Long-form name: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; abbreviated SFRY

Type: federal republic in form; four of six republics have non-Communist governments

Capital: Belgrade

Administrative divisions: 6 republics (republike, singular--republika); Bosna i Hercegovina (Bosnia and Hercegovina), Crna Gora (Montenegro), Hrvatska (Croatia), Makedonija (Macedonia), Slovenija (Slovenia), Srbija (Serbia); note--there are two nominally autonomous provinces (autonomne pokajine, singular--autonomna pokajina) within Srbija--Kosovo and Vojvodina

Independence: 1 December 1918; independent monarchy established from the Kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro, parts of the Turkish Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire; SFRY proclaimed 29 November 1945

Constitution: 21 February 1974, amendments to the Constitution have passed the Federal Assembly and are being considered at the republic level

Legal system: mixture of civil law system and Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; a new legal code is being formulated

National holiday: Proclamation of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 29 November (1945)

Executive branch: president of the Presidency, vice president of the Presidency, Presidency, president of the Federal Executive Council, two vice presidents of the Federal Executive Council, Federal Executive Council

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal (Skupstina) consists of an upper chamber or Chamber of Republics and Provinces (Vece Republika i Pokrajina) and a lower chamber or Federal Chamber

Judicial branch: Federal Court (Savezna Sud), Constitutional Court

Leaders: Chief of State--President of the Presidency Stjepan MESIC from Hrvatska (Croatia), one-year term expires 15 May 1992; Vice President of the Presidency Branko KOSTIC from Crna Gora (Montenegro), one-year term expires 15 May 1992; note--the offices of president and vice president rotate annually among members of the Presidency with the current vice president assuming the presidency and a new vice president selected from area which has gone the longest without filling the position (the current sequence is Hrvatska, Crna Gora, Vojvodina, Kosovo, Makedonija, Bosna i Hercegovina, Slovenija, and Srbija); Head of Government--President of the Federal Executive Council Ante MARKOVIC (since 16 March 1989); Vice President of the Federal Executive Council Aleksandar MITROVIC (since 16 March 1989); Vice President of the Federal Executive Council Zivko PREGL (since 16 March 1989)

Political parties and leaders: there are over 100 political parties operating, some only in one republic and others country-wide

Suffrage: at age 16 if employed, universal at age 18

Elections: direct federal elections may never be held because of inter-republic differences over Yugoslavia's future structure

Other political or pressure groups: there are no national political groups; all significant groups are found within the republics

Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), BIS, CCC, CERN (observer), CSCE, ECE, FAO, G-9, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OECD (special), PCA, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dzevad MUJEZINOVIC; Chancery at 2410 California Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 462-6566; there are Yugoslav Consulates General in Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco; US--Ambassador Warren ZIMMERMAN; mailing address Box 5070, Belgrade or APO New York 09213-5070; telephone [38] (11) 645-655; there is a US Consulate General in Zagreb

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red with a large red five-pointed star edged in yellow superimposed in the center over all three bands

NOTE: The information regarding Yugoslavia on this page is re-published from the 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Yugoslavia Government 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Yugoslavia Government 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.