Macedonia

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Macedonia (officially called the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) is a mountainous country situated on the Balkan Peninsula of Europe. Macedonia borders Serbia and Montenegro, Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece and is home to just over 2 million people. Like several other Balkan countries, Macedonia has a substantial Muslim population (approximately 30%) with a remaining 70 percent identifying as Christian. Macedonia is ethnically diverse; Macedonians and Albanians are the two largest ethnic groups (64% and 25% of the population, respectively) and Macedonian and Albanian are the most widely spoken languages.

The 1913 Treaty of Bucharest partitioned the territory known as Macedonia among Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece. The Serbian-controlled area of Macedonia became part of the newly formed state of Yugoslavia in 1919. Macedonia proclaimed independence on September 8, 1991, following the disintegration of Yugoslavia. International recognition of Macedonia's independence was delayed because of objections from Greece, due to the new country's use of what Greece considered a Hellenic name and symbols. Although Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations in 1993, the dispute between Greece and Macedonia has continued into the twenty-first century.

Macedonia has been plagued by continued ethnic tension, fed in part by the status of neighboring Kosovo. An armed insurgency by ethnic Albanians demanding greater civil rights ended with a cease-fire in 2001. The cease-fire agreement provided for the government coalition to expand and include the major opposition parties and called for constitutional and legislative changes that improved civil rights for minority groups.

At the time of its independence, Macedonia was the least-developed of the Yugoslav republics. Unemployment remains a critical economic problem, with an estimated one-third of the workforce unemployed in 2003. Although the country's leadership has shown commitment to economic reform, free trade, and regional integration, these issues have been overshadowed by the fragile political situation.

The Macedonian government is described as a parliamentary democracy. The government is based on the constitution adopted on November 17, 1991. In November 2001 the parliament approved a series of new constitutional amendments that strengthened minority rights.

The Macedonian government is divided into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Macedonian legislature, called the Assembly, has one house with 120 seats. Eighty-five members are elected by popular vote within constituencies, and thirty-five members are chosen based on the percentage that a political party gains from the overall vote. Members of the Assembly hold four-year terms. Citizens of Macedonia are allowed to vote at the age of eighteen, and the right to vote is universal.

The executive branch is composed of a president and a prime minister. The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term and serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The prime minister is the head of government and is elected by the Assembly along with the cabinet, called the Council of Ministers.

The judicial branch is composed of a Supreme Court, a constitutional court, and the Republican Judicial Council. The judges for all courts are appointed by the parliament.

Personal security is a concern in Macedonia, where shootings, bombings, and kidnappings occasionally occur. Other problems include threats and attacks on journalists, human trafficking, organized crime, and police abuse (particularly of Roma, or Gypsies). Thus the implementation of constitutional and legal protection of individual rights remain problematic. Nevertheless, Freedom House rates the condition of citizen rights in Macedonia as improving, while still rating the country as "partly free."

Greece; Kosovo; Serbia and Montenegro.

Freedom House. "Macedonia." Freedom in the World 2003. New York: Freedom House, 2003. <http://freedomhouse.org/researc h/freeworld/2003/countryratings/macedon ia.htm>.

Glenny, Misha. The Balkans: Nationalism, Wars and the Great Powers, 1804–1999. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1999.

"Macedonia." CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ions/factbook/geos/mk.html>.

Poulton, Hugh. Who Are the Macedonians? Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000.

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. "Macedonia." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2003. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/ hrrpt/2003/27852.htm>.

The World Bank Group. "Macedonia" World Development Indicators Database, August 2004. <http://devdata.worldbank.org/ex ternal/CPProfile.asp?SelectedCountry=MK D&CCODE=MKD&CNAME=Macedon ia%2C+FYR&PTYPE=CP>.

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