Capital: Khartoum
Administrative divisions: 9 states (wilayat, singular - wilayat or wilayah*); A'ali an Nil, Al Wusta*, Al Istiwa'iyah*, Al Khartum, Ash Shamaliyah*, Ash Sharqiyah*, Bahr al Ghazal, Darfur, Kurdufan

Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

Constitution: 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989

Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; the council is still studying criminal provisions under Islamic law; Islamic law applies to all residents of the six northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: none

Executive branch:
Chief of State and Head of Government: President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); prior to 16 October 1993, BASHIR served concurrently as Chief of State, Chairman of the RCC, Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence (since 30 June 1989); Vice President Major General al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH (since 19 October 1993); note - upon its dissolution on 16 October 1993, the RCC's executive and legislative powers were devolved to the President and the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), Sudan's appointed legislative body
cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president; note - on 30 October 1993 President BASHIR announced a new, predominantly civilian cabinet, consisting of 20 federal ministers, most of whom retained their previous cabinet positions
note: Lt. Gen. BASHIR's government is dominated by members of Sudan's National Islamic Front, a fundamentalist political organization formed from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1986; front leader Hasan al-TURABI controls Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies

Legislative branch: appointed 300-member Transitional National Assembly; officially assumes all legislative authority for Sudan until the eventual, unspecified resumption of national elections

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Special Revolutionary Courts

Political parties and leaders: none; banned following 30 June 1989 coup
Other political or pressure groups: National Islamic Front, Hasan al-TURABI
Member of: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ahmad SULAYMAN
chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 338-8565 through 8570
FAX: (202) 667-2406
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Donald K. PETTERSON
embassy: Shar'ia Ali Abdul Latif, Khartoum
mailing address: P. O. Box 699, Khartoum, or APO AE 09829
telephone: 74700 or 74611
FAX: Telex 22619 AMEM SD

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side

NOTE: The information regarding Sudan 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 Sudan Government 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sudan Government 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.