Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia
conventional short form: Indonesia
local long form: Republik Indonesia
former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies
local short form: Indonesia
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, 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, Papua, Riau, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah,
Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan,
Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*; note - with the implementation of
decentralization on 1 January 2001, the 357 districts (regencies)
have become the key administrative units responsible for providing
most government services
note: following the 30 August 1999 provincial referendum for
independence that 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 the provisional name
for the political entity formerly known as Propinsi Timor Timur;
East Timor gained its formal independence on 20 May 2002
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 MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri (since 23 July
2001) and Vice President Hamzah HAZ (since 26 July 2001); note - the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri (since 23 July
2001) and Vice President Hamzah HAZ (since 26 July 2001); 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
People's Consultative Assembly or MPR for five-year terms; selection
of president last held 23 July 2001; selection of vice president
last held 26 July 2001; next election to be held in July 2004; in
accordance with constitutional changes, the election of the
president and vice president will be by direct vote of the citizenry
note: the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan
Rakyat or MPR) includes the House of Representatives (Dewan
Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR) plus 195 indirectly selected members; it
meets every five years to elect the president and vice president and
to approve broad outlines of national policy and also has yearly
meetings to consider constitutional and legislative changes;
constitutional amendments adopted in 2001 and 2002 provide for the
MPR to be restructured in 2004 and to consist entirely of
popularly-elected members who will be in the DPR and the new House
of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD); the
MPR will no longer formulate national policy
election results: MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri elected president, receiving
591 votes in favor (91 abstentions); Hamzah HAZ elected vice
president, receiving 340 votes in favor (237 against)
Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat
(DPR) (500 seats; 462 elected by popular vote, 38 are appointed
military representatives until 2004 election when military seats
expire; members serve five-year terms)
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; note - subsequent to the election, there has been a change
in the distribution of seats; the new distribution is: PDI-P 153,
Golkar 120, PPP 58, PKB 51, PAN 35, PBB 13, other 32
elections: last held 7 June 1999 (next to be held April 2004)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the
president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature);
note - the Supreme Court is preparing to assume administrative
responsibility for the lower court system, currently run by the
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; a separate Constitutional
Court was invested by the president on 16 August 2003
Political parties and leaders:
Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [Yusril Ihza MAHENDRA,
chairman]; Federation of Functional Groups or Golkar [Akbar
TANDJUNG, general chairman]; Indonesia Democracy Party-Struggle or
PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri, chairperson]; National Awakening Party
or PKB [Alwi SHIHAB, chairman]; National Mandate Party or PAN [Amien
RAIS, chairman]; Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [Hidayat NUR WAHID,
chairman]; United Development Party or PPP (federation of former
Islamic parties) [Hamzah HAZ, chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC,
OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH,
UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador SOEMADI Brotodiningrat
chancery: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and
San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 775-5365
telephone: [1] (202) 775-5200
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph L. BOYCE
embassy: Jalan 1 Medan Merdeka Selatan 3-5, Jakarta 10110
mailing address: Unit 8129, Box 1, FPO AP 96520
telephone: [62] (21) 3435-9000
FAX: [62] (21) 385-7189
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