Long-form name: Italian Republic

Type: republic

Capital: Rome

Administrative divisions: 20 regions (regioni, singular--regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto

Independence: 17 March 1861, Kingdom of Italy proclaimed

Constitution: 1 January 1948

Legal system: based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law influence; appeals treated as trials de novo; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)

Executive branch: president, prime minister (president of the Council of Ministers)

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consists of an upper chamber or Senate of the Republic (Senato della Repubblica) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale)

Leaders: Chief of State--President Francesco COSSIGA (since 3 July 1985); Head of Government--Prime Minister Giulio ANDREOTTI (since 22 July 1989, heads the government for the seventh time); Deputy Prime Minister Claudio MARTELLI (since 23 July 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party (DC), Arnaldo FORLANI (general secretary), Ciriaco De MITA (president); Socialist Party (PSI), Bettino CRAXI (party secretary); Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Antonio CARIGLIA (party secretary); Liberal Party (PLI), Renato ALTISSIMO (secretary general); Democratic Party of the Left (PDS--was Communist Party, or PCI, until January 1991), Achille OCCHETTO (secretary general); Italian Social Movement (MSI), Giuseppe (Pino) RAUTI (national secretary); Republican Party (PRI), Giorgio La MALFA (political secretary); Lega Nord, Umberto BOSSI, president; Italy's 50th postwar government was formed on 13 April 1991, with Prime Minister ANDREOTTI, a Christian Democrat, presiding over a four-party coalition consisting of the Christian Democrats, Socialists, Social Democrats, and Liberals

Suffrage: universal at age 18 (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)

Elections: Senate--last held 14-15 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1992); results--DC 33.9%, PCI 28.3%, PSI 10.7%, other 27.1%; seats--(320 total, 315 elected) DC 125, PCI 100, PSI 36, other 54; Chamber of Deputies--last held 14-15 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1992); results--DC 34.3%, PCI 26.6%, PSI 14.3%, MSI 5.9%, PRI 3.7%, PSDI 3.0%, Radicals 2.6%, Greens 2.5%, PLI 2.1%, Proletarian Democrats 1.7%, other 3.3%; seats--(630 total) DC 234, PCI 177, PSI 94, MSI 35, PRI 21, PSDI 17, Radicals 13, Greens 13, PLI 11, Proletarian Democrats 8, other 7

Communists: 1.3 million (1990)

Other political or pressure groups: the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (CGIL--Communist dominated, CISL--Christian Democratic, and UIL--Social Democratic, Socialist, and Republican); Italian manufacturers association (Confindustria); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)

Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IEA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Rinaldo PETRIGNANI; Chancery at 1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 328-5500; there are Italian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Consulates in Detroit and Newark (New Jersey); US--Ambassador Peter F. SECCHIA; Embassy at Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome (mailing address is APO New York 09794); telephone [39] (6) 46741; there are US Consulates General in Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, and Palermo (Sicily)

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Ivory Coast which has the colors reversed--orange (hoist side), white, and green

NOTE: The information regarding Italy 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 Italy Government 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Italy Government 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.