- Conventional Long Form Name: Republic of Belarus
- Capital City: Minsk
- Type of Government: Presidential republic in name, but actually a dictatorship
- Date of Independence: August 25th, 1991 (From Soviet Union)
- National Holidays: Independence day on July 3rd, 1944 when Minsk was liberated from Germany; Independence day on August 25th, 1991 from Soviet Union
- Chief of State: President Alexander Lukashenko (Since July 20th, 1994)
- Head of Government: Prime Minister Audrey Kabyakov; First Deputy Prime Minister Vsdily Matushevsky
- Executive Branch: The president is elected by a majority vote in two rounds if needed for a five year term. There is no maximum amount of terms a president can serve.
- Legislative Branch: Made up of a bicameral legislature consisting of the Council of the Republic and the House of Representatives. The Council of the Republic is made up of 64 seats and members serve four year terms. 56 members are selected by regional councils while 8 are appointed by the president. The House of Representatives has 110 members who are elected to four year terms. They are selected by a majority vote.
- Judicial Branch: The highest courts are the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. The Supreme Court is made up of a chairman, deputy chairman, and organized panals. Judges are selected by the president with consent of the Council of the Republic and serve five years before being evaluated to see if they can serve for life. The Constitutional Court has 12 judges including a chairman and deputy chairman. 6 judges including the chairman are chosen by the president while 6 are chose by the House of Representatives. Judges can serve for 11 years with an upper age limit of seventy years.
- Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
- Ambassador to U.S.: Pavel Shidlovskiy
- Embassy in U.S: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
- Location of Consulate in U.S: New York
- Ambassador to Belarus: Scott Rauland
- Embassy in Belarus: 46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002
- Location of Consulate in Belarus: N/A
- Representative to UN: Andrei Dapkiunas (Since January 4th, 2012
- Flag Symbolism: The hoist side of the flag represents the Belarusian national ornamentation, the red portion symbolizes the past struggle from oppression, and the green portion represents the hope and forests of the country
- National Symbols: No official symbol, but a traditional symbol is a mounted knight known as Pahonia; the national colors are red, white, and green
- International Disputes: Disputed boundary with Lithuania and Latvia; Poland has enforced strict border rules and restrictions on immigration and trade across its border with Belarus
- Refugees and IDPs: 126,407 mostly from Ukraine
- Stateless People: 5,635
- Human Trafficking: Belarus currently has an issue with Human trafficking with men, women, and children moving within the country for sex and forced labor. Belarus has done little to eliminate trafficking
- Illicit Drugs: Opium and Cannibus have enetered the country; drugs from Belarus have illegaly crossed the border to Russia, the Baltic States, and Western Europe
- National Anthem: See File Below
bo.mp3 | |
File Size: | 1846 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |