Executive branch:
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (since 19
December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since
December 2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the
1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999,
however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996
referendum; new election held 9 September 2001; October 2004
referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run
for a third term in September 2006; prime minister and deputy prime
ministers appointed by the president
election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent
of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4%
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of
the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56
members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the
president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives
or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal
adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October
2004; international observers widely denounced the October 2004
elections as flawed and undemocratic, based on massive government
falsification; pro-Lukashenko candidates won every seat, after many
opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons
election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - NA
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president);
Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president
and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives)
Political parties and leaders:
Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [leader NA];
Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic
Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH,
chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH];
Social-Sports Party [leader NA]; Opposition parties: Belarusian
Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat
Party Narodnaya Gromada or BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman];
Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH,
chairman]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO]; Party of
Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Women's
Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]
note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr
BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG,
OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604
FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805
consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002
mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723
telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348
FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
Flag description:
red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the
width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side
bears Belarusian national ornamention in red
Economy Belarus