Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a sovereign landlocked microstate 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.
Andorra la Vella is the capital of the Principality of Andorra. It is located high in the east Pyrenees, between France and Spain. It is also the name of the parish that surrounds the capital.
The coat of arms of Andorra is the heraldic device consisting of a shield divided quarterly by the arms of the Bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix – who have historically been the two co-princes of Andorra – in addition to the emblems of Catalonia and the Viscount of Béarn. Utilized unofficially since the Middle Ages, its status as the coat of arms of the Principality of Andorra was formalized in 1993 upon the implementation of their new constitution. The escutcheon is featured on the flag of Andorra.
Encamp is one of the parishes of Andorra, located on the Valira d'Orient river. It is also the name of the main town in the parish. Other settlements include Vila, El Pas de la Casa, Grau Roig, El Tremat, La Mosquera and Les Bons. As of 2004, it has about 11,800 inhabitants. The centre of the municipality lies 1,300 metres (4,270 ft) above sea level. The highest mountain in the parish is Pic dels Pessons.
Canillo is one of the parishes of Andorra. Canillo is also the name of the main town of the parish. The parish is considered the religious center of Andorra with the Sanctuary and Chapel of Our Lady of Meritxell, patron saint of Andorra, and contains one of the best-preserved romanesque churches in the Pyrenees, Sant Joan de Caselles. It has a population of 4,826, as of 2011. Despite having a tourist vocation, the parish of Canillo still retains many livestock and agricultural traits.
Ordino is the most northerly parish in the Principality of Andorra. It's mostly the main area of Valira del Nord or Valira d'Ordino river valley. Ordino is also the name of the main town of the parish. Other settlements in the parish are El Serrat, Ansalonga, Sornàs, La Cortinada, Llorts, Segudet, Arans, Les Salines and Arcalís. It is home to the Sorteny National Park, the largest nature area of Andorra. It has a population of 4,858, as of 2017. The town preserves a vast medieval center, mainly linked to the culture of the country.
The General Council is the unicameral parliament of Andorra. It is sometimes referred to as the General Council of the Valleys because it was the historical name and to distinguish it from similarly named bodies in the Val d'Aran and in France.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Andorra have advanced significantly in the 21st century. 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 will legalize same-sex marriage in 2023, and convert all civil unions into civil marriage.
Òscar Ribas Reig was an Andorran politician, lawyer, and businessman who became the prime minister of Andorra in 1982. He twice served as head of government, first from 8 January 1982 to 21 May 1984 and again from 12 January 1990 to 7 December 1994.
The Andorra National Library was founded in 1930, then re-opened in 1974. Since 2020, it is housed in the former Hotel Rosaleda in Encamp.
Joan Gabriel i Estany is an Andorran politician. He is a member of the Liberal Party of Andorra and served as Síndic general of the Parliament of Andorra from 2005 to 2009. He was the candidate for the Reformist Coalition during the 2009 election.
Same-sex marriage in Andorra has been legal 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.
Andorra has a monetary agreement with the EU allowing it to make the euro its official currency, and permitting it to issue euro coins from 1 July 2013. They planned to issue their first coins by March or April 2014. On 23 December 2014, coins were delivered for pre-booked customers at the Government Administration Building, and actual circulation began on 15 January 2015.
Casa de la Vall is a historical house in Andorra la Vella, Andorra. It is former headquarters of the General Council of Andorra. It lies just to the southwest of the Andorra National Library. It is a heritage property registered in the Cultural Heritage of Andorra.
Maria Rosa Ferrer ObiolsGOIH LH, was an Andorran lawyer and politician. She was the Cònsol Major of the Comú d'Andorra la Vella from 2007 until 2015 and the Minister of Health, Welfare and Employment of the Principality of Andorra until 4 January 2016.
Susagna Arasanz i Serra was an Andorran economist and politician, minister of finance between 1994 and 2000, becoming the first woman to hold the office, under the premiership of Marc Forné.
The literature of Andorra is part of Catalan literature, that is, of literature in the Catalan language. It is the literature represented by the writings created in the Principality of Andorra or by Andorran authors.
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.
Víctor Naudi Zamora is an Andorran architect and politician. He was the president of the Social Democratic Party (PS), serving in the General Council (2007–2009) and then as minister of the interior in the government of Jaume Bartumeu until its defeat in 2011. He left PS at the start of 2013 and established Social Democracy and Progress (SDP) alongside Bartumeu, leading its candidacy and being one of its two members elected to the General Council in 2015. The party lost its representatives in the 2019 election.
The 8th General Council was a meeting of the General Council, the unicameral parliament of Andorra, with the membership determined by the results of the parliamentary election held on 7 April 2019. The General Council met for the first time on 2 May 2019. According to the Constitution of Andorra the maximum legislative term of the congress is 4 years from the preceding election.
