|
By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area.
|
|
|
|
|
Eastern Mediterranean, peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus
|
|
|
34 37 N, 32 58 E
|
|
|
|
|
|
total: 123 sq km
country comparison to the world: 222
note:
includes a salt lake and wetlands
|
|
|
about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
|
|
|
total: 47.4 km
border countries:
Cyprus 47.4 km
|
|
|
56.3 km
|
|
|
temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
|
|
|
hunting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base
|
|
|
British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus; of the Sovereign Base Area (SBA) land, 60% is privately owned and farmed, 20% is owned by the Ministry of Defense, and 20% is SBA Crown land
|
|
|
|
|
approximately 15,700 live on the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia including 7,700 Cypriots, 3,600 Service and UK-based contract personnel, and 4,400 dependents
country comparison to the world: 218
|
|
|
English, Greek
|
|
|
NA
|
|
|
NA
|
|
|
|
|
conventional long form: none
conventional short form:
Akrotiri
|
|
|
a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus
|
|
|
name: Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia)
geographic coordinates:
34 40 N, 32 51 E
time difference:
UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time:
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
|
|
|
Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960, functions as a basic legal document
|
|
|
the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court system to deal with civil and criminal matters; laws applicable to the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus
|
|
|
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government:
Administrator Air Vice Marshall Graham STACEY (since 4 November 2010); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defense; the Chief Officer is responsible for the day-to-day running of the civil government of the Sovereign Bases
elections:
none; the monarchy is hereditary; the administrator appointed by the monarch
|
|
|
The Court headed by a resident judge and senior judges from the UK as needed; note - the laws of the Sovereign Base Areas are kept as close as possible to the laws of the Republic of Cyprus
|
|
|
none (overseas territory of the UK)
|
|
|
none (overseas territory of the UK)
|
|
|
the flag of the UK is used
|
|
|
note: as a United Kingdom area of special sovereignty, "God Save the Queen" is official (see United Kingdom)
|
|
|
|
|
Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
|
|
|
note: uses the euro
|
|
|
|
|
British Forces Broadcast Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite TV service as well as BFBS radio broadcasts to the Akrotiri Sovereign Base (2009)
|
|
|
|
|
Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit
|
|
|
|