Executive branch: chief of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Jerzy BUZEK (since 31 October 1997), Deputy Prime Ministers Leszek BALCEROWICZ (since 31 October 1997), Longin KOMOLOWSKI (since 19 October 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election first round held 5 November 1995, second round held 19 November 1995 (next to be held NA November 2000); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI elected president; percent of popular vote, second round - Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 51.7%, Lech WALESA 48.3%
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe consists of the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) and the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms) elections: Sejm elections last held 21 September 1997 (next to be held by NA September 2001); Senate - last held 21 September 1997 (next to be held by NA September 2001) election results: Sejm - percent of vote by party - RS-AWS 33.8%, SLD 27.1%, UW 13.4%, PSL 7.3%, ROP 5.6%, MNSO 0.4%, other 12.4%; seats by party - AWS 201, SLD 164, UW 60, PSL 27, ROP 6, MNSO 2; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AWS 51, SLD 28, UW 8, ROP 5, PSL 3, independents 5; note - seats by party in the Sejm as of January 2000: AWS 186, SLD 159, UW 60, PSL 26, PP 7, ROP 4, MNSO 2, KPN-O 5, PPS-RLP 3, other 8 note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period; Constitutional Tribunal, judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms
Political parties and leaders: Center Alliance Party or PC [Antoni
TOKARCZUK]; Christian National Union or ZCHN ;
Confederation for an Independent Poland or KPN ;
Confederation for an Independent Poland-Patriotic Camp or KPN-OP
(KPN-Fatherland or KPN-O is a small group within the KPN-OP) [Adam
SLOMKA]; Conservative Peasant Party or SKL ;
Democratic Left Alliance or SLD (Social Democracy of Poland) [Leszek
MILLER]; Freedom Union or UW ; German Minority of
Lower Silesia or MNSO ; Labor Party or PP ;
Labor Union or UP ; Movement of Polish Working People or
RLP ; Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan
OLSZEWSKI]; Polish Christian Democrats or PPChD ;
Polish Peasant Party or PSL ; Polish Socialist
Party or PPS ; Realpolitik Union or UPR [Janusz
KORWIN-MIKKE]; Solidarity Electoral Action or AWS (includes RS-AWS and
Solidarity) ; Social Movement-Solidarity Electoral
Action or RS-AWS
note: post-Communist - SLD and PSL; post-Solidarity - UW, Freedom
Union, ZCHN, PC, PL, RS AWS, UP, and PK; non-Communist, non-Solidarity
- ROP, KPN, MN, and UPR
Political pressure groups and leaders: All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union); Roman Catholic Church; Solidarity (trade union)
International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, BSEC
(observer), CBSS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant),
FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW,
OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL,
UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WEU
(associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jerzy KOZMINSKI chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: (202) 328-6271 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel FRIED embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-054, Warsaw P1 mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: (22) 628-30-41 FAX: (22) 625-67-31 consulate(s) general: Krakow
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white
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