Politics Of The Isle Of Man
The government of the Isle of Man is a parliamentary representative democracy. As a Crown Dependency, it is not subordinate to the government of the United Kingdom. That government, however, is responsible for defence and external affairs and could intervene in the domestic affairs of the isle under its residual responsibilities to guarantee "good government" in all Crown Dependencies. The Monarch of the United Kingdom is also the head of state of the Isle of Man, and generally referred to as The Queen, Lord of Mann. Legislation of the Isle of Man defines "the Crown in right of the Isle of Man" as being separate from the "Crown in right of the United Kingdom". Her representative on the isle is the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, but his role is mostly ceremonial, though he does have the power to grant Royal Assent (the withholding of which is the same as a veto).
Although the Isle of Man is not an integral part of the United Kingdom, its people are British citizens under UK law - there is no separate Manx citizenship. The United Kingdom has responsibility for all the island's external affairs, including citizenship, the isle's defence, good governance, and foreign relations. The isle has no representation at either the UK or EU parliaments.
The legislative power of the government is vested in a bicameral parliament called Tynwald (said to be the world's oldest continuously existing parliament), which consists of the directly elected House of Keys and the indirectly chosen Legislative Council. Following every House of Keys general election, the members of Tynwald elect from amongst themselves the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, who serves as the head of government for five years (until the next general election). Executive power is vested in the Lieutenant Governor (as Governor-in-Council), the Chief Minister, and the Isle of Man's Council of Ministers. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Douglas, the largest town on the Isle of Man is its capital and seat of government, where the Government offices and the parliament chambers (Tynwald) are located.
Read more about Politics Of The Isle Of Man: Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, Judicial Branch
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