No clearly defined current national symbol, the mounted knight known as Pahonia (the Chaser) is the traditional Belarusian symbol; national colors: green, red, white.
Title | "My, Bielarusy" (We Belarusians) |
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Lyric/music | Mikhas KLIMKOVICH and Uladzimir KARYZNA/Nester SAKALOUSKI |
Date of Independence | 25 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union |
Legal system | civil law system; note - nearly all major codes (civil, civil procedure, criminal, criminal procedure, family, and labor) were revised and came into force in 1999 and 2000 |
International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
Constitution | |
History | Several previous; latest drafted between late 1991 and early 1994, signed 15 March 1994 |
Amendments | Proposed by the president of the republic through petition to the National Assembly or by petition of least 150,000 eligible voters; approval required by at least two-thirds majority vote in both chambers or by simple majority of votes cast in a referendum; amended 1996, 2004; note -one of several amendments passed in the February 2022 referendum - the presidential 5-year, two-term limit - will be imposed after the 2025 election |
Citizenship | |
Citizenship by birth | no |
Citizenship by descent only | at least one parent must be a citizen of Belarus |
Dual citizenship recognized | no |
Residency requirement for naturalization | 7 years |
Executive Branch | |
Chief of state | President Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA (since 20 July 1994) |
Head of government | Prime Minister Roman GOLOVCHENKO (since 4 June 2020) |
Cabinet | Council of Ministers appointed by the president |
Elections/appointments | president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (no term limits); first election held on 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999; however, Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; subsequent election held on 9 September 2001; an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits and allowed the President LUKASHENKA to run and win a third term (19 March 2006); a fourth term (19 December 2010); a fifth term (11 October 2015); a sixth term (9 August 2020); next election to be held in 2025; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly |
Election results | 2020: Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA reelected president; percent of vote - Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA (independent) 80.1%, Svyatlana TSIKHANOWSKAYA (independent) 10.1%, other 9.8%; note - widespread street protests erupted following announcement of the election results amid allegations of voter fraud 2015: Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA elected president; percent of vote - Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA (independent) 84.1%, Tatsyana KARATKEVIC (BSDPH) 4.4%, Sergey GAYDUKEVICH (LDP) 3.3%, other 8.2%. |
Legislative branch | |
Description | Bicameral National Assembly or Natsyyalny Skhod consists of: Council of the Republic or Savet Respubliki (65 seats statutory, currently 58; 56 members indirectly elected by regional and Minsk city councils and 8 members appointed by the president; members serve 4-year terms) House of Representatives or Palata Pradstawnikow (110 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed; members serve 4-year terms) |
Elections | Council of the Republic - indirect election last held on 4 April 2024 (next to be held in 2029) House of Representatives - last held on 25 February 2024 (next to be held in 2028) |
Election results | Council of the Republic - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independent 58, other 2; composition - men 42, women 16, percentage women 27.6% House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Belaya Rus 51, RPTS 8, CPB 7, LDPB 4, independent 40; composition - men 73, women 37, percentage women 33.6%; note - total National Assembly percentage women 31.5% |
Judicial branch | |
Highest court(s) | Supreme Court (consists of the chairman and deputy chairman and organized into several specialized panels, including economic and military; number of judges set by the president of the republic and the court chairman); Constitutional Court (consists of 12 judges, including a chairman and deputy chairman) |
Judge selection and term of office | Supreme Court judges appointed by the president with the consent of the Council of the Republic; judges initially appointed for 5 years and evaluated for life appointment; Constitutional Court judges - 6 appointed by the president and 6 elected by the Council of the Republic; the presiding judge directly elected by the president and approved by the Council of the Republic; judges can serve for 11 years with an age limit of 70 |
Subordinate courts | Oblast courts; Minsk City Court; town courts; Minsk city and oblast economic courts |
Diplomatic representation in the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador (vacant; recalled by Belarus in 2008); Chargé d'Affaires Pavel SHIDLOWSKI (since 9 August 2022) |
Chancery | 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 |
Telephone | [1] (202) 986-1606 |
FAX | [1] (202) 986-1805 |
Email address and website | [email protected] Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the United States of America (mfa.gov.by) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Peter KAUFMAN (since June 2023) |
Embassy | 46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002 |
Mailing address | 7010 Minsk Place, Washington DC 20521-7010 |
Telephone | [375] (17) 210-12-83/217-73-47/217-73-48 |
FAX | [375] (17) 334-78-53 |
Email address and website | [email protected] https://by.usembassy.gov/ |
National heritage | |
Total World Heritage Sites | 4 (3 cultural, 1 natural) |
Selected World Heritage Site locales | Białowieża Forest (n); Mir Castle Complex (c); Architectural, Residential, and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh (c) |
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