Africa > Ethiopia > Government

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Administrative divisions 9 ethnically based states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations* (astedaderoch, singular - astedader); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar, Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela Peoples), Hareri Hizb (Harari People), Oromiya (Oromia), Sumale (Somali), Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples)
Ambassadors from Finland > Current Finnish Ambassadors > Ambassador	Kirsti Aarnio
Ambassadors from Israel > Current Israeli Ambassadors > Israeli Ambassador	Yaakov Amitai
Ambassadors from the United States > Other senior diplomatic representatives > Ambassador	Vicki Huddleston
Ambassadors from the United States > Other senior diplomatic representatives > Title	Chargé d’Affaires
Capital city	Addis Ababa
Capital city > Geographic coordinates	9 02 N, 38 42 E
Capital city > Name	Addis Ababa
Capital city > Time difference UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Constitution ratified 8 December 1994, effective 22 August 1995
Corruption	2.2		[142nd of 160]
countries' copyright length > Usual term of copyright protection	unknown
CPIA equity of public resource use rating	4.5		[3rd of 75]
CPIA quality of public administration rating	3		[26th of 75]
Diplomatic representation from the US > Chief of mission Ambassador Donald Y. YAMAMOTO
Diplomatic representation from the US > Embassy Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
Diplomatic representation from the US > FAX	[251] 11-517-40-01
Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
Diplomatic representation from the US > Telephone	[251] 11-517-40-00
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chancery 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chief of mission	Ambassador Samuel ASSEFA
Diplomatic representation in the US > Consulate(s)	New York
Diplomatic representation in the US > Consulate(s) general	Los Angeles
Diplomatic representation in the US > FAX	[1] (202) 587-0195
Diplomatic representation in the US > Telephone	[1] (202) 364-1200
Elections > Head of state	Election by parliament
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Address	151 Slater St, Suite 210
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Neighbourhood Downtown
Executive branch > Cabinet Council of Ministers as provided for in the December 1994 constitution; ministers are selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives
Executive branch > Chief of state President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001)
Executive branch > Election results GIRMA Woldegiorgis elected president; percent of vote by the House of People's Representatives - 79%
Executive branch > Elections president elected by the House of People's Representatives for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 9 October 2007 (next to be held in October 2013); prime minister designated by the party in power following legislative elections
Executive branch > Head of government Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since August 1995)
Federal republic > Contemporary > Style Federal Democratic Republic
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors
Flag modification	6		[155th of 197]
Foreign relations > Croatia > Date of Establishment	October 17, 1995
Foreign relations > Nepal > Date of Establishment	April 15, 1971
Foreign relations of Western Sahara > States recognizing the SADR > Date of recognition	February 24, 1979
General government final consumption expenditure > annual % growth	8.57 %		[18th of 147]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$	1,373,219,000 constant 2000 US$		[71st of 145]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$ (per capita)	19.272 constant 2000 US$ per c		[108th of 146]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant LCU	11189190000
General government final consumption expenditure > current LCU	13766120000
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$	1,591,151,000 $		[85th of 169]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per $ GDP)	0.142 $ per $1 of GDP		[78th of 184]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per capita)	22.33 $ per capita		[137th of 184]
Government type	federal republic
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom	Robert Dewar
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom > Resident Heads of Missions > Type	Embassy
Independence oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Judicial branch Federal Supreme Court (the president and vice president of the Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; for other federal judges, the prime minister submits to the House of People's Representatives for appointment candidates selected by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council)
Legal origin English
Legal system based on civil law; currently transitional mix of national and regional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation (or upper chamber responsible for interpreting the constitution and federal-regional issues) (108 seats; members are chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives (or lower chamber responsible for passing legislation) (547 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms)
Legislative branch > A note irregularities and violence at a number of polling stations necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain constituencies; voting postponed in Somali regional state because of severe drought
Legislative branch > Election results percent of vote - NA; seats by party - EPRDF 327, CUD 109, UEDF 52, SPDP 23, OFDM 11, BGPDUF 8, ANDP 8, independent 1, others 6, undeclared 2
Legislative branch > Elections last held 15 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010)
Legislative branch > Note some seats still remain vacant as detained opposition MPs did not take their seats
Management time dealing with officials > % of management time	2.05 %		[5th of 38]
National holiday National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May
Parliamentary seats > Female	2%		[127th of 143]
Policy uncertainty > % of managers surveyed ranking this as a major business constraint	38.21 %		[5th of 38]
political parties > Dominant party	•
Political parties and leaders Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [Mulualem BESSE]; Coalition for Unity and Democratic Party or CUDP [AYELE Chamisso] (awarded to AYELE by the National Electoral Board on 11 January 2008, but AYELE has virtually no support among former CUD MPs, other CUD MPs must now be affiliated with their original CUD-precursor parties); Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an alliance of Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM, Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO, the South Ethiopian People's Democratic Front or SEPDF, and Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front or TPLF); Gurage Nationalities' Democratic Movement or GNDM; Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement or OFDM [BULCHA Demeksa]; Omoro People's Congress or OPC [IMERERA Gudina]; Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP; United Ethiopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]
Political pressure groups and leaders Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front or EPPF; Ogaden National Liberation Front or ONLF; Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa]
Prime minister	Meles Zenawi
Procedures to build a warehouse > number	12		[144th of 168]
Procedures to build a warehouse > number (per capita)	0.168 per 1 million people		[156th of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number	30		[101st of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number (per capita)	0.421 per 1 million people		[153rd of 171]
Procedures to register property > number	13		[5th of 167]
Procedures to register property > number (per capita)	182.441 per 1 billion people		[131st of 167]
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament > %	21.9 %		[44th of 174]
Start-up procedures to register a business > number	7		[132nd of 171]
Start-up procedures to register a business > number (per capita)	0.098 per 1 million people		[157th of 171]
Status	pseudo-democracy
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal
Time required to build a warehouse > days	133 days		[131st of 168]
Time required to enforce a contract > days	690 days		[36th of 171]
Time required to register property > days	43 days		[97th of 167]
Time required to start a business > days	16 days		[142nd of 171]
Time to prepare and pay taxes > hours	212 hours		[99th of 169]
Time to resolve insolvency > years	2.4 years		[98th of 151]
Trademarks, nonresidents	103		[95th of 99]
Trademarks, nonresidents (per capita)	1.822 per 1 million people		[122nd of 146]
Trademarks, residents	239		[74th of 98]
Trademarks, residents (per capita)	4.228 per 1 million people		[115th of 142]
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which has monitored the 25-km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000, is extended for six months in 2007 despite Eritrean restrictions on its operations and reduced force of 17,000; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hampered efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia
UN membership date	13 Nov. 1945
United Nations mission http://www.un.int/ethiopia/eth_page/fs_mst.htm
Washington, D.C. embassies > Neighborhood	Cleveland Park

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