Executive branch: chief of state: President Liamine ZEROUAL (appointed president 31 January 1994, elected president 16 November 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 31 December 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 November 1995 (next to be held NA 2000); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Liamine ZEROUAL elected president; percent of vote-Liamine ZEROUAL 61.3%
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani (380 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Council of Nations (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; members serve six-year terms; created as a result of the constitutional revision of November 1996) elections: National People's Assembly-last held 5 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2001); elections for two-thirds of the Council of Nations-last held 25 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: National People's Assembly-percent of vote by party-NA%; seats by party-RND 156, MSP 69, FLN 62, Nahda Movement 34, FFS 20, RCD 19, PT 4, Republican Progressive Party 3, Union for Democracy and Freedoms 1, Liberal Social Party 1, independents 11; Council of Nations-percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party-RND 80, FLN 10, FFS 4, MSP 2 (remaining 48 seats appointed by the president, party breakdown NA)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Islamic Salvation Front (FIS, outlawed April 1992), Ali BENHADJ, Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR (self-exile in Germany); National Liberation Front (FLN), Boualem BENHAMOUDA, secretary general; Socialist Forces Front (FFS), Hocine Ait AHMED, secretary general (self-exile in Switzerland); Movement of a Peaceful Society (MSP or Hamas), Mahfoud NAHNAH, chairman; Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), Said SAADI, secretary general; Algerian Renewal Party (PRA), Noureddine BOUKROUH, chairman; Nahda Movement (Al Nahda), Abdallah DJABALLAH, president; Democratic National Rally (RND), Abdelkader BENSALAH, chairman; Movement for Democracy in Algeria (MDA), Ahmed Ben BELLA; Workers Party (PT), Louisa HANOUN; Republican Progressive Party, Khadir DRISS; Union for Democracy and Freedoms, Mouley BOUKHALAFA; Liberal Social Party, Ahmed KHELIL note: the government established a multiparty system in September 1989 and, as of 31 December 1990, over 50 legal parties existed; a new party law was enacted in March 1997
International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF,
AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO,
Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAS
(observer), OAU, OIC, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ramtane LAMAMRA chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2174
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Cameron HUME embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers telephone: [213] (2) 69-11-86, 69-12-55, 69-18-54, 69-38-75 FAX: [213] (2) 69-39-79
Flag description: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white with a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion)
@Algeria:Economy
Economy-overview: The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 57% of government revenues, 25% of GDP, and almost all export earnings. Algeria has the fifth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the second largest gas exporter; it ranks fourteenth for oil reserves. Algiers' efforts to reform one of the most centrally planned economies in the Arab world began after the 1986 collapse of world oil prices plunged the country into a severe recession. In 1989, the government launched a comprehensive, IMF-supported program to achieve economic stabilization and to introduce market mechanisms into the economy. Despite substantial progress toward economic adjustment, in 1992 the reform drive stalled as Algiers became embroiled in political turmoil. In September 1993, a new government was formed, and one priority was the resumption and acceleration of the structural adjustment process. Burdened with a heavy foreign debt, Algiers concluded a one-year standby arrangement with the IMF in April 1994 and the following year signed onto a three-year extended fund facility. Progress on economic reform, a Paris Club debt rescheduling in 1995, and oil and gas sector expansion have contributed to a recovery since 1995. Investments in developing hydrocarbon resources are likely to maintain growth and export earnings. Continuing but gradual government efforts to attract foreign and domestic investment outside that sector seek to diversify the economy and tackle problems of high unemployment and falling living standards, problems as yet untouched by the macroeconomic turnaround.