NationMaster - Italian Government statistics

Capital city Rome
Constitution passed 11 December 1947, effective 1 January 1948; amended many times
Corruption	42	[42nd of 160]
Executive branch > Elections president elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term (no term limits); election last held 10 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2013); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament
Executive branch > Head of government Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Romano PRODI (since 17 May 2006)
Flag modification	89	[89th of 197]
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)
Key ministers > Culture	Rocco Buttiglione (UDC)
Key ministers > Health	Francesco Storace (AN)
Key ministers > Interior	Giuseppe Pisanu (FI)
Legal system based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats; members elected by proportional vote with the winning coalition in each region receiving 55% of seats from that region; to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; members elected by popular vote with the winning national coalition receiving 54% of chamber seats; to serve five-year terms)
National holiday Republic Day, 2 June (1946)
Parliamentary seats > Female	62%	[62nd of 143]
Political pressure groups and leaders Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura); Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Guglielmo EPIFANI] which is left wing, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Savino PEZZOTTA], which is Roman Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Luigi ANGELETTI] which is lay centrist)
Secession attempts South Tyrol, Padania
Status democracy
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)
UN membership date	14 Dec. 1955
United Nations mission http://www.italyun.org/

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SOURCES: The location of the seat of government.; The dates of adoption, revisions, and major amendments to a nation's constitution ; A CPI Score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt). Includes police corruption, business corruption, political corruption, etc. Data for 2005.; Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election ; Head of government includes the name and title of the top administrative leader who is designated to manage the day-to-day activities of the government. For example, in the UK, the monarch is the chief of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. In the US, the president is both the chief of state and the head of government. ; The date on which the nation's flag was last modified.; The name(s) of the highest court(s) and a brief description of the selection process for members. ; Minister of Culture, 2005; Minister of Health, 2005; Minister of Interior, 2005; A brief description of the legal system's historical roots, role in government, and acceptance of International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction. ; This entry contains information on the structure (unicameral, bicameral, tricameral), formal name, number of seats, and term of office. Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election. Election results includes the percent of vote and/or number of seats held by each party in the last election. ; The primary national day of celebration - often independence day. ; ; Organizations with leaders involved in politics, but not standing for legislative election. ; Lists groups or areas that have mounted major unilateral secession attempts in selected nations since 1945.; Democracy: state in which democratic structures provide for an alternance of power
Pseudo-Democracy: state in which there are democratic structures but without a real chance for an alternance of power
Transition State: a state with a transitional structure
Absolute Monarchy: a one-party state, or a state governed by an absolute monarchy or dictatorship.; The age at enfranchisement and whether the right to vote is universal or restricted ; Date of United Nations Membership; United Missions mission or approximate website

ALTERNATIVE NAMES: Italy, Italian Republic, Repubblica Italiana, Italia

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COMMENTARY

Suchita Vemuri
Staff Editor
5th June 2005

Hi Priscilla, while President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is the head of state, Silvio Berlusconi is Chairman of the Council of Ministers -- a position that is equal to the prime ministers' in other countries -- and has greater executive powers.

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