d voted into office by the National
Assembly on 4 May 1996; AZNAR's Popular Party defeated Felipe
GONZALEZ Marques's Socialist Workers Party in the 3 March 1996
legislative election; Deputy Prime Minister (vacant)
cabinet: Council of Ministers was designated by the prime minister
Council of State: is the supreme consultative organ of the government

Legislative branch: bicameral The General Courts or National
Assembly (Las Cortes Generales)
Senate (Senado): elections last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held
by March 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (256
total) PP 132, PSOE 96, CiU 11, PNV 6, IU 2, others 9
Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados): elections last
held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by March 2000); results - PP
38.9%, PSOE 37.5%, IU 10.7%, CiU 4.6%; seats - (350 total) PSOE 141,
PP 156, IU 21, CiU 16, other 16

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo)

Political parties and leaders:
principal national parties from right to left: Popular Party (PP),
Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez; Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE),
Felipe GONZALEZ Marquez, secretary general; Spanish Communist Party
(PCE), Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez; United Left (IU - a coalition of
parties including the PCE, a branch of the PSOE, and other small
parties), Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez
chief regional parties: Convergence and Union (CiU), Jordi PUJOL,
secretary general (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of
Catalonia (CDC), Pere ESTEVE, and the Democratic Union of Catalonia
(UDC), Josep Antoni DURAN LLEIDA); Basque Nationalist Party (PNV),
Xabier ARZALLUS Antia and Jose Antonio ARDANZA; Basque United People
(HB or Herri Batasuna, ETA's political wing), Juan Cruz IDIGORAS;
Canarian Coalition (CC), a coalition of five parties

Other political or pressure groups: on the extreme left, the
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) and the First of October
Antifascist Resistance Group (GRAPO) use terrorism to oppose the
government; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); Workers
Confederation (CC.OO); the Socialist General Union of Workers (UGT),
and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union (USO); business
and landowning interests; the Catholic Church; Opus Dei; university
students

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB,
ESA, EU, FAO, G- 8, IADB, I