National holiday:
Republic Day, 18 December (1958); note - commemorates the founding of the Republic of Niger which predated independence from France in 1960
Constitution:
adopted 18 July 1999
Legal system:
based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Djibo SALOU, chairman of the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy, and a leader of the military coup that deposed President Mamadou TANDJA on 18 February 2010