be held NA May 2000)
election results : Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - governing coalition (ODS 32, KDU-CSL 13, ODA 7), opposition
(CSSD 25, KCSM 2, DEU 1, independent 1); Chamber of Deputies - percent
of vote by party - NA; seats by party - governing coalition (ODS 68,
KDU-CSL 18, ODA 13), opposition (CSSD 61, KCSM 22, SPR-RSC 18)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chairman and deputy chairmen are
appointed by the president; Constitutional Court, chairman and deputy
chairmen are appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders:
governing coalition : Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Vaclav KLAUS,
chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Michael ZANTOVSKY,
chairman]; Christian Democratic Union-Czech People's Party or KDU-CSL
[Josef LUX, chairman]
opposition: Czech Social Democrats or CSSD - left opposition [Milos
ZEMAN, chairman]; Communist Party or KSCM - left opposition [Miroslav
GREBENICEK, chairman]; Assembly for the Republic or SPR-RSC - extreme
right radical [Miroslav SLADEK, chairman]; Democratic Union or DEU
[Ratibor MAJZLIK, chairman]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade
Unions; Civic Movement

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, CCC,
CE (guest), CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NACC, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNTAES, UPU, WEU (associate
partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VONDRA
chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 274-9101, 9102
FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540
consulate(s) general : Los Angeles

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jenonne R. WALKER
embassy : Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1
mailing address: Unit 1330, APO AE 09213
telephone: [420] (2) 5732-0663
FAX: [420] (2) 5732-0920

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red
with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (almost
identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia)

Economy

Economy - overview: Western observers view the Czech Republic as one
of the most politically and economically stable post-Communist states.
Its key macroeconomic indicators are, in the aggregate, the best in