Conventional Long Form Name of Zimbabwe: Republic of Zimbabwe Capital City(ies): Harare Type of Government: parliamentary democracy Date of Independence: 18 April 1980 (from the UK) National Holiday(s) include date & event/celebration: Independence Day, 18 April (1980) Chief of State (official public face of government): Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Vice President Joice MUJURU (since 6 December 2004) Head of Government (actual leader of government): Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Vice President Joice MUJURU (since 6 December 2004) Description of Executive Branch/Powers:cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; responsible to the House of Assembly elections: presidential candidates nominated with a nomination paper signed by at least 10 registered voters (at least one from each province) and elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); elections last held on 31 July 2013 (next to be held in 2018); co-vice presidents drawn from party leadership Description of Legislative Branch/Powers: bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate (80 seats - 60 members elected by popular vote for a five-year term, 18 traditional chiefs elected by the Council of Chiefs and 2 seats reserved for people with disabilities) and a House of Assembly (270 seats - members elected by popular vote for five-year terms and 60 seats reserved for women who are identified by their parties and nominated by proportional representation) Description of Judicial Branch/Powers:highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 4 judges) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the president upon recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission, an independent body consisting of the chief justice, Public Service Commission chairman, attorney general, and 2-3 members appointed by the president; judges normally serve until age 65, but can elect to serve until age 70 subordinate courts: High Court, regional magistrate courts, and special courts Suffrage (who is allowed to vote): 18 years of age; universal Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S.: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Richard CHIBUWE (since April 2014) Location of THEIR embassy in the U.S.: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the U.S. (just the name/s of city/ies is fine): N/A Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM: Ambassador David Bruce WHARTON (since 15 November 2012) Location of U.S. embassy THERE: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) THERE (just the name/s of city/ies is fine): N/A Name of THEIR representative to UN: N/A Description of the Symbolism of flag: seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white isosceles triangle edged in black with its base on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird representing the long history of the country is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle, which symbolizes peace; green represents agriculture, yellow mineral wealth, red the blood shed to achieve independence, and black stands for the native people Video or audio of their national anthem being played: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6QjMCIyASM National Symbol(s): Zimbabwe bird symbol, African fish eagle, flame lily Descriptions of International Disputes: Namibia has supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river; South Africa has placed military units to assist police operations along the border of Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to control smuggling, poaching, and illegal migration Quantity of refugees inside country AND country(ies) of origin of refugees: N/A Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: N/A(political violence, human rights violations, land reform, and economic collapse) (2013) Quantity of Stateless Persons: N/A Description of current human trafficking issues related to this country: Zimbabwe is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; Zimbabwean women and girls from towns bordering South Africa, Mozambique, and Zambia are subjected to prostitution, sometimes being sold by their parents; Zimbabwean men, women, and children are subjected to forced labor in agriculture and domestic service in rural areas, as well as domestic servitude and sex trafficking in cities and towns; Zimbabwean women and men are lured into exploitative labor situations in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Nigeria, and South Africa with false job offers, while women and girls are lured to China, Egypt, the UK, and Canada and forced into prostitution; adults and children from Bangladesh, Somalia, India, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia are trafficked through Zimbabwe en route to South Africa Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use: transit point for cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines en route to South Africa
Executive President and Head of Government, Robert Gabriel Mugabe