Similarly, President James Mancham's attendance of the 1977 CHOGM gave Prime Minister France-Albert René the opportunity to seize power in the Seychelles.

Politics of Seychelles takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Seychelles is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system.

After almost sixteen years of one-party rule, President Rene announced a return to the multiparty system of government at an Extraordinary Congress of the ruling Seychelles People's Progressive Front ( SPPF ) on 4 December 1991.

** A bloodless coup installs France Albert Rene as President of the Seychelles.

President Bill Clinton then appointed him U. S. Ambassador to the Republic of Seychelles.

France-Albert René ( born 16 November 1935 ) was the long-time socialist President of Seychelles from 1977 to 2004.

Three million dollars were paid to President René and his government by South Africa for the return of the remaining mercenaries detained in Seychelles.

* April 14-James Michel is sworn in as President of Seychelles.

File: Standard of the President of the Republic of Seychelles ( 1977-1996 ). svg | Used from 1977-1996, the national flag of 1977, with a yellow border, defaced with a white circle containing the Coat of arms of the Seychelles.

File: Standard of the President of the Republic of Seychelles. svg | Used from 1996, the national flag defaced with the Coat of arms on the upper right corner.

Colonel James Alix Michel ( born August 16, 1944 ) is a Seychellois politician who has been President of Seychelles since April 16, 2004.

Michel followed President René through different political posts during all periods of the Seychelles ' history as an independent entity.

According to official results, President René and his Seychelles People's Progressive Front party won presidential and legislative elections in 2001 and 2002 respectively, with about 54 % of the vote in both cases.

The leader of the Seychelles National Party furthermore said that he would be cooperating with President Michel.

Leading members of the party over the years have been René, James Michel ( formerly the chief of staff of the armed forces, information minister, finance minister and vice president from 1996-2004 ; he is currently the President of Seychelles ), Guy Sinon, Jacques Hodoul ( a former foreign minister who was regarded as the party's chief ideologue ), Joseph Belmont ( the current Vice President of Seychelles ), and Maxime Ferrari ( a former René loyalist who later supported the opposition and wrote an autobiography ).

President of Seychelles James Michel apparently welcomed the presence of US drones in Seychelles to combat Somalian piracy and terrorism, dating back to at least August 2009.

Sir James Richard Marie Mancham KBE ( born August 11, 1939, Victoria, Seychelles, then a colony of the United Kingdom ) was the first President of Seychelles from 1976 to 1977.

* Seychelles claims the Glorioso Islands

Seychelles claims the French-owned Glorioso Islands in the Indian Ocean.

Mauritius claims Tromelin ; the Comoros and Seychelles claim the Glorioso Islands ; the Comoros and Madagascar claim Banc du Geyser ; and Madagascar claims the remaining islands.

Since Seychelles ' independence in 1976, per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the old near-subsistence level.

In an effort to increase agricultural self-sufficiency, Seychelles has undertaken steps to make the sector more productive and to provide incentives to farmers.

The decision to let the currency trade freely as part of the IMF rescue package means that Seychelles is the smallest country in the world that has a completely independent currency-one that is neither pegged, nor an adopted foreign currency, nor a common currency used within a larger monetary union.

In addition to the now booming tourism and building / real estate markets, Seychelles has renewed its commitment to developing its financial services sector.

Atlas has been acquired by Cable & Wireless Seychelles in 2005.

In terms of sea transport, the main port is Victoria, and Seychelles has no merchant marine.

The Seychelles government is one of the proponents of the Indian Ocean zone of peace concept and it has promoted an end to the United States presence on Diego Garcia.

Seychelles ' foreign policy position has placed it generally toward the left of the spectrum within the Non-Aligned Movement.

Seychelles has an embassy in Paris.

Seychelles has an embassy in Beijing.

Seychelles has a High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.

Seychelles has a High Commission in Pretoria.

The UNCCD has 194 country Parties: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, the People's Republic of China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d ' Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, the Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Because of its long isolation, the Seychelles hosts several unique species including the Coco de mer, a palm which has the largest seeds of any plant and the world's largest population of giant tortoises.

The Common Cuckoo has also occurred as a vagrant in countries including Barbados, the United States of America, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Indonesia, Palau, Seychelles, Taiwan and China.

It has invaded ecosystems from Hawaii to Seychelles, and formed supercolonies on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.

It has been introduced into a wide range of tropical and subtropical environments including Caribbean islands, some Indian Ocean islands ( Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, the Cocos Islands and the Christmas Islands ) and some Pacific islands ( New Caledonia, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Okinawa, Vanuatu, Micronesia and the Galapagos archipelago )

It has been recorded that A. gracilipes moves at about 37 – 400 meters a year in Seychelles.

It formerly also was found on St Pierre, Chauve-Souris and Ile Ronde ( Round Island, an islet near Praslin ) in the Seychelles group, but has become extinct on these islands.

This palm has been lost from the wild from three Seychelles islands within its former range.

The Aldabra Island day gecko, or Aldabra day gecko ( Phelsuma abbotti abbotti ), has been found on the Aldabra Atoll ( Seychelles ).

The species has also been introduced to the Seychelles, and onto the Hawaiian Islands, where it is established on both sides of O ' ahu, both sides of the Big Island, and on Maui ( McKeown, 1993 ).

Further afield, it has been recorded as a vagrant to Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Australia, the Seychelles, Bermuda, Canada, the US, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroes, the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands.