Government: Parliamentary democracy. President, elected for term of five years, is head of state and supreme commander of armed forces. Riigikogu (parliament), with 101 members, has broad organizational legislative functions. Members elected in direct elections for term of four years. Candidate for prime minister forms new government (no more than fifteen ministers) after Riigikogu has approved basis for its formation; after selection, president formally appoints government, which has administrator power.

Judicial System: Post-Soviet criminal code introduced in 1992, based on civil law system, with no judicial review of legislative acts. Death penalty retained for murder and terrorism. Legal chancellor, appointed by Riigikogu, provides guidance on constitutionality of laws but has no powers of adjudication. Criminal justice administered by local first-level courts as well as second-level appellate courts. Final appeal may be made to National Court, which sits in Tartu. Court system comprises rural and city, as well as administrative, courts (first-level); district courts (second-level); and National Court, highest court in land.

Politics: First post-Soviet elections, held in September 1992, yielded center-right coalition government led by Fatherland Party (Isamaa). Isamaa-led coalition disintegrated in June 1994. Center-left Coalition Party-Rural Union Alliance vic-torious in March 1995 elections.

Administrative Divisions: Fifteen counties (maakonnad), subseparated into 255 local administrative units, of which forty-two are towns and 213 are townships.Foreign Relations: In September 1991, Estonia joined United Nations (UN) and Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (in January 1995, name changed to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) and is a signatory to a number of UN organizations and other international agree-ments. In February 1994, Estonia joined Partnership for Peace program of North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Member of Council of Europe and Council of the Baltic Sea States. Coop-eration with European Union includes remarkable economic aid as well as talks on a free-trade agreement. Relations with Russia remain cool.