections | Senate - last held on 16-18 September 2019 (next to be held 30 September 2024) Chamber of Deputies - last held on 15 July 2024 (next to be held 31 July 2029) |
Election results | Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 17, women 9, percentage women 34.6% Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FPR 37, PSD 5, PL 5, DGPR 2, PDI 2, PS 2 composition - men 36, women 44, percentage women 55%; total Parliament percentage women 50%
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Judicial branch | |
Highest court(s) | Supreme Court (consists of the chief and deputy chief justices and 5 judges; normally organized into 3-judge panels); High Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and a minimum of 24 judges and organized into 5 chambers) |
Judge selection and term of office | Supreme Court judges nominated by the president after consultation with the Cabinet and the Superior Council of the Judiciary (SCJ), a 27-member body of judges, other judicial officials, and legal professionals) and approved by the Senate; chief and deputy chief justices appointed for 8-year nonrenewable terms; tenure of judges NA; High Court president and vice president appointed by the president of the republic upon approval by the Senate; judges appointed by the Supreme Court chief justice upon approval of the SCJ; judge tenure NA |
Subordinate courts | High Court of the Republic; commercial courts including the High Commercial Court; intermediate courts; primary courts; and military specialized courts |
Diplomatic representation in the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Mathilde MUKANTABANA (since 18 July 2013) |
Chancery | 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 |
Telephone | [1] (202) 232-2882 |
FAX | [1] (202) 232-4544 |
Email address and website | [email protected] https://rwandaembassy.org/ |
Diplomatic representation from the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Eric KNEEDLER (since 3 October 2023) |
Embassy | 2657 Avenue de la Gendarmerie (Kaciyiru), P. O. Box 28 Kigali |
Mailing address | 2210 Kigali Place, Washington DC 20521-2210 |
Telephone | [250] 252 596-400 |
FAX | [250] 252 580-325 |
Email address and website | [email protected] https://rw.usembassy.gov/ |
National heritage | |
Total World Heritage Sites | 2 (1 cultural, 1 natural) |
Selected World Heritage Site locales | Memorial sites of the Genocide: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero (c); Nyungwe National Park (n) |
Want to know more about Rwanda? Check all different factbooks for Rwanda below.