Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe
former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Harare
Administrative divisions: 8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*,
Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West,
Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands
Independence: 18 April 1980 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 18 April (1980)
Constitution: 21 December 1979
Legal system: mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987);
Co-Vice Presidents: Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987)
and Joseph MSIKA (since 23 December 1999);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987) and Joseph MSIKA (since 23 December 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; responsible to the House of Assembly
elections: presidential candidates nominated with a nomination paper signed by at least
10 registered voters (at least one from each province) and elected by popular vote;
election last held 9-11 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006);
co-vice presidents appointed by the president
election results: Robert Gabriel MUGABE reelected president;
percent of vote - Robert Gabriel MUGABE 56.2%, Morgan TSVANGIRAI 41.9%
Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Assembly (150 seats - 120 elected by popular vote for five-year terms,
12 nominated by the president, 10 occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers,
and 8 occupied by provincial governors appointed by the president)
elections: last held 24-25 June 2000 (next to be held NA 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 47.2%, MDC 45.6%, ZANU-Ndonga 0.7%, United Parties 0.7%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 63, MDC 56, ZANU-Ndonga 1
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; High Court
Political parties and leaders:
Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI];
United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA];
Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga or ZANU-Ndonga [Wilson KUMBULA];
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert Gabriel MUGABE];
Zimbabwe African Peoples Union or ZAPU [Agrippa MADLELA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU]
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Simbi Veke MUBAKO
FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326
telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100
chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph G. SULLIVAN
embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare
mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare
telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 and 250-594
FAX: [263] (4) 796488
Flag description: seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black,
red, yellow, and green with a white isosceles triangle edged in black with its base
on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird is superimposed on a red five-pointed
star in the center of the triangle
(Source: The World FactBook 2002)
