The founding legend
Tradition has it that the emperor Charlemagne freed the valleys of Andorra from Saracen rule at the end of the eighth century, granting their inhabitants a charter of settlement. The national anthem, El Gran Carlemany, tells exactly that mythical origin. The documented history starts later, under the guardianship of the Bishop of Urgell.
The Pareatges (1278)
Andorra's political shape was born of a dispute. In the thirteenth century the Bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix both claimed the valleys. The conflict was settled by two agreements dividing sovereignty, the Pareatges of 1278 (confirmed in 1288), which set out that Andorra would be governed jointly by two lords. That is the origin of the co-principality, a system that survives to this day.
The co-principality today
Andorra remains a parliamentary co-principality: its two symbolic heads of state are the Bishop of Urgell and the French head of state, historical heir to the rights of the Count of Foix. Since the Constitution their role has been largely institutional and symbolic.
Old institutions
The Consell de la Terra, created in 1419, is one of the oldest parliaments in Europe; it became today's Consell General. Its historic seat is the Casa de la Vall in Andorra la Vella, from the sixteenth century.
Modern Andorra
In 1993 the country approved its first Constitution by referendum, becoming a full parliamentary democracy, and that same year joined the UN and the Council of Europe. The co-principality became largely symbolic, with power in the hands of elected institutions.