Long-form name: Italian Republic

Type: republic

Capital: Rome

Administrative divisions: 20 regions (regioni, singular--regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto

Independence: 17 March 1861, Kingdom of Italy proclaimed

Constitution: 1 January 1948

Legal system: based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law influence; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)

Branches: executive (president empowered to dissolve Parliament and call national election; commander of the armed forces presides over the Supreme Defense Council); otherwise, authority to govern invested in Council of Ministers; bicameral legislature (popularly elected Parliament--315-member Senate, 630-member Chamber of Deputies); independent judicial establishment

Leaders: @m5Chief of State--President Francesco COSSIGA (since 3 July 1985); @m5Head of Government--Prime Minister Giulio ANDREOTTI (since 22 July 1989, heads the government for the sixth time); Deputy Prime Minister Claudio MARTELLI (since 23 July 1989)

Suffrage: universal over age 18 (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)

Elections: national election for Parliament every five years (last held June 1987); provincial and municipal elections every five years with some out of phase; regional elections every five years (last held May 1985)

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party (DC), Arnaldo Forlani (general secretary), Ciriaco De Mita (president); Communist Party (PCI), Achille Occhetto (secretary general); Socialist Party (PSI), Bettino Craxi (party secretary); Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Antonio Cariglia (party secretary); Liberal Party (PLI), Renato Altissimo (secretary general); Italian Social Movement (MSI), Gianfranco Fini (national secretary); Republican Party (PRI), Giorgio La Malfa (political secretary); Italy's 49th postwar government was formed on 23 July 1989, with Prime Minister Andreotti, a Christian Democrat, presiding over a five-party coalition consisting of the Christian Democrats, Socialists, Social Democrats, Republicans, and Liberals

Voting strength: (1987 election) Chamber of Deputies--DC 234 seats (34.3%); PCI 177 seats (26.6%); PSI 74 seats (14.3%); MSI 35 seats (5.9%); PRI 21 seats (3.7%); PSDI 17 seats (3.0%); Radicals 13 seats (2.6%); Greens 13 seats (2.5%); PLI 11 seats (2.1%); Proletarian Democrats 8 seats (1.7%); others 7 seats (3.3%)

Communists: 1,673,751 members (1983)

Other political or pressure groups: the Vatican; three major trade union confederations (CGIL--Communist dominated, CISL--Christian Democratic, and UIL--Social Democratic, Socialist, and Republican); Italian manufacturers association (Confindustria); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)

Member of: ADB, ASSIMER, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, ECOWAS, EIB, EMS, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IEA, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU, NATO, OAS (observer), OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Rinaldo PETRIGNANI; Chancery at 1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 328-5500; there are Italian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Consulates in Detroit and Newark (New Jersey); US--Ambassador Maxwell M. RABB; Embassy at Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome (mailing address is APO New York 09794); telephone �39� (6) 46741; there are US Consulates General in Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, and Palermo (Sicily)

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Ivory Coast which has the colors reversed--orange (hoist side), white, and green

NOTE: The information regarding Italy 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 Italy Government 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Italy Government 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.