last held in March 1962 note: monarch; an elected Legislative Council
is being considered as part of
constitutional reform, but elections are unlikely for several years

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (chief justice and judges are sworn in
by the monarch for three-year terms)

Political parties and leaders: Brunei Solidarity National Party or
PPKB in Malay [Haji Mohd HATTA bin Haji Zainal Abidin, president]; the
PPKB is the only legal political party in Brunei; it was registered in
1985, but became largely inactive after 1988, it was revived in 1995
and again in 1998; it has less than 200 registered party members; other
parties include Brunei People's Party or PRB (banned in 1962) and Brunei
National Democratic Party (registered in May 1965, deregistered by the
Brunei Government in 1988)

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: APEC, ARF, ASEAN, C, CCC,
ESCAP, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC,
ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
PUTEH ibni Mohammad Alam FAX: [1] (202) 885-0560 telephone: [1] (202)
237-1838 chancery: 3520 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Sylvia Gaye STANFIELD embassy: Third Floor, Teck Guan Plaza, Jalan
Sultan, Bandar Seri Begawan mailing address: PSC 470 (BSB), FPO AP 96507
telephone: [673] (2) 229670 FAX: [673] (2) 225293

Flag description: yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top,
almost double width) and black starting from the upper hoist side;
the national emblem in red is superimposed at the center; the emblem
includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of a winged column within an
upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two upraised hands

Economy Brunei

Economy - overview: This small, wealthy economy is a mixture of foreign
and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures,
and village tradition. Crude oil and natural gas production account for
nearly half of GDP. Per capita GDP is far above most other Third World
countries, and substantial income from overseas investment supplements
income from domestic production. The government provides for all medical
services and subsidizes rice and housing. Brunei's leaders are concerned
that steadily increased integration in the world economy wil