election dates have been set
head of government: Prime Minister Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU (since the
siezure of power by the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front in July 1994)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
National Development Council: (Conseil National de Developpement)
elections last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held NA 1995);
results - MRND was the only party; seats - (70 total) MRND 70

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court consists of the Court of
Cassation and the Council of State in joint session

Political parties and leaders: Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), Alexis
KANYARENGWE, Chairman; National Revolutionary Movement for Democracy
and Development (MRND); significant independent parties include:
Democratic Republican Movement (MDR); Liberal Party (PL); Democratic
and Socialist Party (PSD); Coalition for the Defense of the Republic
(CDR); Party for Democracy in Rwanda (PADER); Christian Democratic
Party (PDL)
note: formerly a one-party state, Rwanda legalized independent parties
in mid-1991

Other political or pressure groups: Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), the
RPF military wing, Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME, commander;

Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Joseph W.
MUTABOBA
chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882
FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544

US diplomatic representation:
note: US Embassy closed indefinitely
chief of mission: Ambassador David P. RAWSON
embassy: Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali
mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali
telephone: [250] 756 01 through 03
FAX: [250] 721 28

Flag: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and
green with a large black letter R centered in the yellow band; uses
the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of
Guinea, which has a plain yellow band

@Rwanda:Economy

Overview: Rwanda is a poor African nation suffering bitterly from
ethnic-based civil war. Almost 50% of GDP comes from the agricultural
sector; coffee and tea make up 80%-90% of total exports. The amount of
fertile land is limited, however, and deforestatio