Type of Government
Peru is a democratic country with a unitary state and a presidential republic with a multi-party system. The current government was established by the 1993 Constitution and consists of three branches: the Executive, Legislative and Judicial.
Capital
- Lima
Head of State
The head of state is the President of Peru, who is elected by universal suffrage to a term of five years. The president cannot be re-elected for a second consecutive term. They personify the republic, is the head of the Executive branch, and is the supreme head of the Armed Forces and Police of Peru.
- President of Peru: Carlos Castillo Terrones, sworn into office as President on July 28th, 2021.
Executive Branch
The Executive branch is led by the President of the Republic during a five-year term. He appoints the members of his/her cabinet, in addition to the prime minister. The cabinet consists of 18 Ministers led by the prime minister, and it is in charge of overseeing policy making and implementation of the assigned sectors to each ministry.
Ministries:
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Ministry of Defence
- Ministry of Economy and Finance
- Ministry of Interior
- Ministry of Justice and Human Rights
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation
- Ministry of Labour and Promotion of Employment
- Ministry of Production
- Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism
- Ministry of Housing and Sanitation
- Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations
- Ministry of Environment
- Ministry of Culture
- Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion
Legislative Branch
The Legislative branch operates under a unicameral system known as the Congress of the Republic of Peru. Its 130 members are elected for a five-year term through universal suffrage, simultaneously as the election of the President. Each region of the country gets a number of seats proportional to its population.
Judicial Branch
The Judicial branch is a hierarchical system of courts, with the Supreme Court being at the top. The second level of the hierarchy is composed of 28 superior courts, one for each judicial district, which corresponds more or less with the 25 regions in Peru.
The president of the Supreme Court is the head of the Judicial Branch, and is elected on the first Thursday of December of every two years by secret vote of the Supreme Judges.