y 1995
cabinet: Council of Ministers; presently designated by the chairman of
the Council of Representatives; under the new constitution and
following the elections in May 1995 the cabinet officers will be
selected by the prime minister

Legislative branch:
Constituent Assembly: elections were held on 5 June 1994; results -
government parties swept almost all seats; in December 1994 the
Constituent Assembly ratified the new constitution with few changes;
the new constitution prescribes two chambers for the new National
Assembly - one which is elected by popular vote and one which
represents the ethnic interests of the regional governments

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Ethiopian People's Revolutionary
Democratic Front (EPRDF), MELES Zenawi;

Other political or pressure groups: Oromo Liberation Front (OLF); All
Amhara People's Organization; Southern Ethiopia People's Democratic
Coalition; numerous small, ethnic-based groups have formed since
Mengistu's resignation, including several Islamic militant groups

Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador BERHANE Gebre-Christos
chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-2281, 2282
FAX: [1] (202) 328-7950

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Irvin HICKS
embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
telephone: [251] (1) 550666
FAX: [251] (1) 552191

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red;
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the colors
of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon
independence that they became known as the pan-African colors

@Ethiopia:Economy

Overview: With the independence of Eritrea on 27 April 1993, Ethiopia
continues to face difficult economic problems as one of the poorest
and least developed countries in Africa. Its economy is based on
agriculture, which accounts for about 45% of GDP, 90% of exports, and
80% of total employment; coffee generates 60% of export earnings. The
agricultural sector suffers from frequent periods of drought, poor
cultivation practice