Long-form name: Republic of the Sudan

Type: republic

Capital: Khartoum

Administrative divisions: 9 regions (aqalim, singular--iqlim); Aali an Nil, Al Awsat, Al Istiwai, Al Khartum, Ash Shamali, Ash Sharqi, Bahr al Ghazal, Darfur, Kurdufan

Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK; formerly Anglo-Egyptian Sudan)

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

Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; in September 1983 President Nimeiri declared the penal code would conform to Islamic law; however, alternatives to these laws are under review by the Constituent Assembly; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

Branches: Supreme Council and Civilian Cabinet; regional military governors

Leaders: @m5Chief of State and Head of Government Revolutionary Command Council Chairman and Prime Minister Brig. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 30 June 1989); Deputy Chairman of the Command Council and Deputy Prime Minister Brig. Gen. Zubayr MUHAMMAD (since 9 July 1989)

Suffrage: universal adult

Elections: election held in April 1986; selected representation to a Constituent Assembly that was to draft a new constitution in one year and thereafter serve as a parliament for three years

Political parties and leaders: following coup in April 1985, more than 30 different political parties declared; most significant include the Umma Party (Ansar Muslim Sect), the Democratic Unionist Party (Khatmiyyah Muslim Sect), the rightist Islamic fundamentalist National Islamic Front (Muslim Brotherhood), the Sudanese Communist Party, and the Bath Party; major southern parties include the Sudan African Congress and the Southern Sudanese Political Association

Member of: AfDB, APC, Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Hasan Al-Amin BASHIR; Chancery at 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 338-8565 through 8570; there is a Sudanese Consulate General in New York; US--Ambassador G. Norman ANDERSON; Embassy at Shar'ia Ali Abdul Latif, Khartoum (mailing address is P. O. Box 699, Khartoum, or APO New York 09668); telephone 74700 or 75680, 74611

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 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sudan Government 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sudan Government 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.