Long-form name: Republic of Tunisia; note--may be changed to Tunisian Republic

Type: republic

Capital: Tunis

Administrative divisions: 23 governorates (wilayat, singular--wilayah); Al Kaf, Al Mahdiyah, Al Munastir, Al Qasrayn, Al Qayrawan, Aryanah, Bajah, Banzart, Bin Arus, Jundubah, Madanin, Nabul, Qabis, Qafsah, Qibili, Safaqis, Sidi Bu Zayd, Silyanah, Susah, Tatawin, Tawzar, Tunis, Zaghwan

Independence: 20 March 1956 (from France)

Constitution: 1 June 1959

Legal system: based on French civil law system and Islamic law; some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in joint session

National holiday: National Day, 20 March (1956)

Branches: executive dominant; 141-seat unicameral legislative (National Assembly), largely advisory; judicial, patterned on French and Koranic systems

Leaders: Zine el Abidine BEN ALI, President (since 8 November 1987)

Suffrage: universal over age 21

Elections: national election held every five years; last held 2 April 1989

Political parties and leaders: Constitutional Democratic Rally Party, President Ben Ali (official ruling party); Movement of Democratic Socialists (MDS), Ahmed Mestiri; five other political parties are legal, including the Communist Party

Voting strength: (2 April 1989) presidential election--99.3% of 2.1 million votes; legislative election--Constitutional Democratic Rally Party 80.7% (141 seats--all seats in National Assembly), Independents/Islamists 13.7%, MDS 3.2%, other 1.9%

Communists: a small number of nominal Communists, mostly students

Member of: AfDB, Arab League, AIOEC, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, Regional Cooperation for Development, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abdelaziz HAMZAOUI; Chancery at 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20005; telephone (202) 862-1850; US--Ambassador Robert H. PELLETREAU, Jr.; Embassy at 144 Avenue de la Liberte, 1002 Tunis-Belvedere; telephone �216� (1) 782-566

Flag: red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam

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