Country name
conventional long form: Republic of South Africa
conventional short form: South Africa
abbreviation : RSA

Data code SF

Government type republic

National capital Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judicial)

Administrative divisions 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga,North-West, Northern Cape, Northern Province, Western Cape

Independence 31 May 1910 (from UK)

National holiday Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)

Constitution 10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified by the ConstitutionalCourt on 4 December 1996, was signed by President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3 February 1997; it is being implementedin phases

Legal system based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsoryICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
chief of state: President Nelson MANDELA (since 10 May 1994); Deputy Executive PresidentThabo MBEKI (since 10 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief ofstate and head of government
head of government: President Nelson MANDELA (since 10 May 1994); Deputy Executive PresidentThabo MBEKI (since 10 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet : Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and deputy executive presidents elected by the National Assembly;election last held 9 May 1994 (next to be held in April 1999)
election results: Nelson MANDELA elected president; percent of National Assembly vote- 100% (by acclamation); Thabo MBEKI and Frederik W. DE KLERK elected deputyexecutive presidents; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation)
note: the initial governing coalition, made up of the ANC, the IFP, and theNP, which constituted a Government of National Unity or GNU, no longer includes the NP which was withdrawn by DE KLERK on 30 June 1996 when he voluntarilygave up his position as deputy executive president and distanced himself fromthe programs of the ANC

Legislative branch bicameral parliament consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats;members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representationto serve five-year terms) and the National Council of Provinces (90 seats,ten members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-yearterms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguardingof cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities); note - followingthe implementation of the new constitution on 3 February 1997 the former Senatewas disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces with essentiallyno change in membership and party affiliations, although the new institution's responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution
elections: National Assembly and Senate - last held 26-29 April 1994 (next to beheld NA April 1999); note - the Senate was disbanded and replaced by the NationalCouncil of Provinces on 6 February 1997
election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 62.6%, NP 20.4%,IFP 10.5%, FF 2.2%, DP 1.7%, PAC 1.2%, ACDP 0.5%, other 0.9%; seats by party- ANC 252, NP 82, IFP 43, FF 9, DP 7, PAC 5, ACDP 2; Senate - percent of voteby party - NA; seats by party - ANC 61, NP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP 3

Judicial branch Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; MagistrateCourts

Political parties and leaders African National Congress or ANC [Nelson MANDELA, president]; NationalParty or NP [Frederik W. DE KLERK, president]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP[Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP[Kenneth MESHOE, president]; Democratic Party or DP [Tony LEON, president];Freedom Front or FF [Constand VILJOEN, president]; Pan-Africanist Congressor PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]
note: in addition to these seven parties which received seats in the NationalAssembly, 11 other parties won votes in the national elections in April 1994

Political pressure groups and leaders South African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE,national president]; Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [JohnGOMONO, president]; note - both SANCO and COSATU, as well as the South AfricanCommunist Party, are in a formal alliance with the ANC

International organization participation AfDB, BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission : Ambassador Franklin SONN
chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400
FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607
consulate(s) general: Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission : Ambassador James A. JOSEPH
embassy: 877 Pretorius St., Arcadia 0083
mailing address: P.O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001
telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048
FAX : [27] (12) 342-2244
consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg

Flag description two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated bya central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which endat the corners of the hoist side, embracing a black isosceles triangle fromwhich the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bandsare separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes
note: prior to 26 April 1994, the flag was actually four flags in one - threeminiature flags reproduced in the center of the white band of the former flagof the Netherlands, which has three equal horizontal bands of orange (top),white, and blue; the miniature flags are a vertically hanging flag of theold Orange Free State with a horizontal flag of the UK adjoining on the hoistside and a horizontal flag of the old Transvaal Republic adjoining on theother side

NOTE: The information regarding South Africa on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of South Africa Government 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about South Africa Government 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.