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World
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History and Government
History: The history of Monaco is inseparable from that of the House of Grimaldi. Originally of Genoese extraction, the Grimaldis rose to prominence during the 12th century, when one member of the family became ambassador both to the court of the German Emperor Frederick II (Barbarossa) and to that of his Byzantine counterpart, Manuel Commenus. In the late 13th century, however, with the Holy Roman Empire riven with internal strife, the Grimaldi family was forced to take refuge in Provence. It was François Grimaldi who in 1297 led a group of partisans into the fortress of Monaco, which has been ruled by the family ever since, the Grimaldis preserving their independence through a mixture of good luck and cunning diplomacy. At various times, they were to be found allied with almost every power in the region, particularly during the Italian Wars in the late 15th and early 16th centuries when Monaco's geographical position left them ideally placed to either help or hinder the repeated and largely unsuccessful attempts by the kings of France to conquer the peninsula. This Machiavellian approach - indeed, Machiavelli himself was in Monaco in the early 16th century to sign a treaty on behalf of Florence - paid dividends in 1612 when Honoré II was granted the title of prince by the French crown. He signed a treaty of friendship with France, and the principality remained independent from that time on, despite a brief interruption during the French Revolution. The family's motto - 'Deo Juvante' (With God's Help) - provides another possible explanation for the survival of this tiny country. Monaco became an independent state under French protection in 1861. The first constitution, introduced in 1911, was overhauled in 1962 when legislative authority was vested jointly in the Prince and the elected National Council. The dominant political grouping in the early years of the new constitution was the National and Democratic Union (UND) which won five successive elections between 1978 and the latest poll in February 1998, at which the UND took all eighteen seats on the national Council. The principality's two opposition parties - one liberal, one communist - were by now all but moribund.
Government: Currently the government of the principality is under the supreme authority of the hereditary ruler Prince Rainier III, under whom executive authority is exercised by a Minister of State. The Monegasque electorate elects the 18-member Conseil National (National Council) for a 5-year term; the Council and the Prince share legislative power.
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