Independence: 1156 (from Bavaria)
National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955)
Constitution: 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)
Legal system: civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections
Executive branch: chief of state: President Thomas KLESTIL (since 8 July 1992) head of government: Chancellor Viktor KLIMA (since 28 January 1997); Vice Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (since 22 April 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor elections : president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; presidential election last held 24 May 1992 (next to be held NA 1998); chancellor chosen by the president from the majority party in the National Council; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor election results: Thomas KLESTIL elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Thomas KLESTIL 57%, Rudolf STREICHER 43%
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (63 members; members represent each of the provinces on the basis of population, but with each province having at least three representatives) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: National Council - last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held Fall 1999) election results : National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 38.3%, OeVP 28.3%, FPOe 22.1%, Greens 4.6%, LF 5.3%, other 1.4%; seats by party - SPOe 71, OeVP 53, FPOe 40, Greens 9, LF 10
Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof
Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party of Austria or
SPOe [Viktor KLIMA, chairman]; Austrian People's Party or OeVP
[Wolfgang SCHUESSEL, chairman]; Freedom Movement or FPOe (formerly the
Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Joerg HAIDER, chairman]; Communist
Party or KPOe [Walter SILBERMAYER, chairman]; The Greens [Madeleine
PETROVIC]; Liberal Forum or LF [Heide SCHMIDT]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Federal Chamber of Trade and Commerce; Austrian Trade Union Federation (primarily Socialist) or OeGB; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers; OeVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action