"Flag of the Azores The Flag of the Azores () is the regional flag of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. It is a rectangular bicolour with a field unevenly divided into blue on the hoist, and white on the fly. Adopted in 1979 by the regional government of the Azores, it is based on the traditional colours and symbols of Portuguese flags used prior to the revolution of 1910. The flag is constructed in the same form as the flag of Portugal equal to 1 1⁄2 times its width, or an aspect ratio of 2:3. The background is vertically"
"Law enforcement in the Azores Law enforcement in the Azores is part of the law enforcement in Portugal. The atlantic archipelago of Azores constitutes one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal, with a number of devolved powers being performed by its Regional Government. However, the law enforcement in the region remains mainly under the responsibility of the Central Government of Portugal, being performed by the several Portuguese national police agencies. There are, however, minor law enforcement agencies dependent from the Regional Government of Azores like the forest police and the sanitary, food and economical police. Also, at the end"
"with the Maastricht treaty. The current Portuguese constitution provides for progressive administrative decentralization and calls for future reorganization on a regional basis. The Azores and Madeira archipelagos have constitutionally mandated autonomous status. A regional autonomy statute promulgated in 1980 established the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores; the Government of the Autonomous Region of Madeira operates under a provisional autonomy statute in effect since 1976. Apart from the Azores and Madeira, the country is divided into 18 districts, each headed by a governor appointed by the Minister of Internal Administration. Macau, a former dependency, reverted to Chinese sovereignty"
"Secretaries (). The Azores () is an archipelago of nine islands and several islets that were discovered and settled by the Portuguese in the late 15th century. The Azores lies a third of the distance between Europe and North America, along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The government and administration of the archipelago is distributed between the three capitals of the former districts of the Azores: the regional parliament is located in the city of Horta (on Faial Island); Ponta Delgada (on São Miguel Island) is the most populous city and home to the Regional Presidency and administration; while Angra do Heroísmo"
"year, between 22 August 1975 and 8 September 1976. Until the 19th century, the governing bodies of the Azores and Madeira were independent entities and treated as overseas territories by the national government in Lisbon. After 2 March 1895, the Azores and Madeira began to operate as autonomous territories of Portugal, and was institutionalized in the Portuguese Constitution. The Azores functioned as autonomous districts under the administration of district General Juntas, the upper-tier institution responsible for fiscal policy and with the competencies to manage the regional economy. In practice, though, the Azores was abandoned politically and neglected from development programs,"
"OMR to OCT with effect from 1 January 2012. Mayotte, which was an OCT that joined the EU as a OMR with effect from 1 January 2014.<ref name=""CD 2013/61/EU""></ref> Azores and Madeira are two groups of Portuguese islands in the Atlantic. Azores and Madeira are integral parts of the Portuguese Republic, but both have the special status as Autonomous Regions, with a degree of self-governance. While derogations from the application of EU law could apply, none do. Their VAT is lower than the rest of Portugal, but they are not outside the EU VAT Area. The Canary Islands are a"
"to preside over the ""Junta Governativa dos Açores"" (""Governing Junta of the Azores""), a commission that developed the Azorean autonomy statute. This commission became extinct with the first duly elected Legislature and appointed Government of the Azores. The current President of the Government of the Azores is Vasco Cordeiro, whose party won an absolute majority in the Azorean regional election on 14 October 2012. The colors indicate the political affiliation of each President. Presidents of the Regional Government of the Azores Presidents of the Government of the Azores are heads of government for the autonomous local authority of the Azores,"
"keeps a small squadron of its ships at the harbor of Praia da Vitória, southeast of Lajes Field. The airfield also has a small commercial terminal handling scheduled and chartered passenger flights from the other islands in the Azores, Europe, Africa, and North America. In 1976, the Azores became the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), one of the autonomous regions of Portugal, and the subdistricts of the Azores were eliminated. In 2003, the Azores saw international attention when United States President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar and Portuguese Prime"
"of the population directly or indirectly in the service and tertiary sectors. The main capital of the Azores is Ponta Delgada. There are nine major Azorean islands and an islet cluster, in three main groups. These are Flores and Corvo, to the west; Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, and Faial in the centre; and São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas Reef to the east. They extend for more than and lie in a northwest-southeast direction. All the islands have volcanic origins, although some, such as Santa Maria, have had no recorded activity since the islands were settled. Mount Pico,"
"(João Bosco Mota Amaral). The numbering reflects the uninterrupted terms in office served by each president. The current President of the Government of the Azores is Ana Luís, whose party won the Azorean regional election on 14 October 2012, and was nominated by President Vasco Cordeiro for the position. The colors indicate the political affiliation of each President. Presidents of the Legislative Assembly of the Azores The list of Presidents of the Legislative Assembly of the Azores consists of the chairpersons for the autonomous local legislature of the Azores, since the Carnation Revolution that installed the democratic Third Portuguese Republic."
