The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I allowed the Slovaks to join the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004 and the euro area on 1 January 2009.
Country Name
Conventional long form:Slovak Republic
Conventional short form:Slovakia
Local long form:Slovenska Republika
Local short form:Slovensko
Government Type
parliamentary democracy
Capital
Name:Bratislava
Geographic coordinates:48 09 N, 17 07 E
Time difference:UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions
8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky
Independence
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
National Holiday
Constitution Day, 1 September (1992)
Constitution
ratified 1 September 1992, effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998; amended February 2001
note: the change in September 1998 allowed direct election of the president; the amendment of February 2001 allowed Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership
Legal system
civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
Chief of state:President Ivan GASPAROVIC (since 15 June 2004)
Head of government:Prime Minister Robert FICO (since 4 July 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Dusan CAPLOVIC, Robert KALINAK, Jan MIKOLAJ (since 4 July 2006), Viera PETRIKOVA (since 3 July 2009)
Cabinet:Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
(For more information visit the World Leaders website)
Elections:president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 21 March and 4 April 2009 (next to be held no later than April 2014); following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president
Election results:Ivan GASPAROVIC reelected president in runoff; percent of vote - Ivan GASPAROVIC 55.5%, Iveta RADICOVA 44.5%
Legislative branch
unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
Elections:last held on 17 June 2006 (next to be held on 12 June 2010)
Election results:percent of vote by party - Smer 29.1%, SDKU 18.4%, SMK 11.7%, SNS 11.7%, LS-HZDS 8.8%, KDH 8.3%, other 12%; seats by party - Smer 50, SDKU-DS 31, SMK 20, SNS 19, LS-HZDS 16, KDH 14; note - seats by party as of December 2009 - Smer 50, SDKU-DS 28, SMK 15, SNS 19, LS-HZDS 15, KDH 9, nonaffiliated 14
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council); Special Court (judges elected by a council of judges and appointed by president)
Political Parties and Leaders
parties in the Parliament: Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Jan FIGEL]; Direction-Social Democracy or Smer-SD [Robert FICO]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Pal CSAKY]; People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia or LS-HZDS [Vladimir MECIAR]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-Democratic Party or SDKU-DS [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Jan SLOTA]
selected parties outside the Parliament: Alliance for a Europe of Nations or AZEN [Milan URBANI]; Bridge or Most-Hid [Bela BUGAR]; Civic Conservative Party or OKS [Peter ZAJAC]; Freedom and Solidarity or SaS [Richard SULIK]; Green Party or SZ [Peter PILINSKY]; Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Marek BLAHA]; People's Party - Our Slovakia or SLS [Jozef SASIK]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS [Jozef HRDLICKA]; Slovenska Pospolitost [Marian KOTLEBA]; Union of the Workers of Slovakia or ZRS [Jan LUPTAK]; Union - Party for Slovakia or Unia [Milan CELIK]
Political pressure groups and leaders
Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; Entrepreneurs Association of Slovakia or ZPS; Federation of Employers' Associations of the Slovak Republic; National Union of Employers or RUZ; Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry or SOPK; The Business Alliance of Slovakia or PAS
International organization participation
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
Chief of mission:Ambassador Peter BURIAN
Chancery:3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
Telephone:[1] (202) 237-1054
FAX:[1] (202) 237-6438
Consulate(s) general:Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US
Chief of mission:Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Keith EDDINS
Embassy:Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava
Mailing address:P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava
Telephone:[421] (2) 5443-3338
FAX:[421] (2) 5441-8861
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red derive from the pan-Slavic colors; the Slovakian coat of arms (consisting of a red shield bordered in white and bearing a white Cross of Lorraine surmounting three blue hills) is centered over the bands but offset slightly to the hoist side
