Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984) head of government: Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000 election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29%
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) election results: NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats elections: last held 30 November-1 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2002)
Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts
Political parties and leaders: National Progressive Front or NPF
(includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist
Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman];
Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President
Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP
[Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian
Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI]
Political pressure groups and leaders: conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence
International organization participation: AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC,
ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC,
OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Rustum al-ZU'BI chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Theodore H. KATTOUF embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2,
Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11)
333-1342 FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band