Advertise Here Languages:

The Portuguese Republic and the country's administration.

Country name:
Conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
Conventional short form: Portugal
Local long form: Republica Portuguesa
Local short form: Portugal

Government type:
Parliamentary democracy

Capital:
Lisbon

Administrative divisions:
18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular - regiao autonoma):
Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu

Independence:
1385 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910)

National holiday:
Freedom day, 25 April (1974)

Constitution:
25 April 1976
revised: 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, and 3 September 1997

Legal system:
Civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
Chief of state: President Anibal Cavaco Silva (since 9 March 2006)
Head of government: Prime Minister Jose Socrates (since 12 March 2005)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; (eligible for a second term); election last held 22 January 2006 (next to be held January 2011); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president
Election results: Anibal Cavaco Silva elected president; percent of vote - Anibal Cavaco Silva 50.6%, Manuel Alegre 20.7%, Mario Soares 14.3%, Jeronimo de Sousa 8.5%, Franciso Louca 5.3%

Legislative branch:
Unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
Elections: last held 20 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009);
note: President Sampaio called for early elections after dissolving parliament on 10 December 2004 because he lacked confidence in the four-month center-right government led by PSD's Santa Lopes.
Election results: percent of vote by party - PS 45.1%, PSD 28.7%, CDU 7.6%, PP 7.3%, BE 6.4%; seats by party - PS 121, PSD 75, CDU 14, PP 12, BE 8

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura)

Political parties and leaders:
Green Ecologist Party or PEV [Heloisa Apolonia]; Popular Party or PP [Jose Ribeiro e Castro]; Portuguese Communist Party or PCP [Jeronimo de Sousa]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Jose Socrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Luis Marques Mendes]; The Left Bloc or BE [Franciso Anacleto Louca]; Unitarian Democratic Coalition or UDC [Jeronimo de Sousa]

International organization participation:
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
Chief of mission: Ambassador Alfred J. Hoffman Jr.
Chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610
FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726
Consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco
Consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
Chief of mission: Ambassador John N. PALMER
Embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon
Mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE 09726
Telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300
FAX: [351] (21) 726-9109
Consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores)

Flag description:
Two vertical bands of red (hoist side, two-fifths) and green (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line. Flag picture