Municipalities of Macau
Encyclopedia
The councils and assemblies of the municipalities of Macau were abolished on 1 January 2002, and their functions transferred to the Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais, slightly more than 2 years after Macau
became a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China
. They had been put in place under the administration of Portugal
.
The current administrative body is the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (Portuguese
: Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais, Traditional Chinese: 民政總署) under the Secretariat for Administration and Justice (Secretaria da Administração e Justiça)
of the SAR government.
The two municipalities (sing. município or concelho) of the Portuguese era, abolished in 2002, were:
After the reunification with the People's Republic of China
in 1999, these structures were kept provisionally in place: the Provisional Municipal Council of Macau (臨時澳門市政執行委員會, Câmara Municipal de Macau Provisória, officially in broken Portuguese
, should be Câmara Municipal Provisória de Macau), the Provisional Municipal Council of the Islands (臨時海島市政執行委員會, Câmara Municipal das Ilhas Provisória, officially in broken Portuguese
, should be Câmara Municipal Provisória das Ilhas), and the Provisional Municipal Assembly (Assembleia Municipal Provisória, 臨時市政議會) of each municipality.
The Portuguese-era coat-of-arms, with two angel
s as heraldic supporters, was changed to a simpler design of a key with two birds as supporters.
On December 31, 2001, all the provisional organs were dissolved and the new Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais [IACM], 民政總署) took on the role of the provisional municipal councils, starting from January 1, 2002, under the Secretariat for Administration and Justice (Secretaria da Administração e Justiça) of the SAR government.
The IACM was given a logo based on the Chinese Han character
民, for "civilian".
There are seven parishes (sing. freguesia) in Macau. 5 are in Concelho de Macau and 2 in Concelho das Ilhas. Under Portuguese rule, they were administrative subdivisions of the municipalities. After 1999, they are still officially recognized but for symbolic reasons only.
Municipality of Macau:
Municipality of the Islands
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
became a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. They had been put in place under the administration of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
The current administrative body is the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
: Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais, Traditional Chinese: 民政總署) under the Secretariat for Administration and Justice (Secretaria da Administração e Justiça)
Secretariat for Administration and Justice (Macau)
The Secretariat for Administration and Justice is a department of the government of Macau. The secretariat is responsible for the civil service, legal affairs, and municipal affairs in the region...
of the SAR government.
History
Each municipality was run by a municipal council (câmara municipal), with a supervising municipal assembly (assembleia municipal).The two municipalities (sing. município or concelho) of the Portuguese era, abolished in 2002, were:
| Municipality of Macau Municipality of Macau The Municipality of Macau was one of the two municipalities of Macau. Its organs were the municipal council and the municipal assembly... Concelho de Macau 澳門市 |
Coterminous with the Macau Peninsula Macau Peninsula Macau Peninsula is the oldest and most populous part of Macau. It has an area of 8.5 km² and is geographically connected to Guandong province, at the northeast, through an isthmus 200-metre wide. The peninsula, together with the city centre of Zhuhai, sits on an island separated from the... . Its seat was also known as Cidade do (Santo) Nome de Deus de Macau (= City of the (Holy) Name of God of Macau, full motto: Cidade do (Santo) Nome de Deus de Macau, Não Há Outra Mais Leal, lit. City of the (Holy) Name of God of Macau, None Is More Loyal) |
|
| Municipality of the Islands Municipality of the Islands The Municipality of the Islands was one of the two municipalities of Macau. Its organs were the municipal council and the municipal assembly... Concelho das Ilhas 海島市 |
Coterminous with the islands of Taipa Taipa Taipa is the smaller of the two islands in the Chinese special administrative region of Macao .- Geography :It is 2.5 kilometres from Macau Peninsula and east of the Lesser Hengqin Island of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province... and Coloane Coloane Coloane is one of the two main islands of the Macau Special Administrative Region, located directly south of Macau's other main island, Taipa , and east of Hengqin Island of Zhuhai in Guangdong province.... . |
|
After the reunification with the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1999, these structures were kept provisionally in place: the Provisional Municipal Council of Macau (臨時澳門市政執行委員會, Câmara Municipal de Macau Provisória, officially in broken Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, should be Câmara Municipal Provisória de Macau), the Provisional Municipal Council of the Islands (臨時海島市政執行委員會, Câmara Municipal das Ilhas Provisória, officially in broken Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, should be Câmara Municipal Provisória das Ilhas), and the Provisional Municipal Assembly (Assembleia Municipal Provisória, 臨時市政議會) of each municipality.
