Slovenia

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Country in south-central Europe, bounded north by Austria, east by Hungary, west by Italy, and south by Croatia.

Government
Slovenia is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. Under its 1991 constitution, it has a two-chamber parliament, comprising the National Assembly and the National Council. The lower house, the National Assembly, has 90 members comprising 88 elected for a four-year term under a system of proportional representation, and two deputies elected by Hungarian and Italian ethnic minorities. The 40-member National Council is made up of representatives of social, economic, professional, and local interest groups. The president, popularly elected for a maximum of two five-year terms, has mainly ceremonial powers. The prime minister is drawn from the party or coalition which commands a majority in the national assembly and governs with a council of ministers (cabinet).

History
Settled by Slavic Slovenes in the 6th century, the region came under Frankish rule in the mid 8th century and many of the Slavs were subsequently converted to Christianity. It came under Hungarian domination 907–55 and then the Habsburgs from 1335. It formed part of the Austrian crown lands of Carniola, Styria, and Carinthia prior to its incorporation in 1918 into the kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became part of Yugoslavia in 1929. Unlike neighbouring Croatia, there were few Slovenian demands for autonomy during the 1930s. During World War II the region was occupied by Germany and Italy; it was made a constituent republic within the Yugoslav Socialist Federal Republic in November 1945. It was the most economically advanced and politically liberal republic within the federation, helping to subsidize the poorer republics.

Nationalist unrest
From the 1980s here was economic decline and increasing nationalist unrest. In part, this was provoked by rising Serb nationalism within Yugoslavia, following the rise to power, from 1986 in the Serb republic, of Slobodan Milosevic. The leadership of the ruling Slovene League of Communists responded by pressing for greater autonomy within the federation to enable the republic to pursue a strategy of economic liberalization and political pluralism. In 1989 opposition parties were legalized and a free, multiparty election was held in April 1990. Despite renaming themselves the Party of Democratic Reform (PDR) and adopting a social democratic programme, the communists were convincingly defeated by the six-party Democratic Opposition of Slovenia (DEMOS), a nationalist, centre-right coalition, which campaigned for independence within a year. However, the PDR's reformist leader, Milan Kucan, was popularly elected state president, renouncing his party membership once installed in office. The new government promoted the formation of a new loose Yugoslav confederation, but this was resisted by Serbia.

Secession from Yugoslavia
Slovenia's voters gave overwhelming (88%) support to independence in a referendum in December 1990 and plans were made for secession. In spring 1991 an independent army, the Slovenian Territorial Defence Force, was established and in May 1991 Slovenia and Croatia both announced that they would secede from the Yugoslav federation on 26 June 1991. The Serb-dominated Yugoslavian army sought to prevent secession and there was a 10-day war with Yugoslavia (27 June to 6 July 1991) in which 67 were killed in clashes around newly established Slovene border posts. The European Community (EC) brokered a ceasefire, based upon a three-month suspension of Slovenia's declaration of independence and the withdrawal of the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) from the republic. This was successfully implemented as the focus of the JNA's activity switched to Croatia, with its much larger Serb minority. In December 1991 Slovenia adopted a new constitution. In the same month DEMOS dissolved itself and reverted to independent parties.

Independence recognized
The EC (now European Union (EU)) and USA formally recognized Slovenia's independence in January 1992. A vote of no confidence in the government in April 1992 led to the appointment of Janez Drnovšek as prime minister designate. Slovenia was admitted to the United Nations in May 1992. Assembly elections in December 1992 were won by the centrist Liberal Democrats and Christian Democrats, and Milan Kucan was re-elected president (and was later re-elected again in November 1997). Janez Drnovšek was re-elected prime minister by the national assembly in January 1993. In January 1996 the United List of Social Democrats (ZLSD) withdrew from the governing coalition.

In June 1996 Slovenia signed an association accord with the EU and applied for full membership. In parliamentary elections November 1996 the Liberal Democrats, led by Prime Minister Drnovšek, fell short of a majority and faced a challenge from an alliance of right-wing parties. However, Drnovšek was able to form a coalition with the conservative Slovenian People's Party (SLS).

Changing governments
Drnovšek briefly lost power June–October 2000 to a right-wing government, led by Andrej Bajuk, a banker. However, he returned to power after the October 2000 elections, heading a centre-left coalition which continued with the ongoing privatization programme. Drnovšek remained prime minister until December 2002, when he was elected state president and replaced as premier by Anton Rop of the Liberal Democrats. The October 2004 general elections brought a change in government and Janez Jansa, leader of the Slovenian Democratic Party (formerly the Social Democratic Party) became prime minister, heading a new four-party coalition government.

NATO and EU membership
In March 2004 Slovenia joined NATO.

On 1 May 2004 Slovenia became a member of the EU. This followed a 2003 referendum in which 90% of voters favoured accession. With a strong economy, with low inflation, and economic growth averaging 4% a year from 2004, in January 2007 it became the first of the countries which joined the EU in 2004 to adopt the euro as its currency.

Red stands for hardiness and valour. White signifies purity and innocence. Blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice. The latest star, representing Hawaii, was added in 1960. Effective date: 4 July 1960. >>