Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state : President Leonid D. KUCHMA (since 19 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Pavlo LAZARENKO (since NA May 1996), First Deputy Prime Minister Vasyl DURDYNETS (since NA July 1996), and three deputy prime ministers cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council, but significantly revamped and strengthened under President KUCHMA; the NSDC includes the president, prime minister, ministers of defense, internal affairs, foreign relations, and chairman of the security service; the NSC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a Presidential Administration that helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president; and a Council of Regions that serves as an advisory body created by President KUCHMA in September 1994 that includes the Kiev and Sevastopol City Supreme Councils and the chairmen of Oblast elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council election results: Leonid D. KUCHMA elected president; percent of vote - Leonid KUCHMA 52.15%, Leonid KRAVCHUK 45.06%
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; members are elected by popular vote from one-member districts by complex procedures to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 March 1994 with repeat elections continuing through December 1998 to fill empty seats (next to be held NA March 1998) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Communists 91, Rukh 22, Agrarians 18, Socialists 15, Republicans 11, Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists 5, Labor 5, Party of Democratic Revival 4, Democrats 2, Social Democrats 2, Civil Congress 2, Conservative Republicans 1, Party of Economic Revival of Crimea 1, Christian Democrats 1, independents 225; note - most recent repeat election held in April 1996 filling 422 of 450 seats as follows: independents 238, Communist 95, Rukh 22, Agrarians 18, Socialist 15, Republicans 11, Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists 5, Labor 5, Party of Democratic Revival 4, Democratic Party of Ukraine 2, Social Democrats 2, Civil Congress 2, Conservative Republicans 1, Party of Economic Revival of Crimea 1, Christian Democrats 1, vacant 28 (in February 1997 there were 35 vacant seats)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Green Party of Ukraine [Vitaliy
KONONOV, leader]; Liberal Party of Ukraine; Liberal Democratic Party
of Ukraine [Volodymyr KLYMCHUK, chairman]; Democratic Party of Ukraine
[Volodymyr Oleksandrovych YAVORIVSKIY, chairman]; People's Party of
Ukraine; Peasants' Party of Ukraine; Party of Democratic Rebirth or
Revival of Ukraine [Volodymyr FILENKO, chairman]; Social Democratic
Party of Ukraine [Vasyl ONOPENKO, chairman]; Socialist Party of
Ukraine [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; Ukrainian Christian Democratic
Party [Vitaliy ZHURAVSKYY, chairman]; Ukrainian Conservative
Republican Party [Stepan KHMARA, chairman]; Ukrainian Labor Party
[Valentyn LANDYK, chairman]; Ukrainian Party of Justice [Yuriy ZUBKO,
chairman]; Ukrainian Peasants' Democratic Party [Serhiy PLACHINDA,
chairman]; Ukrainian Republican Party [Bondan YAROSHPSKYY, chairman];
Ukrainian National Conservative Party; Ukrainian People's Movement for
Restructuring or Rukh [Vyacheslav CHORNOVIL, chairman]; Ukrainian
Communist Party [Petr SYMONENKO]; Agrarian Party; Congress of
Ukrainian Nationalists [Slava STESTKO]; Civil Congress [O. BAZYLUK];
Party of Economic Revival of Crimea; Progressive Socialist Party of
Ukraine [Nataliya VITRENKO and Volodymyr MARCHENKO, leaders]; People's
Democratic Party [Anatoliy MATVIYENKO, chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders: New Ukraine (Nova Ukrayina);
Congress of National Democratic Forces
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS,
EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer),
ISO, ITU, NACC, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNPREDEP, UNTAES, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission : Ambassador Yuriy Mikolayevych SHCHERBAK chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606 FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817 consulate(s) general : Chicago and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William Green MILLER embassy: 10 Yuria Kotsyubinskovo, 254053 Kiev 53 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [380] (44) 244-7345 FAX: [380] (44) 244-7350