Saudi Arabia
Country on the Arabian peninsula, stretching from the Red Sea in the
W to the Arabian Gulf in the E, bounded N by Jordan, Iraq, and
Kuwait; E by Qatar and United Arab Emirates; SE by Oman; and S
by Yemen.
Government
Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy with no written constitution,
no legislature, and no political parties. The king rules, in accordance
with Islamic law, by decree. He appoints and heads a council of
ministers, whose decisions are the result of a majority vote but
always subject to the ultimate sanction of the king. In 1992 the
formation of a 60-member consultative council, the Majlis al-
Shura, to be appointed every four years, suggested moves towards
a more democratic form of government.
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