Independence: 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 May
Constitution: adopted 12 November 1995
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Heydar ALIYEV (since 18 June 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since NA November 1996); First Deputy Prime Ministers Abbas ABBASOV (since NA), Samed SADYKOV (since NA), Vahid AKHMEDOV (since NA), Elchin EFENDIYEV (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote to a five-year term; election last held 3 October 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); prime minister and first deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly election results: Heydar ALIYEV elected president; percent of vote - Heydar ALIYEV 97%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 12 and 26 November 1995 (next to be held NA 2000) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Azerbaijan Popular Front or APF
[Ebulfez ELCIBEY, chairman]; Musavat Party [Isa GAMBAR, chairman];
National Independence Party [Etibar MAMEDOV, chairman]; Social
Democratic Party or SDP [Araz ALIZADE, chairman]; Communist Party
[Ramiz AKHMEDOV, chairman]; People's Freedom Party [Yunus OGUZ,
chairman]; Independent Social Democratic Party [Arif YUNUSOV and Leila
YUNOSOVA, cochairmen]; New Azerbaijan Party [Heydar ALIYEV, chairman];
Boz Gurd Party [Iskander HAMIDOV, chairman]; Azerbaijan Democratic
Independence Party [Qabil HUSEYNLI, chairman]; Islamic Party of
Azerbaijan [Ali Akram, chairman]; Ana Veten Party [Fazail AGAMALIYEV];
Azerbaijan Democratic Party [Sardar Jalaloglu MAMEDOV]; Azerbaijan
Democratic Party of Proprietors or DPOP [Makhmud MAMEDOV]; Azerbaijan
Patriotic Solidarity Party [Sabir RUSTAMHANLI]; Azerbaijan Republic
Reform Party [Fuad ASADOV]; Communist Party of Azerbaijan
(unregistered) [Sayad SAYADOV]; Equality of the Peoples Party
[Faukhraddin AYDAYEV]; Independent Azerbaijan Party [Nizami
SULEYMANOV]; Labor Party of Azerbaijan [Sabutai HAJIYEV];
Liberal-Democratic Party of Azerbaijan [Lyudmila NIKOLAYEVNA];
National Enlightenment Party [Hajy Osman EFENDIYEV]; National
Liberation Party [Panak SHAKHSEVEV]; Peasant Party [Firuz MUSTAFAYEV];
Radical Party of Azerbaijan [Malik SHARIFOV]; United Azerbaijan Party
[Kerrar ABILOV]; Vetan Adzhagy Party [Zakir TAGIYEV]
Political pressure groups and leaders: self-proclaimed Armenian
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement; Sadval,
Lezgin movement