Long-form name: Czech and Slovak Federal Republic; note--on 23 March 1990 the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was renamed the Czechoslovak Federative Republic; Slovak concerns about their status in the federation prompted the Federal Assembly to approve the name Czech and Slovak Federative Republic on 20 April 1990; on 23 April 1990 the name was modified to Czech and Slovak Federal Republic

Type: federal republic in transition to a confederative republic

Capital: Prague

Administrative divisions: 2 republics (republiky, singular--republika); Czech Republic (Ceska Republika), Slovak Republic (Slovenska Republika)

Independence: 28 October 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)

Constitution: 11 July 1960; amended in 1968 and 1970; new Czech, Slovak, and federal constitutions to be drafted in 1991-92

Legal system: civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes, modified by Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code in process of modification to bring it in line with Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory

National holiday: National Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) and Founding of the Republic, 28 October (1918)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Federalni Shromazdeni) consists of an upper house or Chamber of Nations (Snemovna Narodu) and a lower house or Chamber of the People (Snemovna Lidu)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders: Chief of State--President Vaclav HAVEL; (interim president from 29 December 1989 and president since 5 July 1990); Head of Government--Premier Marian CALFA (since 10 December 1989); Deputy Premier Vaclav VALES (since 28 June 1990); Deputy Premier Jiri DIENSTBIER (since 28 June 1990); Deputy Premier Jozef MIKLOSKO (since 28 June 1990); Deputy Premier Pavel RYCHETSKY (since 28 June 1990)

Political parties and leaders: Civic Forum, Vaclav KLAUS, chairman; Public Against Violence, Fedor GAL, chairman; Christian and Democratic Union, Vaclav BENDA; Christian Democratic Movement, Jan CARNOGURSKY; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSC), Pavol KANIS, chairman; KSC toppled from power in November 1989 by massive antiregime demonstrations, minority role in coalition government since 10 December 1989

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections: President--last held 5 July 1990 (next to be held July 1992); results--Vaclav HAVEL elected by the Federal Assembly; Federal Assembly--last held 8-9 June 1990 (next to be held June 1992); results--Civic Forum/Public Against Violence coalition 46%, KSC 13.6%; seats--(300 total) Civic Forum/Public Against Violence coalition 170, KSC 47, Christian and Democratic Union/Christian Democratic Movement 40, Czech, Slovak, Moravian, and Hungarian groups 43

Communists: 760,000 party members (September 1990); about 1,000,000 members lost since November 1989

Other political or pressure groups: Czechoslovak Socialist Party, Czechoslovak People's Party, Czechoslovak Social Democracy, Slovak Nationalist Party, Slovak Revival Party, Christian Democratic Party; over 80 registered political groups fielded candidates in the 8-9 June 1990 legislative election

Member of: BIS, CCC, CSCE, ECE, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBEC, ICAO, IIB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, PCA, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Rita KLIMOVA; Chancery at 3900 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 363-6315 or 6316; US--Ambassador Shirley Temple BLACK; Embassy at Trziste 15, 125 48, Prague 1 (mailing address is AMEM, Box 5630, APO New York 09213-5630); telephone [42] (2) 536641 through 536649

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side

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