Long-form name: Republic of Haiti

Type: republic

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Administrative divisions: 9 departments, (departements, singular--departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est

Independence: 1 January 1804 (from France)

Constitution: 27 August 1983, suspended February 1986; draft constitution approved March 1987

Legal system: based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Branches: military-dominated government following the end of 29 years of Duvalier family rule; executive and judiciary appointed by president

Leader: @m5Chief of State and Head of Government--President Lt. Gen. Prosper AVRIL (since 18 September 1988)

Suffrage: universal over age 18

Elections: last held January 1988; Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril installed as President after a coup led by the Presidential Guard on 17 September 1988

Political parties and leaders: Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Sylvio Claude; Haitian Social Christian Party (PSCH), Gregoire Eugene; Movement To Install Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc Bazin; National Alliance Front (FNC), Gerard Gourgue; National Agricultural and Industrial Party (PAIN), Louis Dejoie

Communists: United Party of Haitian Communists (PUCH), Rene Theodore (roughly 2,000 members)

Other political or pressure groups: Democratic Unity Confederation (KID), Congress of Democratic Movements (CONACOM), Roman Catholic Church

Member of: CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Pierre Francois BENOIT; Chancery at 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-4090 through 4092; there are Haitian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico); US--Ambassador Brunson MCKINLEY; Embassy at Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince (mailing address is P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince), telephone Õ509å (1) 20354 or 20368, 20200, 20612

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto @m5L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)

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