Capital: Prague
Administrative divisions: 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1
capital city* (hlavni mesto); Brnensky, Budejovicky, Jihlavsky,
Karlovarsky, Kralovehradecky, Liberecky, Olomoucky, Ostravsky,
Pardubicky, Plzensky, Praha*, Stredocesky, Ustecky, Zlinsky
Independence: 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech
Republic and Slovakia)
National holiday: Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918)
Constitution: ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993
Legal system: civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Vaclav HAVEL (since 2
February 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Milos ZEMAN (since 17 July 1998); Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir SPIDLA (since 22 July 1998), Pavel RYCHETSKY (since 22 July 1998), Jan KAVAN (since 8 December 1999)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister