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Czech: Czech Government Profile 2012

2012/03/06

Czech Government Profile 2012

The Czech Republic is a parliamentary democracy with an elected president. The country has a two-house legislature—the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, which makes the country’s laws. The Senate is the smaller house, which has 81 members who serve six-year terms. One-third of the senators are elected by voters every two years. The Chamber of Deputies is the larger house, which has 200 members who are elected to four-year terms. The Parliament elects a president for five years, who serves as head of state. The head of government is the prime minister, who oversees its day-to-day operations. He is appointed by the president with the approval of the Chamber. The prime minister selects a cabinet to assist in the executive functions of the government.

The Czech Republic is divided into fourteen regions. Prague is the nation’s largest city and forms one of these regions. An elected assembly governs each region. Cities, towns, and villages also have their own local governments.

The Czech Republic has many political parties. The Civic Democratic Party, which is a moderately conservative party, and the Czech Social Democratic Party, whose members are moderately liberal are the two leading parties. Other political parties include the Christian Democratic Union-Czech People's Party, the Communist Party, and the Freedom Union. The voting age for all Czech citizens is 18 years and older.

The highest court in the Czech Republic is the Supreme Court. The Czech Republic also has a constitutional court and high, regional, and district courts.

Country name

Conventional long form:

Czech Republic

Conventional short form:

Czech Republic

Local long form:

Ceska Republika

Local short form:

Cesko

Government type:

parliamentary democracy

Capital

Name:

Prague

Geographic coordinates:

50 05 N, 14 28 E

Time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:

13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Jihocesky (South Bohemia), Jihomoravsky (South Moravia), Karlovarsky, Kralovehradecky, Liberecky, Moravskoslezsky (Moravia-Silesia), Olomoucky, Pardubicky, Plzensky (Pilsen), Praha (Prague)*, Stredocesky (Central Bohemia), Ustecky, Vysocina, Zlinsky

Independence:

1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia); note - although 1 January is the day the Czech Republic came into being, the Czechs generally consider 28 October 1918, the day the former Czechoslovakia declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as their independence day

National holiday:

Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918)

Constitution:

ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993; amended 1997, 2000, 2001 (twice), 2002

Legal system:

civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Chief of state:

President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003)

head of government:

Prime Minister Jan FISCHER (since 8 May 2009); Deputy Prime Ministers Jan KOHOUT (since 8 May 2009) and Martin BARTAK (since 8 May 2009)

Cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister

Elections:

Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last successful election held 15 February 2008 (after earlier elections held 8 and 9 February 2008 were inconclusive; next election to be held in 2013); prime minister appointed by the president

Election results:

Vaclav KLAUS reelected president on 15 February 2008; Vaclav KLAUS 141 votes, Jan SVEJNAR 111 votes (third round; combined votes of both chambers of parliament)

Legislative branch:

bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held in two rounds 17-18 and 24-25 October 2008 (next to be held by October 2010); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2-3 June 2006 (next to be held by June 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ODS 36, CSSD 29, KDU-CSL 7, Open Democracy Club 6, others 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - ODS 35.4%, CSSD 32.3%, KSCM 12.8%, KDU-CSL 7.2%, Greens 6.3%, other 6%; seats by party - ODS 81, CSSD 74, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13, Greens 6; note - seats by party as of December 2008 - ODS 79, CSSD 71, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13, Greens 4, unaffiliated 7 (former CSSD, ODS, and Green Party members)

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term

Political parties and leaders :

Association of Independent Candidates-European Democrats or SNK-ED [Helmut DOHNALEK]; Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Cyril SVOBODA]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Vojtech FILIP]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Jiri PAROUBEK]; Green Party [Ondrej LISKA]; Tradice Odpovednost Prosperita 09 or TOP 09 [Karel SCHWARZENBERG]; Union of Freedom-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Jan CERNY]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH]

International organization participation:

ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Flag description:

two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side note: uses the pan-Slavic colors and is identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia

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