Governments in the Middle East(aka Southwest Asia)
Israel
Saudi Arabia
Iran
The Government in Israel
•Israel has a parliamentary democracy
•The head of state is the president, whodoesn’t actually have much power
•The prime minister is the true head ofgovernment
Ehud Olmert is Israel’sPrime Minister
President ShimonPeres of Israel
These are photos of the Knesset building in Jerusalem, Israel.
The Knesset is the legislature of Israel.
More about the government in Israel:
•HOW IT WORKS:
–The legislature elects a president
–The president chooses the head of the largestpolitical party to be prime minister
–The prime minister then puts together a coalition,which is a group of several different politicalparties that have to cooperate to make decisions
–The Israeli legislature is called the Knesset. It holdsmost of the power in Israel and is made of 120people. If you are 18 years or older in Israel, youcan vote for Knesset members.
The Government inSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy.
•The Qur’an is the constitution of SaudiArabia, specifically the Shari’a Law.
•The legislature is called the ConsultativeCouncil. There are 120 members, and theking chooses two-thirds of them. Eachmember serve a term of four years. Thecouncil meets at the king’s palace…..
The founder of modern SaudiArabia, King Abdul Aziz, withU.S. President Franklin DelanoRoosevelt in 1945
More about thegovernmentin Saudi Arabia
•Saudi kings are both heads of state and heads ofgovernment
•The king has a cabinet called the Council of Ministers,mostly made of members of the royal family
•The government is currently changing: in 2004, the kingbegan allowing men 21 years old and older to vote for halfof local officials and one-third of the legislature.
The current king of Saudi Arabia,King Abdullah
These are photosof the city ofRiyadh, capital ofSaudi Arabia
The Government in Iran
In 1979, the IslamicIranian revolutionoverthrew themonarchy that hadruled Iran for centuries.
Today, The Republic ofIran is an Islamictheocracy. The head ofstate is a recognizedreligious authority, orayatollah.
The Shah of Iran and his familyin the early 1970s.
Ali Khamenei, the currentSupreme Leader of Iran
More about the Government in Iran
•The Supreme Leader is chosen forlife by the Assembly of Experts
•There are 86 Islamic scholars whomake up the Assembly
•The Assembly is elected by thepeople
•The president is also elected by thepeople. He governs using thereligious guidance of the ayatollah
•Iran’s Legislature is the ConsultativeAssembly, made of 290 members
•Citizens of Iran who are 15 yearsold and older can vote for membersof the legislature
The current Presidentof Iran, MahmoudAhmadinejad
Tehran, capital of Iran
The location of the ConsultativeAssembly, or Legislature, of Iran