t as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of
Myanmar)
note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the
name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision
was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US
Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the
Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw

Government type:
military junta

Capital:
Rangoon (government refers to the capital as Yangon)

Administrative divisions:
7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi
ne-myar, singular - pyi ne)
: divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing,
Tanintharyi, Yangon (Rangoon)
: states: Chin State, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Mon
State, Rakhine State, Shan State

Independence:
4 January 1948 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)

Constitution:
3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national
convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but
collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include
participation of democratic opposition

Legal system:
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council
Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister, Gen SOE WIN (since 19 October
2004)
elections: none
cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta,
so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18
September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC); the SPDC oversees the cabinet

Legislative branch:
unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members
elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government),
other 60
elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never allowed by
junta to convene

Judicial branch:
remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is
no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not
independent of the executive

Political parties and leaders:
National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN
SUU KYI, general secretary]; N