Simple directory > Regional > Monaco

Country : Monaco Official name: Principauté de Monaco (The Principality of Monaco) Head of State: Prince Albert II (acceded to the throne 6 Apr 2005) Head of government: Minister of State Patrick Leclercq Ruling party: Union pour Monaco (UPM) (Union for Monaco) coalition, comprising: Union Nationale pour l'Avenir de Monaco (UNAM) (National Union for the Future of Monaco), Rassemblement pour la Famille Monégasque (RFM) (Rally for the Monegasque Family) and non-partisans Area: 2 square km Population: 32,000 (2004) Capital: Monaco-Ville Official language: French and Monégasque Currency: Euro (eur) = 100 cents Exchange rate: eur0.77 per US$ (Nov 2004) GDP per capita: US$22,500 (2003) Labour force: 30,540 (2003) Unemployment: 3.10% (2003)

Historical profile

In the late thirteenth century, internal strife within the Holy Roman empire forced the Grimaldi family to take refuge in Provence.

1297 Francois Grimaldi led a group of partisans into Monaco, which has been ruled by the family ever since.

Honore II signed a treaty of friendship with France, guaranteeing the independence of the principality.

1814 The principality was re-established after abolition during the French Revolution.

1861 Independence under French protection. The first constitution was introduced.

1918 Louis, the heir to the throne, was a bachelor and the next male in line to succeed if Louis died without an heir was a German prince, the Duke of Urach. France would not countenance a German monarch and therefore imposed a constitutional provision that only the monarch's own children could inherit the throne.

1949 Prince Rainier III, embodying divine right, succeeded to the throne.

1956 Prince Rainier married the US actress, Grace Kelly.

1962 A constitution was enacted allowing for sharing of legislative powers between the monarch and elected national council; principle of divine right was abolished.

1982 Princess Grace was killed in a car accident.

1988 The Union Nationale et Démocratique (UND) (National and Democratic Union) won the elections.

1993 The UND was defeated by two lists of candidates, known as Liste Campora and Liste Medecin.

1993 Monaco was admitted to the UN.

1998 UND won the elections.

2000 France threatened to take legislative measures against Monaco unless it clamped down on money laundering activities.

2001 France and Monaco reached an agreement on money laundering. As part of the co-operative, Monaco agreed to work more closely with the Financial Oversight Commission (FOC) to revise rules governing investment management companies.

2002 Monaco adopted the euro as its official currency. Due to Prince Rainier's failing health and the bachelor status of his son, Prince Albert, parliament passed a change to the 1918 law of succession, allowing one of Prince Rainier's daughters, Caroline or Stephanie, to succeed Albert if he became sovereign and died childless; the daughters' children would also be in line of succession. Liechtenstein concluded an agreement with Monaco over the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

2003 The Union pour Monaco (UPM) (Union for Monaco) alliance, led by Stephané Valeri, won a landslide majority in the parliamentary elections, ending the 40-year rule of the UND.

2004 Prince Rainier was diagnosed with heart problems, which had developed over several years.

2005 Prince Rainier III died on 6 April. He came to the throne in 1949 and was the longest serving monarch in Europe. He was succeeded by his son, Prince Albert II.

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