Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2, making it one of the smallest countries in the Caribbean. The country is mostly flat, with the highest points on Antigua being in the Shekerley Mountains and on Barbuda the Highlands. The country has a tropical savanna climate, with pockets of tropical monsoon in Antigua's southwest. Its largest city is St. John's.
The politics of Antigua and Barbuda takes place in a framework of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, wherein the sovereign of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of state, appointing a governor-general to act as vice-regal representative in the nation. A prime minister is appointed by the governor-general as the head of government, and of a multi-party system; the prime minister advises the governor-general on the appointment of a Council of Ministers. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
V. C. Bird International Airport is an international airport located on the island of Antigua, 8 km (5.0 mi) northeast of St. John's, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda.
Antigua, also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations on 1 November 1981.
The Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange (ECSE) is the first regional securities market in the Western Hemisphere and a regional stock exchange, established by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) to serve the eight member territories of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Its headquarters are located in the city of Basseterre, on the island of St. Kitts.
The monarchy of Antigua and Barbuda is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Antigua and Barbuda. The current Antiguan and Barbudan monarch and head of state, since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Crown of Antigua and Barbuda. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled King of Antigua and Barbuda and, in this capacity, he and other members of the Royal Family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of Antigua and Barbuda. However, the King is the only member of the Royal Family with any constitutional role.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Antigua and Barbuda:
Antigua and Barbuda maintains diplomatic relations with the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the People's Republic of China, as well as with many Latin American countries and neighbouring Eastern Caribbean states. It is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of American States, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, Petrocaribe and the Eastern Caribbean's Regional Security System (RSS).
Antigua and Barbuda–China relations refer to bilateral relations between China and Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda has an embassy in Beijing. China has an embassy in St. John's. Diplomatic relations were established on January 1, 1983, less than two years after the Caribbean nation's independence, under Deng Xiaoping and Prime Minister Vere Bird, respectively. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been smooth since then, as China supported Antigua and Barbuda's bid to join the United Nations.
The MV Francop is a German-owned, Antigua and Barbuda-flagged merchant cargo ship. In November 2009 the Israeli navy boarded the vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, suspecting that it was carrying weapons destined for Hezbollah from the Islamic Republic of Iran in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. Hundreds of tons of weapons were found on the ship, which was then directed to berth in Israel.
The Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries, or GRULAC, is one of the five United Nations Regional Groups composed of 33 Member States from Central and South America, as well as some islands in the West Indies. Its members compose 17% of all United Nations members.
Sir Ronald Michael Sanders is an Antiguan Barbudan diplomat, academic, former broadcast-journalist, and the current Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States and to the Organization of American States (OAS) since 2015. He holds the unique distinction of being the first person, since the OAS enlarged its membership in 1962, to serve as Chairman of the Permanent Council of the OAS for an unprecedented three terms. He completed his highly successful third term on December 31, 2023, having played a widely recognized role in guiding the work of the Permanent Council in the peaceful transition of government in Guatemala on 14 January 2024.
The high commissioner of India in Georgetown, Guyana is concurrently accredited to Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda maintains an honorary consulate general in New Delhi.
The Military ranks of Antigua and Barbuda are the military insignia used by the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force. Being a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Antigua and Barbuda shares a rank structure similar to that of the United Kingdom.
The nations of Antigua and Barbuda and Mexico established diplomatic relations in 1984. Both nations are members of the Association of Caribbean States, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Organization of American States and the United Nations.
Antigua and Barbuda and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) are related through a long common history spanning from 1632 for Antigua, and 1678 for the smaller sister-isle of Barbuda through until 1981 for the joint-state. Antigua was one of the oldest English settlements in the West Indies, and served as a British hub of regional administration for the surrounding Leeward Islands.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES‑11/3 is a resolution of the eleventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly, adopted on 7 April 2022. The resolution suspended the membership of Russia in the United Nations Human Rights Council over "grave concern at the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine [...] including gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights" committed by Russia, and was passed with 93 votes in favour, 24 against, and 58 abstentions.
Royal tours of Antigua and Barbuda by its royal family have been taking place since the 20th century. Elizabeth II, Queen of Antigua and Barbuda, visited the country thrice: in 1966, 1977, and 1985.
The national security of Antigua and Barbuda is the collaboration of numerous institutions, including law enforcement, military, paramilitary, governmental, and intelligence agencies that seek to ensure Antigua and Barbuda's national security.
The political history of Antigua and Barbuda covers the history of political movements and systems of government in Antigua and Barbuda. Since Antigua's colonisation in 1632, the archipelago has seen various governments and political conflicts, as well as democratic backsliding and attempts to redevelop the country. Now, Antigua and Barbuda is a fully independent unitary parliamentary monarchy.
