- percent of vote by party -
CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%; seats by
party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 54, Greens 51; Federal
Council - current composition - NA

Judicial branch:
Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the
judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance '90/Greens [Angelika BEER and Reinhard BUETIKOFER];
Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social
Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or
FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman]; Left Party or PDS/WASG [Oskar
LAFONTAINE and Gregor GYSI]; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS
[Lothar BISKY]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Franz MUENTEFERING]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
business associations, employers' organizations; expellee, refugee,
trade unions, and veterans groups

International organization participation:
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE,
CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10,
IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM
(guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris
Club, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK,
UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Wolfgang Friedrich ISCHINGER
chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-8140
FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel R. COATS
embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new
embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground
was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008
mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265
telephone: [49] (030) 8305-0
FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215
consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg,
Leipzig, Munich

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold

Economy Germany

Economy - overview:
Germany's affluent and technologica