Conventional Long Form Name of
country :Republic of South Africa
Capital City(ies) (some have multiple) :Pretoria (administrative capital),Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital)
Type of Government : Republic
Date of Independence : May 31, 1961( this is when the republic was officially formed)
National Holiday(s): include date &
event/celebration : Freedom Day, April 27
Chief of State (official public face of
government) : President Jacob ZUMA
Head of Government (actual leader of
government) :President Jacob ZUMA
Description of Executive Branch/Powers : Run by a president and his cabinet, elections held every five years.
Description of Legislative
Branch/Powers : Bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Council of Provinces (90 seats; 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities) and the National Assembly (400 seats; members elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms).
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers : The highest court is the supreme court of appeals.
Suffrage (who is allowed to vote) : Anyone of the age of 18.
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S. : Ambassador Ebrahim RASOOL
Location of THEIR embassy in the U.S. : Washington D.C.
Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the
U.S. (just the name/s of city/ies is fine) : Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM : Ambassador Patrick GASPARD
Location of U.S. embassy THERE : Pretoria
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) THERE
(just the name/s of city/ies is fine) : Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg
Name of THEIR representative to UN : Jeremiah Nyamane Kingsley MAMABOLO
Description of the Symbolism of flag : Two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band that splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes; the flag colors do not have any official symbolism, but the Y stands for the "convergence of diverse elements within South African society, taking the road ahead in unity"; black, yellow, and green are found on the flag of the African National Congress, while red, white, and blue are the colors in the flags of the Netherlands and the UK, whose settlers ruled South Africa during the colonial era
National Symbol(s) : springbok antelope
Descriptions of International Disputes : South Africa has placed police along borders of three of its neighboring countries to prevent poaching.
Quantity of refugees inside country AND
country(ies) of origin of refugees : 17,864 (Somalia), 13,386 (Democratic Republic of Congo), 5,805 (Angola), 5,538 (Ethiopia)
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons : N/A
Quantity of Stateless Persons : N/A
Description of current human trafficking
issues related to this country N/A
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use : They have some heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and hashish issues.
country :Republic of South Africa
Capital City(ies) (some have multiple) :Pretoria (administrative capital),Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital)
Type of Government : Republic
Date of Independence : May 31, 1961( this is when the republic was officially formed)
National Holiday(s): include date &
event/celebration : Freedom Day, April 27
Chief of State (official public face of
government) : President Jacob ZUMA
Head of Government (actual leader of
government) :President Jacob ZUMA
Description of Executive Branch/Powers : Run by a president and his cabinet, elections held every five years.
Description of Legislative
Branch/Powers : Bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Council of Provinces (90 seats; 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities) and the National Assembly (400 seats; members elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms).
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers : The highest court is the supreme court of appeals.
Suffrage (who is allowed to vote) : Anyone of the age of 18.
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S. : Ambassador Ebrahim RASOOL
Location of THEIR embassy in the U.S. : Washington D.C.
Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the
U.S. (just the name/s of city/ies is fine) : Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM : Ambassador Patrick GASPARD
Location of U.S. embassy THERE : Pretoria
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) THERE
(just the name/s of city/ies is fine) : Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg
Name of THEIR representative to UN : Jeremiah Nyamane Kingsley MAMABOLO
Description of the Symbolism of flag : Two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band that splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes; the flag colors do not have any official symbolism, but the Y stands for the "convergence of diverse elements within South African society, taking the road ahead in unity"; black, yellow, and green are found on the flag of the African National Congress, while red, white, and blue are the colors in the flags of the Netherlands and the UK, whose settlers ruled South Africa during the colonial era
National Symbol(s) : springbok antelope
Descriptions of International Disputes : South Africa has placed police along borders of three of its neighboring countries to prevent poaching.
Quantity of refugees inside country AND
country(ies) of origin of refugees : 17,864 (Somalia), 13,386 (Democratic Republic of Congo), 5,805 (Angola), 5,538 (Ethiopia)
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons : N/A
Quantity of Stateless Persons : N/A
Description of current human trafficking
issues related to this country N/A
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use : They have some heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and hashish issues.