French Fifth Republic of the election on 9 January 1959. The new president began his office on that date, appointing Michel Debré as Prime Minister. The 1958 constitution also replaced the French Union with the French Community, which allowed fourteen member territories (these did not include Algeria) to assert their independence. 1960 became known as the "Year of Africa" because of this wave of newly independent states. Algeria became independent on 5 July 1962. The president was initially elected by an electoral college, but in 1962 de Gaulle proposed that the president be directly elected by the citizens, and held a referendum on
Fifth Republic Movement election to the Presidency in 1999, the country has been known as the "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela", signaling Chávez' desires to usher in a new era of politics and government. This unique "Bolivarian" government is the "Fifth Republic" referred to in the party's title. The use of the phrase also echoes the French Fifth Republic, which was another sweeping political change to deal with political instability during decolonisation. On 18 December 2006, Hugo Chávez announced plans to dissolve the party, hoping that the 23 other parties that supported his government would follow suit and collectively form the proposed United Socialist