"geographically in Asia, has already joined both the Council of Europe and the EU. Furthermore, the Cape Verde islands are part of the same island group as the Canary Islands (part of Spain), Madeira Islands (part of Portugal) and Azores Islands (part of Portugal), known as Macaronesia. There is currently no political recognition by the EU of Cape Verde as a European state, but unlike in the case of Morocco, there is no formal rejection either. Complementing Cape Verde's efforts to join the EU, the Macaronesian group of islands (the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands) are throwing their support"
"complete change in the governance of the islands, which were put into effect by King Joseph I of Portugal, on 2 August 1766, resulting in the creation of the Captaincy-General of the Azores (a system that already existed in many of the overseas territories of the Portugal and Spain, in the Americas). Owing to being the seat of the only Diocese in the Azores, the city of Angra was selected as the capital of the Azores, and residence of the Captain-General. The political and administrative unification of the archipelago was also a response to the disorder implanted in the public"
"to replace Lisbon Portela Airport, though this plan has been suspended due to austerity measures. Currently, the most important airports are in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Funchal (Madeira), and Ponta Delgada (Azores), managed by the national airport authority group ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal. One other important airport is the Aeroporto Internacional das Lajes on the island of Terceira in the Azores. This airport serves as one of two international airports serving countries outside the European Union for all nine islands of the Azores. It also serves as a military air base for the United States Air Force. The base remains"
"Presidents of the Regional Government of the Azores Presidents of the Government of the Azores are heads of government for the autonomous local authority of the Azores, since the Carnation Revolution that installed the democratic Third Portuguese Republic. The list below includes the leaders of the transitional regimes and those presidents designated after the institutionalization of the autonomy statute that provided archipelago with its laws and democratic rights. Following the first elections, held on 8 September 1976, the leader of the first party was installed as first President of the Government of the Azores (João Bosco Mota Amaral), responsible for"
"European Union and Schengen Area. They are also in the European Union Customs Union and VAT area, but levy a lower rate of VAT than applies on the mainland. The Azores, like Madeira and the Canary Islands, are among member state territories with special status, as one of the designated ""Outermost Regions"". Each of the nine islands has an airfield, although the majority are airfields rather than airports. The commercial terminals in Ponta Delgada, Horta, Vila do Porto and Santa Cruz das Flores are operated by ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, a public entity that oversees the operations of airports"
"Hymn of the Azores The Hymn of the Azores () is an unofficial regional anthem used during some ceremonies in the Portuguese autonomous region of the Azores. For official purposes the national anthem ""A Portuguesa"" is always used during government events, in sporting venues, and other civic ceremonies. The original song was composed by Joaquim Lima, a musician and director, of the Philharmonic Band of Rabo de Peixe, the Filarmónica Progresso do Norte, in the 1890s, when a movement for autonomy was growing within the archipelago. It was first played by the band on 3 February 1894, and referred to"
"Terceira Island Terceira () is an island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 56,000 inhabitants in an area of approximately . It is the location of the Azores' oldest city, Angra do Heroísmo, the historical capital of the archipelago and UNESCO World Heritage Site; the seat of the judicial system (Supreme Court); and the main base of the Azores Air Zone Command (), Base Aérea nº 4, and a United States Air Force detachment. A small number of hypogea (earthen"
"Azores Airlines Azores Airlines, previously known as SATA Internacional, is a Portuguese airline based in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel in the autonomous archipelago of the Azores. A subsidiary of SATA Air Açores, the airline operates as the international arm of the regional network, connecting the archipelago with Europe and North America, from its hub at João Paulo II International Airport. The airline was first established in December 1990 under the name of OceanAir and in 1991 was authorized to operate air transport services as a non-scheduled carrier. SATA Air Açores became the major"
