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Events in the year 2023 in Andorra .
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Events in the year 2023 in Andorra .
Ongoing — COVID-19 pandemic in Andorra
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees, bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south. Believed to have been created by Charlemagne, Andorra was ruled by the count of Urgell until 988, when it was transferred to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell. The present principality was formed by a charter in 1278. It is currently headed by two co-princes: the bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain and the president of France. Its capital and largest city is Andorra la Vella.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Andorra have advanced significantly in the 21st century, and are now considered generally progressive. Civil unions, which grant all the benefits of marriage, have been recognized since 2014, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is constitutionally banned. The General Council passed a bill on 21 July 2022 that would legalize same-sex marriage in 2023, and convert all civil unions into civil marriage. In September 2023, Xavier Espot Zamora, the Prime Minister of Andorra, officially came out as homosexual.
The historic and official language of Andorra is Catalan, a Romance language. Because of immigration, historical links, and close geographic proximity, Spanish and French are commonly spoken. There is a sizeable immigrant community that speaks Portuguese. Most Andorran residents can speak one or more of these, in addition to Catalan. Spanish was the most common mother tongue in Andorra according to mother tongue percentage statistics by the Andorran Government released in 2018. In 2022, Catalan became the most common mother tongue used by 55.2% of the Andorran population.
The Order of Charlemagne is an order and civil decoration issued by the Principality of Andorra.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Andorra since 17 February 2023. Andorra first established stable unions on 23 March 2005, providing same-sex couples with some of the rights and benefits of marriage, and later enacted civil unions on 25 December 2014, offering a greater set of rights. On 21 July 2022, the General Council voted to open civil marriage to same-sex couples. The law was promulgated by Co-Prince Emmanuel Macron on 17 August 2022, and came into effect six months later.
Antoni Martí Petit was an Andorran architect and politician who served as the prime minister of Andorra between 2011 and 2019, when he was elected on the ticket of the Democrats for Andorra.
The Executive Council of Andorra is the chief executive body of the Principality of Andorra.
Creand is a financial group in the Principality of Andorra founded in 1950. The group has a presence in Andorra, Spain, Luxembourg, the United States (Miami) and Panama.
The Ministry of Social Affairs, Justice and Interior of Andorra is responsible for social care and protection, employment and work. The ministry aims to guarantee the internal security of citizens and their assets, civil status, the regulation of migration and integration policy to guarantee social cohesion, the fight against crime, international collaboration in matters judicial and police, and protecting the population from any natural risk or catastrophe.
Sílvia Calvó i Armengol is an Andorran environmental engineer, current Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Sustainability of Andorra, since 1 April 2015.
Parliamentary elections were held in Andorra on 7 April 2019, electing all 28 seats of the General Council. Although they remained the largest party, the Democrats for Andorra lost their parliamentary majority after losing four seats. The Social Democratic Party gained four seats, becoming the second-largest party.
Xavier Espot Zamora is an Andorran judge and politician. He is a former minister of justice and the current prime minister of Andorra, serving since 16 May 2019.
Maria Ubach i Font is an Andorran diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 17 June 2017 to 16 May 2023 under the governments of Prime Minister Antoni Martí and the current Head Xavier Espot.
Verònica Canals i Riba is an Andorran business manager and politician who served as Minister of Tourism since 21 May 2019 under the Premiership of Xavier Espot.
Ester Vilarrubla Escales, is an Andorran politician and educator, who is serving as Minister of Education and Higher Education in the government of Xavier Espot since 22 May 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Andorra was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Andorra on 2 March 2020, when a 20-year-old man returned to the country from Milan, Italy. With a total population of 77,543, on 7 December 2020, the infection rate was 1 case per 11 inhabitants, and the death rate was 1 case per 994 inhabitants.
Events in the year 2022 in Andorra.
In the parliamentary elections in Andorra on 2 April 2023, the incumbent liberal-conservative coalition between Democrats for Andorra (DA) and Committed Citizens (CC) won an absolute majority led by Prime Minister Xavier Espot. This is the fourth legislature in a row in which DA governs the country. A new party, Concord, emerged in second place, taking the opposition leadership held by the Social Democratic Party since 2019, which fell to third place by losing four seats.
The 9th General Council is the current meeting of the General Council, the unicameral parliament of Andorra, with the membership determined by the results of the parliamentary election held on 2 April 2023. The General Council met for the first time on 26 April 2023. According to the Constitution of Andorra the maximum legislative term of the congress is 4 years from the preceding election.
