Full name: Republik Österreich (Republic of Austria) |
National anthem: |
"Land der Berge, Land am Strome" |
|
|
|
|
Current Government: |
Head of State: Federal President Alexander van der Bellen, by direct election, (since January 26,2017). Chairman of the Government: Federal Chancellor, Brigitte Bierlein (since May 2019), appointed by the President. |
Constitution: Parliamentary representative democracy consisting of nine federal states. There are two chambers. The principal chamber is the Nationalrat with 183 seats, whose members are elected for a term of five years or fewer if the government is dissolved earlier. Elections were held in October 15, 2017 (next to be held 2022). The upper house, the Bundesrat, has the role of review and amend with limited powers of veto. The third arm of state powers is the Constitutional Court that checks compliance of laws with the constitution. |
Austria joined the United Nations in 1955, and is a founder member of the OECD. |
Joined the EU in January 1995. Number of MEPs: 17. |
|