Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Boris TRAJKOVSKI (since 15 December 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Ljubco GEORGIEVSKI (since 30 November 1998) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); prime minister elected by the Assembly; election last held NA November 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Boris TRAJKOVSKI elected president on second-round ballot; percent of vote - Boris TRAJKOVSKI 52.4%, Tito PETKOVSKI 46.2% cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the Assembly; note - current cabinet formed by the government coalition parties VMRO-DPMNE, PDP, and DPA
Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly or Sobranje (120 seats - 85 members are elected by popular vote, 35 members come from lists of candidates submitted by parties based on the percentage that a party gains from the overall vote; all serve four-year terms) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VMRO-DPMNE 43, SDSM 27, PDP 14, DA 13, DPA 11, VMRO-VMRO 6, LDP 4, SP 1, Roma Party 1 elections: last held 18 October and 1 November 1998 (next tentatively scheduled for June 2002)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court - Parliament appoints the judges;
Constitutional Court - Parliament appoints the judges; Republican Judicial
Council - Parliament appoints the judges
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Alternative or DA
[Vasil TUPURKOVSKI, president]; Democratic Party of Albanians or
DPA [Arben XHAFERI, president]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or
VMRO-DPMNE [Ljubcho GEORGIEVSKI, president]; Internal Macedonian
Revolutionary Organization-True Macedonian Reform Option or VMRO-VMRO
[Boris STOJMANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Risto GUSTERVO];
Liberal Party [leader NA]; National Democratic Party or MPDK [Kastriot
HAXHISEXHA]; Party for Democratic Prosperity or PDP [Imeri IMERI,
president]; Social-Democratic Alliance of Macedonia or SDSM (former
Communist Party) [Branko CRVENKOVSKI, president]; Socialist Party of
Macedonia or SP [Ljubisav IVANOV, president]; Union of Romanies of
Macedonia or SRM [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACCT, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC,
EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Nikola
DIMITROV chancery: Suite 302, 1101
New York FAX:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Larry BUTLER embassy: Bul. Ilinden bb, 91000 Skopje mailing address:
American Embassy Skopje, Department of State,
[389] (02) 116-180 FAX:
Flag description: a rising yellow sun with eight rays extending to the
edges of the red field
Economy Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Economy - overview: At independence in November 1991, Macedonia was the least developed of the Yugoslav republics, producing a mere 5% of the total federal output of goods and services. The collapse of Yugoslavia ended transfer payments from the center and eliminated advantages from inclusion in a de facto free trade area. An absence of infrastructure, UN sanctions on Yugoslavia, one of its largest markets, and a Greek economic embargo over a dispute about the country's constitutional name and flag hindered economic growth until 1996. GDP subsequently rose each year through 2000. However, the leadership's commitment to economic reform, free trade, and regional integration was undermined by the ethnic Albanian insurgency of 2001. The economy shrank about 4% because of decreased trade, intermittent border closures, increased deficit spending on security needs, and investor uncertainty. The international community hopes to restart growth with a donors' conference in 2002.