Short facts about the government of Indonesia

Country name:

conventional long form:  Republic of Indonesia conventional short form:  Indonesia local long form:  Republik Indonesia local short form:  Indonesia former:  Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies

Government type:

republic

Capital:

Jakarta

Administrative divisions:

27 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Irian Jaya, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Riau, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*; note - the province of Irian Jaya may have been divided into two new provinces - Central Irian Jaya and West Irian Jaya; with the implementation of decentralization on 1 January 2001, the 357 districts (regencies) may become the key administrative units note:  following the 30 August 1999 provincial referendum for independence which was overwhelmingly approved by the people of Timor Timur and the October 1999 concurrence of Indonesia's national legislature, the name East Timor was adopted as a provisional name for the political entity formerly known as Propinsi Timor Timur; East Timor is under UN administration pending its formal independence

Independence:

17 August 1945 (proclaimed independence; on 27 December 1949, Indonesia became legally independent from the Netherlands)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 17 August (1945)

Constitution:

August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959

Legal system:

based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age

Executive branch:

chief of state:  President Abdurrahman WAHID (since 20 October 1999) and Vice President MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri (since 21 October 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government:  President Abdurrahman WAHID (since 20 October 1999) and Vice President MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri (since 21 October 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet:  Cabinet appointed by the president elections:  president and vice president elected separately by the 700-member People's Consultative Assembly or MPR for five-year terms; election last held 20 and 21 October 1999 (next to be held by NA 2004) election results:  Abdurrahman WAHID elected president, receiving 373 votes to 313 votes for MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri; MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri elected vice president, defeating Hamzah HAZ; vote totals NA note:  the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) includes the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR) plus 200 indirectly selected members; it meets every five years to elect the president and vice president and to approve the broad outlines of national policy

Legislative branch:

unicameral House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (500 seats; 462 elected by popular vote, 38 are appointed military representatives; members serve five-year terms) elections:  last held 7 June 1999 (next to be held NA June 2004) election results:  percent of vote by party - PDI-P 37.4%, Golkar 20.9%, PKB 17.4%, PPP 10.7%, PAN 7.3%, PBB 1.8%, other 4.5%; seats by party - PDI-P 154, Golkar 120, PPP 58, PKB 51, PAN 35, PBB 14, other 30

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature)

Political parties and leaders:

Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [Yusril Ihza MAHENDRA, chairman]; Development Unity Party or PPP (federation of former Islamic parties) [Hamzah HAZ, chairman]; Federation of Functional Groups or Golkar [Akbar TANJUNG, general chairman]; Indonesia Democracy Party or PDI (federation of former Nationalist and Christian Parties) [Budi HARDJONO, chairman]; Indonesia Democracy Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri, chairperson]; National Awakening Party or PKB [Matori Abdul DJALIL, chairman]; National Mandate Party or PAN [Amien RAIS, chairman]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

International organization participation:

APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission:  Ambassador DORODJATUN Kuntjoro-Jakti chancery:  2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone:  [1] (202) 775-5200 FAX:  [1] (202) 775-5365 consulate(s) general:  Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission:  Ambassador Robert GELBARD embassy:  Jalan Merdeka Selatan 4-5, Jakarta 10110 mailing address:  Unit 8129, Box 1, APO AP 96520 telephone:  [62] (21) 3435-9000 FAX:  [62] (21) 3435-9922 consulate(s) general:  Surabaya

Flag description:

two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red

Source: World Factbook