Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975) head of government : President of the Government Jose Maria AZNAR (since 5 May 1996); First Vice President Francisco ALVAREZ-CASCOS FERNANDEZ (since 5 May 1996) and Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy and Finance) Rodrigo RATO FIGAREDO (since 5 May 1996) cabinet: Council of Ministers designated by the president note : there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government elections: the king is a hereditary monarch; president proposed by the king and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections; election last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by NA 2000) election results: Jose Maria AZNAR elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA
Legislative branch: bicameral The General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (256 seats; 208 members are directly elected by popular vote and the other 48 were appointed by the regional legislatures to serve four-year terms) and the Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; members are elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by March 2000); Congress of Deputies - last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by March 2000) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PP 132, PSOE 96, CiU 11, PNV 6, IU 2, others 9; Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PP 38.9%, PSOE 37.5%, IU 10.7%, CiU 4.6%; seats by party - PP 156, PSOE 141, IU 21, CiU 16, other 16
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo
Political parties and leaders: principal national parties, from right to left: Popular Party or PP [Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Felipe GONZALEZ Marquez, secretary general]; Spanish Communist Party or PCE [Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez]; United Left or IU (a coalition of parties including the PCE and other small parties) [Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez] chief regional parties: Convergence and Union or CiU [Jordi PUJOL, secretary general] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Pere ESTEVE] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN LLEIDA]); Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Xabier ARZALLUS Antia and Jose Antonio ARDANZA]; Canarian Coalition or CC (a coalition of five parties)
Political pressure groups and leaders: on the extreme left, the Basque Fatherland and Liberty or ETA and the First of October Antifascist Resistance Group or GRAPO use terrorism to oppose the government; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); Workers Confederation or CC.OO; the Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; business and landowning interests; the Catholic Church; Opus Dei; university students
International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB,
Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, EU,
FAO, G- 8, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO,
NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio de OYARZABAL MARCHESI chancery : 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2340 FAX: [1] (202) 833-5670 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Richard N. GARDNER embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid mailing address : APO AE 09642 telephone: [34] (1) 587-2200 FAX: [34] (1) 587-2303 consulate(s) general: Barcelona
Flag description: three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width), and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of arms includes the royal seal framed by the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar