|
 |
|
 |
Country name:
conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy
local long form: Repubblica Italiana
local short form: Italia
former: Kingdom of Italy
Government type: republic
Capital: Rome
Administrative divisions: 20 regions (regioni, singular—regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto
Independence: 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)
Constitution: 1 January 1948
Legal system: based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law influence; appeals treated as trials de novo; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president
of the Council of Ministers) Massimo D'ALEMA (since 27 October 1998)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved
by the president
elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of
both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year
term; election last held 25 May 1992 (next to be held NA June 1999); prime
minister appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament
election results: Oscar Luigi SCALFARO elected president
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists
of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (326 seats—315 elected by popular
vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional
representation, 11 are appointed senators-for-life; members serve five-year
terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; 475
are directly elected, 155 by regional proportional representation; members
serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate—last held 21 April 1996 (next to be held by NA April
2001); Chamber of Deputies—last held 21 April 1996 (next to be held by
NA April 2001)
election results: Senate—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—Olive
Tree 157, Freedom Alliance 116, Northern League 27, Refounded Communists
10, regional lists 3, Social Movement-Tricolor Flames 1, Panella Reformers
1; Chamber of Deputies—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—Olive
Tree 284, Freedom Alliance 246, Northern League 59, Refounded Communists
35, Southern Tyrol List 3, Autonomous List 2, other 1
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale, composed of 15 judges (one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by Parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative supreme courts)
Political parties and leaders: Olive Tree (Ulivo): Democrats
of the Left or DS [Walter VELTRONI]; Greens (Verdi) [Luigi MANCONI]; Italian
Popular Party or PPI [Franco MARINI]
Freedom Pole: Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; National Alliance
or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Christian Democratic Center or CCD [Pierferdinando
CASINI]; Democratic Union for the Republic or UDR [Clemente MASTELLA]
other: Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Communist Refoundation
or RC [Fausto BERTINOTTI]; Italian Social Movement-Tricolor Flame or MSI-Fiamma
Tricolore [Pino RAUTI]; Italian Socialists or SI [Enrico BOSSELLI]; Italian
Communist Party or PDCI [Armando COSSUTTA]; Autonomous List (a group of
minor parties) [leader NA]; Southern Tyrols People's Party or SVP (German
speakers) [leader NA]; Italy of Values [Antonio DIPIETRO]
Political pressure groups and leaders: the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Sergio COFFERATI] which is left wing, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Sergio D'ANTONI] which is Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Pietro LARIZZA] which is lay centrist); Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)
International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MTCR, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed—orange (hoist side), white, and green
|
|
|
|
Última actualització: 8 de juny de 2000