Occupying an area about half the size of New York City, the principality of Andorra is best known for its unique history. As part of the March States, which were used strategically by Charlemagne to keep the Muslim Moors from advancing too far into Christian France, the country has been under the control of either France or Spain for most of its history. In fact, Andorra was ruled by two co-princes, representing the French monarchy and the Bishop of Urgell, until recently, when it became a democracy (representatives for the co-princes continue to serve in a symbolic capacity). The tiny nation has been isolated for much of its history, but continues to be enriched through tourism and duty-free shopping. Andorra enjoys a good relationship with the US, primarily because of its relatively good human rights record and desire to be a accepted member of the international community.

 

 

Lay of the Land: Andorra is snuggled in the Pyrenees Mountains in Western Europe, between the Spanish province of Lérida and the French department of Ariège lies the tiny nation of Andorra.

 

Population: 82,627

 

Religions: Catholic 90%, other Christian (New Apostolic, Mormon, Anglican, Reunification, Jehovah's Witnesses) 2.4%, Muslim 0.8%, Hindu 0.5%, Jewish 0.3%, Baha'i 0.1%, non-religious 5.4%.  About half of the Catholic population attends weekly services.

 

Ethnic Groups: Spanish 43%, Andorran 33%, Portuguese 11%, French 7%, other 6%

 

Languages: Catalan (official) 44.4%, Spanish 34.7%, French (official) 3.4%

 

Andorra was originally part of the March States, used by Charlemagne to keep the Muslin Moors from advancing into Christian France. Charlemagne granted a charter to the Andorran people in return for their loyalty in fighting against the Moors, who had begun to invade through Gibraltar. The Moors had previously defeated Spanish King Roderick at Jerez de la Frontera and started to spread through Spain, sending many Christian peasants near the Pyrenees to the mountain valleys to seek refuge. This area would later come to be known as Andorra.

 

Charlemagne sent his son, Louis the Pious, to deal with the Moors, and Louis defeated them. He established the boundaries of the tiny proto-republic and settled solders in the villages for protection. Then he established the, a charter declaring Andorra’s independence. 

 

Charlemagne’s grandson, Charles the Bald, awarded control of Andorra to the Count of Urgell in the 800s, and the land was subsequently passed down to the diocese of Urgell, which was headed by the Bishop of Seu d'Urgell.

 

However, authority over Andorra was not always clear. Around this same time, grants from the Bishop and/or the Counts of Urgell were made to the Vicount of Castellbo, and these passed from Castellbo to the Count of Foix in 1202, when the Castellbo heiress Ermesinde married Count Roger Bernard II.

 

According to the Bishop of Urgell, any rights ceded to Foix were held in fief to the Bishop, as had been the original grants. The Count of Foix maintained that the rights inherited via Castellbo gave them secular rule over Andorra. Meanwhile, southern France was in the middle of the Albigensian Heresy persecutions, and the Counts of Foix were Cathar in sympathy, and Roger Bernard II was excommunicated for heresy in 1236.

 

Roger Bernard III took arms against France and Aragon and invaded Urgell. Bishop Pedro of Urgell was off fighting the Moors with his army, and so Foix rampaged through the Bishop’s lands unimpeded. The conflict over Andorra was resolved in 1287, when a pareage, or feudal institution recognizing equal rights by two rulers, was signed. The pareage shared Andorra’s sovereignty between the Count of Foix and the Bishop of Seu d’Urgell of Spain. This institution carved out the state of Andorra and gave it its political form. This treaty, and another signed eleven years later, established that Andorra would become independent, but pay an annual tribute called a questia. Payment of the tribute alternated every year; first to the Count of Foix, then to the Bishop of Urgell, then to the Count of Foix, etc.

 

In 1419, the people of Andorra petitioned the co-rulers for permission to establish a local parliament, which would consider local issues. This was granted, and the Council of the Land was established. The members of the Council were elected by the “heads of household,” which meant males over the age of 25. There were four representatives from each of the six parishes, resulting in a membership of 24.

 

In 1793, the French monarchy was overthrown, and for the next 15 years, the Andorrans were without the protection of the French government. The Andorrans worried that their Spanish overlord would take this opportunity to revoke their independence and make them a subordinate territory.

 

When Napoleon became emperor of France in 1806, he issued an imperial decree re-establishing the overlordship of the French government and confirming their rights of independence. When France became a republic in 1870, the role of overlord became part of the duties and powers of the president of the republic.

 

In 1970, Andorran women were granted the right to vote and hold office, and in 1971, the age requirement for voting was lowered to 21. In 1978, the six parishes of Andorra were expanded to seven, with the establishment of the parish of Escaldes-Engordany.

 

In 1981, an organization called the government of Andorra was created. It is the executive branch of government and consists of the head of government (elected by the Council of the Land) and four to six councillors who act as ministers, each looking after a particular area such as defense, education, finance, foreign affairs, etc.

 

For the most part, Andorra has remained on the outskirts of European history, because of its small size and relative isolation. Historically, its ties have been mainly to France and Spain. In more contemporary times, however, tourism and enhanced transportation and communications systems have allowed the country to emerge from this long-held isolation.

 

Andorra established sovereignty by ratifying a constitution in 1993 and moved to become a member of the international community shortly thereafter. In July 1993, Andorra conducted its first diplomatic mission to the United Nations. 

 

The United States has held diplomatic relations with Andorra since February 21, 1995, and remains on good terms with the country. The US Ambassador to Spain is also considered the ambassador to Andorra, and US Consulate General officials based in Barcelona are responsible for the day-to-day conduct of relations with Andorra. The Andorran Permanent Representative to the United Nations was named as Andorra’s Ambassador to the United States in April 2008.

