Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: Somalia has no functioning government; the United
Somali Congress (USC) ousted the regime of Major General Mohamed SIAD
Barre on 27 January 1991; the present political situation is one of
anarchy, marked by interclan fighting and random banditry
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly or Golaha Shacbiga note: the Golaha Shacbiga is not functioning
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (not functioning)
Political parties and leaders: the United Somali Congress or USC ousted the former regime on 27 January 1991; formerly the only party was the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party or SRSP, headed by former President and Commander in Chief of the Army Major General Mohamed SIAD Barre
Political pressure groups and leaders: numerous clan and subclan factions are currently vying for power
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF,
CAEU, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU,
NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: Somalia does not have an embassy in the US (ceased operations on 8 May 1991)
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Somalia; US interests are represented by the US Embassy in Nairobi at Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue; mail address: P. O. Box 30137, Unit 64100, Nairobi; APO AE 09831; telephone: [254] (2) 334141; FAX [254] (2) 340838
Flag description: light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the center; design based on the flag of the UN (Italian Somaliland was a UN trust territory)