conventional long form: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
conventional short form: Algeria
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash
Shabiyah
local short form: Al Jaza'ir

AG

republic

Algiers

48 provinces (wilayas, singular - wilaya);
Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar,
Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef,
Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma,
Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem,
M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif,
Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret,
Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen

5 July 1962 (from France)

Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)

19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3
November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996; note -
referendum approving the revisions of 28 November 1996 was signed into
law 7 December 1996

socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial
review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed
of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

chief of state: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed BENBITOUR (since 2 December
1999)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 15 April 1999 (next to be held NA April 2004);
prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA elected president; percent of
vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA 70%; note - six of the seven candidates
withdrew sighting persistent electoral fraud

bicameral Parliament consists of the National
People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani (380 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the
Council of Nations (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by
the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; members serve
six-year terms; created as a result of the constitutional revision of
November 1996)
elections: National People's Assembly - last held 5 June 1997 (next to
be held NA 2001); elections for two-thirds of the Council of Nations -
last held 25 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2003)
election results: National People's Assembly - percent of vote by
party - RND 40.8%, MSP 18.2%, FLN 16.8%, Nahda Movement 8.9%, FFS 5%,
RCD 5%, PT 1.1%, Republican Progressive Party 0.8%, Union for
Democracy and Freedoms 0.3%, Liberal Social Party 0.3%, independents
2.8%; seats by party - RND 156, MSP 69, FLN 62, Nahda Movement 34, FFS
20, RCD 19, PT 4, Republican Progressive Party 3, Union for Democracy
and Freedoms 1, Liberal Social Party 1, independents 11; Council of
Nations - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RND 80, FLN
10, FFS 4, MSP 2 (remaining 48 seats appointed by the president, party
breakdown NA)

Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Algerian Democratic Front or FAD
; Algerian National Front or ANF ;
Algerian Renewal Party or PRA ;
Democratic National Rally or RND ; Islamic
Salvation Front or FIS (outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ, Dr. Abassi
MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR (self-exile in Germany)]; Liberal Social Party
; Movement for Democracy in Algeria or MDA [Ahmed Ben
BELLA]; Movement for Loyalty and Justice [Ahmed Taleb IBRAHIMI,
president; Movement of a Peaceful Society or MSP [Mahfoud NAHNAH,
chairman]; Nahda Movement or Al Nahda ;
National Liberation Front or FLN [Boualem BENHAMOUDA, secretary
general]; National Party for Solidarity and Development or PNSD [Rabah
BENCHERIF]; National Republican Alliance or ANR ; Rally
for Culture and Democracy or RCD ;
Republican Progressive Party ; Social Democratic
Movement or MDS ; Socialist Forces Front or FFS
;
Union for Democracy and Freedoms ; Workers Party or
PT 
note: the government established a multiparty system in September 1989
and, as of 31 December 1990, over 50 legal parties existed; a new
party law was enacted in March 1997

ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF,
AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC,
OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

chief of mission: Ambassador Idriss JAZAIRY
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:  (202) 265-2800
FAX:  (202) 667-2174

chief of mission: Ambassador Cameron R. HUME
embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers
mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers
telephone:  (2) 69-11-86, 69-12-55, 69-18-54, 69-38-75
FAX:  (2) 69-39-79

two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and
white with a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent; the
crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the
state religion)