Austria: Government

Government

Austria is governed under the constitution of 1920 as revised in 1929, and has a mixed presidential-parliamentary form of government. The president, who is the head of state, is elected by popular vote for a six-year term and nominates the chancellor (prime minister) and confirms the cabinet. The chancellor, who is head of government, heads the cabinet, which is responsible to the house of representatives (Nationalrat) of parliament. The House of Representatives is popularly elected according to proportional representation. The upper house of parliament, the Senate (Bundesrat), is chosen by the provincial assemblies. Administratively, Austria is divided into nine states.

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