World Country Guide

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 rife with internal strife, the Grimaldi family was forced to take refuge in Provence. Franois Grimaldi led a group of partisans into the fortress of Monaco in 1297, which has been ruled by his family ever since; the Grimaldis have preserved 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. 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 Italy. 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 Honor 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 until recently has been the National and Democratic Union (UND), which won five successive elections between 1978 and 1998. However, at the latest poll in February 2003, it was supplanted by the Union for Monaco, which essentially consists of allies of Prince Rainier.

The French government maintains a firm grip on the principality, through its ambassador and key appointees in the executive and judiciary. Prince Rainier, the incumbent member of the Grimaldi dynasty who has occupied the position since 1963, has proved unexpectedly determined to resist French pressure at any level. In 1993, Monaco joined the United Nations, becoming its smallest member. Monaco survives principally by providing tax concessions and discreet banking facilities for wealthy foreigners, and this has recently led to spats with France and difficulties with the wider world. In April 2002, Monaco was ‘named and shamed’ by inclusion on an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ‘blacklist’ of seven countries that have failed to take adequate measures to deal with the money-laundering and multi-national fraud problems.

Government
The government of the principality is controlled by 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 five-year term; the Council and the Prince share legislative power.