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Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe
former: Southern Rhodesia
Data code: ZI
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Harare
Administrative divisions: 8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands
Independence: 18 April 1980 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 18 April (1980)
Constitution: 21 December 1979
Legal system: mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since
31 December 1987); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since
31 December 1987) and Joshua M. NKOMO (since 6 August 1990); note—the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE
(since 31 December 1987); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA
(since 31 December 1987) and Joshua M. NKOMO (since 6 August 1990);
note—the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; responsible to the
House of Assembly
elections: president nominated by the House of Assembly for a
six-year term (if more than one nomination, an electoral college
consisting of members of the House of Assembly elects the president);
election last held 26-27 March 1996 (next to be held NA March
2002); co-vice presidents appointed by the president
election results: Robert Gabriel MUGABE reelected president; percent
of electoral college vote—Robert Gabriel MUGABE 92.7%, Abel
MUZOREWA 4.8%; Ndabaningi SITHOLE 2.4%
Legislative branch: unicameral
parliament, called House of Assembly (150 seats—120 elected
by popular vote for six-year terms, 12 nominated by the president,
10 occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and 8
occupied by provincial governors)
elections: last held 8-9 April 1995 (next to be held NA April
2001)
election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—ZANU-PF
117, ZANU-Ndonga 2, independent 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert MUGABE]; Zimbabwe African National Union-NDONGA or ZANU-NDONGA [Ndabaningi SITHOLE]; Zimbabwe Unity Movement or ZUM [Edgar TEKERE]; Democratic Party or DP [Emmanuel MAGOCHE]; Forum Party of Zimbabwe [Enock DUMBUTSHENA]; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUA, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in
the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Amos Bernard Muvengwa MIDZI
chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100
FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326
Diplomatic representation from
the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas McDONALD
embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare
mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare
telephone: [263] (4) 794521
FAX: [263] (4) 796488
Flag description: seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white equilateral triangle edged in black based on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle