Administrative divisions: 32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada
Independence: 20 July 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 20 July (1810)
Constitution: 5 July 1991
Legal system: based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government: President Ernesto SAMPER Pizano
(since 7 August 1994); election last held 29 May 1994 (next to be held
May 1998) and resulted in no candidate receiving more than 50% of the
total vote; a run-off election to select a president from the two
leading candidates was held on 19 June 1994; results - Ernesto SAMPER
Pizano (Liberal Party) 50.4%, Andres PASTRANA Arango (Conservative
Party) 48.6%, blank votes 1%; Humberto de la CALLE was elected vice
president in a new proceedure that replaces the traditional
designation of vice presidents by newly elected presidents.
cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress (Congreso)
Senate (Senado): elections last held 13 March 1994 (next to be held NA
March 1998); preliminary results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
- (102 total) Liberal Party 59, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and
NDF) 31, other 12
House of Representatives (Camara de Representantes): elections last
held 13 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1998); preliminary
results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (161 total) Liberal
Party 89, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF) 53, AD/M-19 2,
other 17
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justical),
Constitutional Court, Council of State
Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party (PL), Juan Guillermo ANGEL; Conservative Party (PC), Fabio VALENCIA Cossio; National Salvation Movement (MSN), Alvaro GOMEZ Hurtado; New Democratic Force (NDF), Andres PASTRANA Arango; Democratic Alliance M-19 (AD/M-19) is a coalition of small leftist parties and dissident liberals and conservatives; Patriotic Union (UP) is a legal political party formed by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Colombian Communist Party (PCC), Carlos ROMERO