Long-form name: Socialist Republic of Romania

Type: Communist state

Capital: Bucharest

Administrative divisions: 40 counties (judete, singular--judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea

Independence: 1881 (from Turkey); republic proclaimed 30 December 1947

Constitution: 21 August 1965

Legal system: mixture of civil law system and Communist legal theory that increasingly reflects Romanian traditions; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Liberation Day, 23 August (1944)

Branches: presidency; Council of Ministers; Grand National Assembly, under which is Office of Prosecutor General and Supreme Court; Council of State

Leaders: Nicolae CEAUSESCU, President of the Socialist Republic (head of state; since 1967); Constantin DASCALESCU, Prime Minister (since May 1982)

Suffrage: universal and compulsory over age 18

Elections: election held every five years for Grand National Assembly deputies and local people's councils; last election held March 1985

Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Romania only functioning party, Nicolae Ceausescu, Secretary General (since March 1965)

Voting strength: (1985 election) overall participation reached 99.99%; of those registered to vote (15,733,060), 97.73% voted for party candidates

Communists: 3,400,000 (November 1984)

Member of: CCC, CEMA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IPU, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ion STOICHICI; Chancery at 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-4747; US--Ambassador Roger KIRK; Embassy at Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone �40� (0) 10-40-40

Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red with the national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; the coat of arms features a mountain landscape and a rising yellow sun below a red five-pointed star and the words @m5REPUBLICA SOCIALISTA ROMANIA at the bottom; similar to the flag of Chad which does not have a national coat of arms in the center; also similar to the flag of Andorra which has a national coat of arms featuring a quartered shield centered in the yellow band

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