The Portuguese-era coat-of-arms, with two angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s as heraldic supporters, was changed to a simpler design of a key with two birds as supporters.
On December 31, 2001, all the provisional organs were dissolved and the new Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais [IACM], 民政總署) took on the role of the provisional municipal councils, starting from January 1, 2002, under the Secretariat for Administration and Justice (Secretaria da Administração e Justiça) of the SAR government.
The IACM was given a logo based on the Chinese Han character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
民, for "civilian".
Parishes
Municipality of Macau:
| Our Lady of Fatima Parish Our Lady of Fatima Parish Our Lady of Fatima Parish is the northernmost and largest freguesia in Macau Peninsula, Macau. It has an area of and a population of 126,000, which constitutes about 40.3% of the peninsula's land mass and one-third of the population. It consists mostly of land reclaimed from the sea. It was... (Freguesia de Nossa Senhora de Fátima) 花地瑪堂區 (Pinyin: Huādìmǎtángqū) |
|
| St. Anthony Parish St. Anthony Parish St. Anthony Parish is a freguesia on the western portion of the Macau Peninsula. It has the highest population density in Macau . The entire area is reclaimed from the sea.... (Freguesia de Santo António) 聖安多尼堂區 (Pinyin: Shèng'ānduōnítángqū) or 花王堂區 |
|
| St. Lazarus Parish St. Lazarus Parish St. Lazarus Parish is an east-central region of Macau Peninsula. It is the smallest sub-district. It is surrounded by Our Lady Fatima Parish, St. Anthony Parish, and Cathedral Parish. One-third of its region is covered by Guia Hill... (Freguesia de São Lázaro) 望德堂區 (Pinyin: Wàngdétángqū) |
|
| Cathedral Parish Cathedral Parish Cathedral Parish is a southeast freguesia of the Macau Peninsula. It is the second largest peninsular district in Macau after Our Lady Fatima Parish.... (Freguesia da Sé) 大堂區 (Pinyin: Dàtángqū) |
|
| St. Lawrence Parish St. Lawrence Parish St. Lawrence Parish is a southwestern freguesia of the Macau Peninsula.... (Freguesia de São Lourenço) 風順堂區 (Pinyin: Fēngshùntángqū) or 聖老愣佐堂區 |
|
Municipality of the Islands
| Our Lady of Carmel Parish (Freguesia de Nossa Senhora do Carmo) 嘉模堂區 (Pinyin: Jiāmútángqū) Coterminous with the island of Taipa Taipa Taipa is the smaller of the two islands in the Chinese special administrative region of Macao .- Geography :It is 2.5 kilometres from Macau Peninsula and east of the Lesser Hengqin Island of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province... |
|
| St. Francis Xavier's Parish (Freguesia de São Francisco Xavier) 聖方濟各堂區 (Pinyin: Shèngfāngjìgè tángqū) coterminous with the island of Coloane Coloane Coloane is one of the two main islands of the Macau Special Administrative Region, located directly south of Macau's other main island, Taipa , and east of Hengqin Island of Zhuhai in Guangdong province.... |
|
| Cotai Landfill Zone Cotai Cotai is a 5.2 km2 piece of newly reclaimed land between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau, that has not yet been assigned to any of the freguesias. The Chinese and Portuguese names are a portmanteau of the two islands, Coloane and Taipa.... (Zona do Aterro de Cotai) 路氹城海區 The reclaimed land Land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :... between the islands of Taipa and Coloane, had not been assigned to any of the parishes . |
|