Long-form name: Union of Burma

Type: military government

Capital: Rangoon

Administrative divisions: 7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular--yin) and 7 states (pyine-mya, singular--pyine); Chin State, Irrawaddy*, Kachin State, Karan State, Kayah State, Magwe*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Pegu*, Rakhine State, Rangoon*, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tenasserim*

Independence: 4 January 1948 (from UK)

Constitution: 3 January 1974 (suspended)

Legal system: People's Justice system and People's Courts instituted under 1974 Constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 January (1948)

Branches: under the now suspended Constitution, the Council of State rules through a Council of Ministers
National Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw or People's Congress) has legislative power: nine-member military State Law and Order Restoration Committee governs, pending new elections

Leader: @m5Chief of State and Head of Government--Gen. SAW MAUNG (since 18 September 1988)

Suffrage: universal over age 18

Elections: National Assembly and local People's Councils elected in 1985, dissolved after 18 September 1988 coup; election scheduled for May 1990

Political parties and leaders: National League for Democracy, led by U Tin Oo and Aung San Suu Kyi (since December 1988); promilitary National Unity Party; over 180 other parties

Communists: 15,000 est., primarily as an insurgent group on the northeast frontier

Other political or pressure groups: Kachin Independence Army; Karen Nationalist Union, several Shan factions (all insurgent groups)

Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador U. Myo AUNG; Chancery at 2300 S Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-9044 through 9046; there is a Burmese Consulate General in New York; US--Ambassador Burton LEVIN; Embassy at 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (mailing address is G. P. O. Box 521, Rangoon or Box B, APO San Francisco 96346); telephone 82055 or 82181

Flag: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions

NOTE: The information regarding Burma on this page is re-published from the 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Burma Government 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Burma Government 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.