Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament (126 seats - 91 Serbian, 35 Montenegrin -
filled by nominees of the two state parliaments for the first two
years, after which the president will call for public elections
elections: last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held NA 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
DOS 37, DLECG 19, DSS 17, ZP 14, SPS 12, SRS 8, SDP 5, SSJ 5, other 9
Judicial branch:
Federal Court or Savezni Sud; Constitutional Court; judges for both
courts are elected by the Federal Assembly for nine-year terms
note: after the promulgation of the new Constitution, the Federal
Court will have constitutional and administrative functions; it will
have an equal number of judges from each republic
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Opposition of Serbia or DOS (a coalition of many small
parties including DSS) [leader NA]; Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians
or SVM [Jozsef KASZA]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Dr.
Ibrahim RUGOVA, president]; Democratic List for European Montenegro
or DLECG [Milo DJUKANOVIC, Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Democratic Party or DS
[collective interim leadership led by Cedomir JOVANOVIC]; Democratic
Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party of
Socialists of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Party of Serb
Unity or SSJ [Borislav PELEVIC]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS
[Tomislav NIKOLIC]; Serbian Socialist Party or SPS (former Communist
Party and party of Slobodan MILOSEVIC) [Zoran ANDJELKOVIC, general
secretary]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Rasim LJAJIC]; Together
for Changes or ZP [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ];
Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Ibrahim RUGOVA]; Democratic
Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Group of 17 Independent
Economists or G-17 [leader NA]; National Movement for the Liberation
of Kosovo or LKCK [Sabit GASHI]; Otpor Student Resistance Movement
[leader NA]; Political Council for Presevo, Meveda and Bujanovac or
PCPMB [leader NA]; The People's Movement for Kosovo or LPK [Emrush
XHEMAJLI]
International organization participation:
ABEDA, BIS, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ivan VUJACIC
chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: Chicago
FAX: [1] (202) 332-3933
telephone: [1] (202) 332-0333
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William D. MONTGOMERY
embassy: Kneza Milosa 50, 11000 Belgrade
mailing address: 5070 Belgrade Place, Washington, DC 20521-5070
telephone: [381] (11) 361-9344
FAX: [381] (11) 361-8230
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red
Economy Serbia and Montenegro
Economy - overview:
MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of
economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure
and industry during the war in Kosovo have left the economy only
half the size it was in 1990. Since the ousting of former Federal
Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic
Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government has implemented
stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform
program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000,
Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community
by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European
Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised
$1.3 billion for economic restructuring. An agreement rescheduling
the country's $4.5 billion Paris Club government debts was concluded
in November 2001; it will write off 66% of the debt; a similar debt
relief agreement on its $2.8 billion London Club commercial debt is
still pending. The smaller republic of Montenegro severed its
economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC
era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro
instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs
tariffs, and manages its own budget. Kosovo, while technically still
part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia and
Montenegro) according to United Nations Security Council Resolution
1244, is moving toward local autonomy under United Nations Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is dependent on the
international community for financial and technical assistance. The
euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK
collects taxes and manages the budget. The complexity of Serbia and
Montenegro political relationships, slow progress in privatization,
and stagnation in the European economy are holding back the economy.
Arrangements with the IMF, especially requirements for fiscal
discipline, are an important element in policy formation. Severe
unemployment remains a key political economic problem.