 

In 2008, Andorra announced its endorsement of the Proliferation Security Initiative, an effort led by the US to combat illegal trafficking in weapons of mass destruction. Andorra also has adopted the Universal Copyright Convention Geneva and Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, joining the US and other members of the international community in protecting copyrighted works from piracy.

 

In 2006, 1,133 Andorrans visited the US. Tourism has grown slowly and inconsistently, but is up overall since 2002, when 777 Andorrans came to America.

 

A country of contrasts (advertising supplement, Washington Times)

U.S. Shocked Andorra Not In Africa (The Onion-TV [satire])

 

The main US imports from Andorra include “vegetable and preparations,” totaling approximately $200,000 in 2007. But overall, imports from Andorra have dropped since 2003, with one exception. In 2006, there were sudden increases in photo and service industry machinery and trade tools (from $0 to almost $1,3 million), industrial machinery (from $4,000 to $371,000), “materials handling equipment” (from $0 to $30,000), computer accessories, peripherals and parts (from $9,000 to $25,000), rugs and other textile floor coverings (from $0 to $37,000) and radios, phonographs, tape decks, and other stereo (from $0 to $781,000). That year, total imports from Andorra totaled some $2.7 million, a large increase from $673,000 in 2005. In 2007, imports dropped sharply, to $438,000 overall.

 

By contrast, US exports to Andorra have steadily risen each year, with only a slight dip in 2006. Bakery products enjoyed a large increase, from $141,000 in 2006 to $1.7 million in 2007, as well as tobacco products, which rose from $0 in 2006 to $1.5 million in 2007.

 

Other large exports from the US to Andorra include alcoholic beverages, shingles, molding and wallboard, industrial machines, civilian aircraft, household appliances, and jewelry. Total exports to Andorra rose from $8.9 million in 2005 to $14.3 million in 2007.

 

Also in 2007, the U.S. sold $82,519 of defense articles and services to Andorra.

 

 

According to the State Department, Andorra has a “generally positive human rights record.” However, in many instances there were prolonged pretrial detentions and cases of violence against women and children. Andorran law does not protect the right of workers to form and join unions or unions’ right to bargain collectively and to strike.

 

Andorran law does not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the government has not established a system for providing protection to refugees. The government has sometimes cooperated with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other organizations in assisting refugees for humanitarian reasons. The most recent example was in July 2006, when the government accepted five Eritrean immigrants who were saved from a ship adrift on the Mediterranean Sea.

 

Although Andorran law prohibits rape, including spousal rape, violence against women was a problem. According to the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family, in 2007 there were almost 130 reports of physical abuse against women during the year, a significant increase from 2006. There is no specific law prohibiting domestic violence, although other laws may be applied in such cases. Victims of domestic violence could request help from the Andorran International Women’s Association (AIWA) and the Andorran Women’s Association (AWA), but rarely filed a complaint with the police for fear of reprisal. The two associations reported that some women complained about the treatment they received from police when they filed a complaint. Authorities reported that the number of persons prosecuted for violence against women during the year increased, but did not provide statistics. The government had a hotline and provided medical and psychological services to victims of domestic violence, but did not have any shelters. The government and AIWA placed abused women and their children in the private apartments of persons who agreed to provide shelter to them. Caritas, a Catholic NGO, works closely with the government and AIWA on social issues.

 

Andorran law also prohibits discrimination against women privately or professionally. However, the AWA reported that there were many cases of women dismissed from employment due to pregnancy. Women did not earn equal pay for equal work. Observers estimated that women earned 35% less than men for comparable work; this gap appeared to be decreasing slowly. A Sociological Research Center report in 2006 indicated that men occupied 66% of top positions.

 

Violence against children was also on the rise. According to the secretariat of state for Social Welfare and Family, 119 minors were treated for various forms of abuse during 2007.

 

The Andorran constitution recognizes that workers have the right to form associations to defend their economic and social interests, but the country has no specific laws to protect this right. Workers were reluctant to admit to union membership, fearing retaliation by their employers, and unions did not make their membership numbers public.

 

The law allows unions to conduct their activities without interference; however, the government lacked mechanisms to protect this right in practice. The law does not specifically provide for collective bargaining or the right to strike, and neither was practiced. However, on May 1 (Andorran Labor Day), the government permitted workers to conduct a peaceful demonstration tied to their demands that the government approve a law to protect workers' rights.

 

 

Edward L. Romero

Appointment: Jun 29, 1998

Presentation of Credentials: Oct 30, 1998

Termination of Mission: Left Madrid Jun 1, 2001

 

George L. Argyros

Appointment: Nov 20, 2001

Presentation of Credentials: May 13 and Oct 4, 2002

Termination of Mission: Left Madrid Nov. 21, 2004

 

 

 

Born in 1957 in Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra, Fonsdeviela received his diplôme d’études approfondies in law and public history from the University of Paris II (Sorbonne) in France.

He also graduated from the University of Barcelona with a degree in law and studied public administration and policy at the University of Madrid, both in Spain. In addition, he holds a master’s degree in international relations from the Spanish Diplomatic School and another in East-West psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, California.

 

Fonsdeviela practiced civil and public law from 1989 to 2004, during which time he also served as deputy secretary and member of the Andorra Parliament, as well as legal adviser and board member of the country’s chamber of commerce and chairman of its Public Broadcast Corporation.

 

Biography (Washington Diplomat)

Andorra's Embassy in the U.S.

Two United Nations Plaza

25th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Telephone: (212) 750-8064)

Fax: (212) 750-6630

E-mail: Andorra@un.int