"Azores Geopark The Azores Geopark () is a network of 121 geographically-dispersed sites of geographic heritage and marine areas that covers the nine volcanic islands of the archipelago of the Azores. This network is managed by the Azores Geopark Association, a non-profit association, with its headquarters in Horta on the island of Faial, established 19 May 2010. It is part of the European Geoparks Network and the UNESCO-assisted Global Geoparks Network. The Association's mission is to ensure the geological conservation, environmental education and sustainable development, while promoting the well-being of the population and a respect for the environment. The term"
"point, Morocco and the European portion of Spain are separated by only . The Portuguese Atlantic island possession of the Azores is from Europe and from Africa, and is usually grouped with Europe if grouped with any continent. By contrast, the Canary and Madeira islands (including the Desertas Islands and the Savage Islands) off the Atlantic coast of Morocco are much closer to, and usually grouped with, Africa (the Canary Islands are only from the African coast at their closest point, while Madeira is from Africa and from Europe). The Mediterranean island nation of Malta is approximately from the coast"
"Minister José Manuel Durão Barroso held a summit there days before the commencement of the Iraq War. The archipelago of the Azores is located in the middle of the northern hemisphere of the Atlantic Ocean and extends along a west-northwest to east-southeast orientation (between 36.5°–40° North latitudes and 24.5°–31.5° West longitudes) in an area approximately wide. The islands of the Azores emerged from what is called the Azores Plateau, a 5.8 million km region that is morphologically accented by a depth of . From a geostructural perspective the Azores is located above an active triple junction between three of the"
"Erika in 1997, and Hurricane Gaston in 2016. Storms that were extratropical when they impacted the region include Hurricane Tanya in 1995, Tropical Storm Ana in 2003 and Tropical Storm Grace in 2009. In addition, the 2005 Azores subtropical storm affected the region in October 2005. The Azores are divided into 19 municipalities (); each municipality is further divided into parishes (), of which there is a total of 156 in all of the Azores. The municipalities, by island, are: There are six cities (Portuguese: ""cidades"") in the Azores: Ponta Delgada, Lagoa and Ribeira Grande on the island of São"
"Conquest of the Azores The Conquest of the Azores (also known as the ""Spanish conquest of the Azores""), but principally involving the conquest of the island of Terceira, occurred on 2 August 1583, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, between forces loyal to the claimant D. António, Prior of Crato, supported by the French and English troops, and the Spanish and Portuguese forces loyal to King Philip II of Spain, commanded by the Admiral Don Álvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz, during the War of the Portuguese Succession. The victory of the Marquis of Santa Cruz resulted in"
"marine habitats were also included. Some terrestrial and marine areas of the Azores, characterized by their high richness in terms of biological diversity, were designated as SIC and SPAS. A Commission Decision 2009/1001/UE, on 22 December 2009, implemented Directive 92/43/CEE, that provided an updated list of important sites of communitarian interest to include the Menez Gwen and Lucky Strike hydrothermal vents to the list of protected spaces. Protected areas of the Azores The Protected Areas of the Azores () are the basic administrative-territorial and conservation structures in the archipelago of the Azores and the surrounding oceans. The areas integrate the"
"and Massachusetts. Many Azoreans also moved to Bermuda and Hawaii (Portuguese immigration to Hawaii). Florianópolis and Porto Alegre in the Southern Region of Brazil were founded by Azoreans, who accounted for over half of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina's population in the late 18th century. As late as 1960 mass immigration currents were registered to Brazil, and many were from the Azores. Since 1976, the Azores is an autonomous region integrated within the framework of the Portuguese Republic. It has its own government and autonomous legislature within its own political-administrative statute and organic law. Its governmental organs include:"
"Netherlands proper, and subject to Netherlands law. ABC islands (Lesser Antilles) The ABC islands are the three western-most islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea that lie north of Falcón State, Venezuela. In order alphabetically they are Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. All three islands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, although they remain outside the European Union. Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self-governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands proper. According to the disputed letters of Amerigo Vespucci, the ABC islands were first explored by"
