Long-form name: Republic of Bolivia

Type: republic

Capital: La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)

Administrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos, singular--departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, El Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija

Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)

Constitution: 2 February 1967

Legal system: based on Spanish law and Code Napoleon; Constitution in force except where contrary to dispositions dictated by governments since 1969; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)

Branches: executive; bicameral legislature (National Congress--Senate and Chamber of Deputies); Congress began meeting again in October 1982; judiciary

Leader: @m5Chief of State and Head of Government--President Jaime PAZ Zamora (since 5 August 1989); Vice President Julio GARRETT Ayllon (since 6 August 1985); note--served as Acting Vice President from 14 December 1984 to 6 August 1985

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 if married, 21 if single

Elections: presidential election on 14 July 1985 did not produce the required majority for any of the three leading candidates; Victor Paz Estenssoro, center-left leader of the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR), placed second in the popular vote to center-right Hugo Banzer, head of the Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN); however, the MNR won 94 congressional seats compared with the ADN's 51; as a result, the Bolivian Congress on 5 August chose Paz Estenssoro to head the government; he was inaugurated on 6 August; next presidential and congressional elections to be held 7 May 1989

Political parties and leaders: the two parties that garnered the most votes in the 1985 elections, the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR) and the Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), recently broke off a tactical alliance that began in 1985; MNR, Victor Paz Estenssoro; ADN, Hugo Banzer; Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), Jaime Paz Zamora; Bolivian Socialist Falange (FSB), Romel Pantoja; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Jorge Agredo; Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), Antonio Aranibar; Bolivian Communist Party (PCB), Humberto Ramirez; Revolutionary Vanguard-9th of April (VR-9), Carlos Serrate Reich; Socialist Party-One (PS-1), Ramiro Velasco

Voting strength: (1985 election) ADN 28.11%, MNR 26.66%, MIR 8.86%; (1987 municipal elections) ADN 34%, MIR 31%, MNR 9%

Member of: FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IATP, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, LAIA and Andean Sub-Regional Group (created in May 1969 within LAIA, formerly LAFTA), NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Carlos E. DELIUS; Chancery at 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-4410 through 4412; there are Bolivian Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco; US--Ambassador Robert GELBARD; Embassy at Banco Popular del Peru Building, corner of Calles Mercado y Colon, La Paz (mailing address is P. O. Box 425, La Paz, or APO Miami 34032); telephone Õ591å (2) 350251 or 350120

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large, black, five-pointed star centered in the yellow band

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