Long-form name: Argentine Republic

Type: republic

Capital: Buenos Aires (tentative plans to move to Viedma by 1990 indefinitely postponed)

Administrative divisions: 22 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia), 1 national territory* (territorio nacional), and 1 district** (distrito); Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes, Distrito Federal**, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego and Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur*, Tucuman

Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)

Constitution: 1 May 1853

Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: National Day, 25 May (1810)

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camera de Diputados)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government--President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989); Vice President Eduardo DUHALDE (since 8 July 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Justicialist Party (JP), Antonio Cafiero, Peronist umbrella political organization; Radical Civic Union (UCR), Raul Alfonsin, moderately left of center; Union of the Democratic Center (UCEDE), Alvaro Alsogaray, conservative party; Intransigent Party (PI), Dr. Oscar Alende, leftist party; several provincial parties

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections: President--last held 14 May 1989 (next to be held May 1995); results--Carlos Saul Menem was elected; Chamber of Deputies--last held 14 May 1989 (next to be held May 1991); results--JP 47%, UCR 30%, UDC 7%, other 16%; seats--(254 total); JP 122, UCR 93, UDC 11, other 28

Communists: some 70,000 members in various party organizations, including a small nucleus of activists

Other political or pressure groups: Peronist-dominated labor movement, General Confederation of Labor (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization), Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association), Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association), business organizations, students, the Roman Catholic Church, the Armed Forces

Member of: CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, ISO, ITU, IWC--International Whaling Commission, IWC--International Wheat Council, LAIA, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Guido Jose Maria DI TELLA; Chancery at 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone 202) 939-6400 through 6403; there are Argentine Consulates General in Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles; US--Ambassador Terence A. TODMAN; Embassy at 4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires (mailing address is APO Miami 34034); telephone p54o (1) 774-7611 or 8811, 9911

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face known as the Sun of May

NOTE: The information regarding Argentina on this page is re-published from the 1990 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Argentina Government 1990 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Argentina Government 1990 should be addressed to the CIA.