lection last held 31 October 1997 (next to be held NA November 2001);
prime minister nominated by the House of Representatives and appointed
by the president
election results: Mary MCALEESE elected president; percent of
vote-Mary MCALEESE 44.8%, Mary BANOTTI 29.6%

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Oireachtas consists of the
Senate or Seanad Eireann (60 seats, 49 elected by the universities and
from candidates put forward by five vocational panels, 11 are
nominated by the prime minister; members serve five-year terms) and
the House of Representatives or Dail Eireann (166 seats; members are
elected by direct popular vote and proportional representation to
serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate-last held NA August 1997 (next to be held NA 2002);
House of Representatives-last held 6 June 1997 (next to be held NA
2002)
election results: Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by
party-NA; House of Representatives-percent of vote by party-NA; seats
by party-Fianna Fail 77, Fine Gael 54, Labor Party 17, Progressive
Democrats 4, Democratic Left 4, Greens 2, Sinn Fein 1, independents 7

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the president on
the advice of the government (prime minister and cabinet)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Left [Proinsias DE ROSSA];
Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN]; Labor Party [Ruairi QUINN]; Fine Gael
[John BRUTON]; Communist Party of Ireland [Michael O'RIORDAN]; Sinn
Fein [Gerry ADAMS]; Progressive Democrats [Mary HARNEY]; The Workers'
Party [Marion DONNELLY]; Green Alliance [Patricia HOWARD]
note: Prime Minister AHERN heads a two-party coalition consisting of
Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, CCC,
CE, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OECD, OSCE, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMOP,
UNPREDEP, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Sean O'HUIGINN
chancery: 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 462-3939
FAX: [1] (202) 232-5993
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jean Kennedy SMITH
embassy: 42