Capital: Addis Ababa
Administrative divisions: 14 administrative regions (astedader akababiwach, singular - astedader akababi) Addis Ababa, Afar, Amhara, Benishangul, Gambela, Gurage-Hadiya-Kambata, Harer, Kefa, Omo, Oromo, Sidamo, Somali, Tigray, Wolayta

Independence: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years
National holiday: National Day, 28 May (1991) (defeat of Mengistu regime)

Constitution: to be redrafted by 1993

Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President MELES Zenawi (since 1 June 1991); election last held 10 September 1987; next election planned after new constitution drafted; results - MENGISTU Haile-Mariam elected by the now defunct National Assembly, but resigned and left Ethiopia on 21 May 1991
head of government: Prime Minister TAMIRAT Layne (since 6 June 1991)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; designated by the chairman of the Council of Representatives

Legislative branch: unicameral
Constituent Assembly: elections were held on 5 June 1994 (next to be held NA); results - NA; a major task of the new Assembly will be to ratify the constitution to drafted by the end of 1994

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), MELES Zenawi; Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO), Kuma DEMEKSA
Other political or pressure groups: Oromo Liberation Front (OLF); Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP); numerous small, ethnic-based groups have formed since Mengistu's resignation, including several Islamic militant groups
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador BERHANE Gebre-Christos
chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 234-2281 or 2282
FAX: (202) 328-7950
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Marc A. BAAS
embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
telephone: [251] (1) 550-666
FAX: [251] (1) 552-191

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors

NOTE: The information regarding Ethiopia on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ethiopia Government 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ethiopia Government 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.