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, Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur*, Tucuman; note--the national territory is in the process of becoming a province; the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica

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: Revolution 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 (Camara 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), Carlos Saul MENEM, Peronist umbrella political organization; Radical Civic Union (UCR), Raul ALFONSIN, moderately left of center; Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), 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 October 1991); results--JP 47%, UCR 30%, UCD 7%, other 16%; seats--(254 total); JP 122, UCR 93, UCD 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: AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-11, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ortiz de ROZAS; 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 [54] (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 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Argentina Government 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Argentina Government 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.