"from the yardarms and contributing to the ""Black Legend"". The Azores were the second-to-last part of the Portuguese empire to resist Philip's reign over Portugal (Macau being the last), Azores was returned to Portuguese control with the end of the Iberian Union, not by the military efforts, as these were already in Restoration War efforts in the mainland, but by the people attacking a well-fortified Castilian guarnition. The Azores served as a port of call for the Spanish galleons during their occupation. In December 1640 the Portuguese monarchy was restored and the islands again became a Portuguese possession. The 1820"
"Miguel; Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória on the island of Terceira, and Horta on Faial. Three of these, Ponta Delgada, Angra and Horta are considered capital/administrative cities to the regional government: homes to the President (Ponta Delgada), the Judiciary (Angra) and the Regional Assembly (Horta). Angra also serves as the ecclesiastical centre of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Angra, the episcopal see of the Azores. According to the 2011 Census, population in the Azores was 246,746 at a density of . The Azores were uninhabited when Portuguese navigators arrived in the early 15th century; the settlement process was"
"of the Azores pursued the following management goals: The Azores consists of a network of protected areas constituted by legally delimited geographic territories, regulated and managed under specific guidelines established to advance territorial integrity and management of biodiversity. Each protected area is defined by a classification system developed by the IUCN, that sets-out specific categories for the management of protected areas. In course are revisions to the nature protection protocols. This network of protected areas includes all the zones that may fall into pre-declared management areas, such as: In order to administrate and manage the protected areas of the Azores,"
"the Azores remains active. Threats from earthquakes and landslides remain. 1980 Azores Islands earthquake Striking the Autonomous Region of Azores on 1 January, the 1980 Azores Island earthquake killed 61 people and injured over 400, causing severe damage on the islands of Terceira and São Jorge. Measuring 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale, it also shook the islands of Pico and Faial, and resulted from a strike slip fracture, typical of other historical Azorean earthquakes. In response to the earthquake, Portuguese president António Ramalho Eanes announced three days of national mourning, while relief efforts, initiated by agents of the local"
"Santa Maria Island Santa Maria (), Portuguese for Saint Mary, is an island located in the eastern group of the Azores archipelago (south of the island of São Miguel) and the southernmost island in the Azores. The island is primarily known for its white sand beaches, distinctive chimneys, and dry warm weather. The first records of a group of islands in the Atlantic (aside from the legends of Atlantis) came from the voyages of Portuguese sailors during the reigns of King Denis (1279–1325) and his successor King Afonso IV (1325–1357). These were unsubstantiated accounts and unofficial, until 1427 when navigator"
"Azores Military Zone (Portugal) The Azores Military Zone () or ZMA, headquartered in Ponta Delgada, is the Portuguese Army's command responsible for the readying, the training and the operational command of the ground forces stationed in the archipelago of the Azores. Until 2006, the ZMA was considered a territorial command. Presently, it is an element of the operational component of the system of forces of the Portuguese Army. The ZMA is commanded by a brigadier-general, administratively dependent from the Army's Land Forces Command, but operationally dependent from the joint Azores Operational Command. The Military Zone of the Azores originates from"
"Açores VR The Açores VR () is a Portuguese wine region located in the archipelago of the Azores. This region is classified as a ""Vinho Regional"" (VR), which corresponds to table wines with a geographical indication under European Union wine regulations, similar to a French ""vin de pays"" region. Located in the Atlantic Ocean, some from continental Portugal, the archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine islands, of which three cultivate wine-making grapes for export production: Terceira, Pico and Graciosa. Located on the American, European and African tectonic plates, the islands of the Azores originated from recent volcanism, and"