-branches/chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948)
head of government: Prime Minister James Gordon BROWN (since 27 June 2007)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
(For more information visit the World Leaders website )
elections: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister
-head of government is Queen ELIZABETH II
-sufferage/18 years of age; universal
-national holidays/the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday
-diplomatic rep to US/the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
consulate(s): Dallas, Denver, Orlando
-diplomatic from USA/chief of mission: Ambassador Louis B. SUSMAN
embassy: 24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh
-international affiliations/ ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, C, CBSS (observer), CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
-military branches/Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force (2009)
-military service age/16-33 years of age (officers 17-28) for voluntary military service (with parental consent under 18); women serve in military services, but are excluded from ground combat positions and some naval postings; as of October 2009, women comprised 12.1% of officers and 9% of enlisted personnel in the regular forces; must be citizen of the UK, Commonwealth, or Republic of Ireland; reservists serve a minimum of 3 years, to age 45 or 55; 16 years of age for voluntary military service by Nepalese citizens in the Brigade of Gurkhas; 16-34 years of age for voluntary military service by Papua New Guinean citizens (2009)
-% GDP spent on military/2.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
country comparison to the world: 70
