Slovak Republic

Slovenská republika Slovak Republic


Anthem Nad Tatrou sa blýska
Location of Slovakia

Capital	Bratislava

Government	Republic and parliamentary democracy
President
- 1993	Vladimír Meciar
- 1993-1998	Michal Kovác
- 1998	Vladimír Meciar
- 1998-1999	Mikulás Dzurinda
- 1999-2004	Rudolf Schuster
- From 2004	Ivan Gasparovic
Prime Minister
- 1993-1994	Vladimír Meciar
- 1994	Jozef Moravcík
- 1994-1998	Vladimír Meciar
- 1998-2006	Mikulás Dzurinda
- 2006-2010	Robert Fico
- From 2010	Iveta Radicová

Legislature	National Council

History
- January 1, 1993	Partition of Czechoslovakia

EU accession	May 1, 2004

NATO accession	March 29, 2004

Area	49,035 km²

Population
- 2010	5,429,763
Density	110.7/km²

GDP	2010 (PPP)
- Total	US$ 88.4 billion
- Per capita	US$ 16,281

Currency	Euro

NUTS Region	SK0

Czech & Slovak Slovakia
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The Slovak Republic gained its independence when Czechoslovakia was dissolved on January 1, 1993. On May 1, 2004 acceded as a member state of the European Union.

History

Historians usually trace Slovakia’s roots to the Great Moravian Empire, founded in the early ninth century. The territory of Great Moravia included all of present western and central Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and parts of neighboring Poland, Hungary, and Germany. Saints Cyril and Methodius, known for the creation of a Cyrillic alphabet, came to Great Moravia as missionaries upon the invitation of the king in the early 10th century to spread Christianity. The empire collapsed after only 80 years as a result of the political intrigues and external pressures from invading forces. Slovaks then became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where they remained for the next 1,000 years. Bratislava was the Hungarian capital for nearly two and a half centuries after the Turks occupied the territory of present-day Hungary in the early 16th century.

Revolutions inspired by nationalism swept through Central Europe in 1848, which led to the codification of the Slovak language by Ludovit Stur in 1846 and later the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867. As language and education policies favoring the use of Hungarian, which came to be known as Magyarization, grew stricter, Slovak nationalism grew stronger. Slovak intellectuals cultivated cultural ties with the Czechs, who were themselves ruled by the Austrians. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian State following World War I, the concept of a single Czecho-Slovakian unified state came to fruition. Tomas Masaryk signed the Pittsburgh Agreement, declaring the intent of the Czechs and Slovaks to found a new state in May 1918, and a year later became Czechoslovakia's first president.

After the 1938 Munich agreement forced Czechoslovakia to cede territory to Germany, Slovakia declared its autonomy. Slovakia became a Nazi puppet state led by the Catholic priest Jozef Tiso. During this period, approximately 70,000 Slovak Jews were sent to concentration camps to perish in the Holocaust. Roma, while persecuted under the Tiso regime, were not deported by the Slovak Hlinka guards. An undetermined number of Roma were deported from the southern part of Slovakia when it was occupied by Hungary in 1944. The Slovak National Uprising, a brief insurrection against the fascist powers in August-September 1944, was put down by Nazi forces.

At the conclusion of World War II, the reunified Czechoslovakia was considered within the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. The communist party, supported by the U.S.S.R., took political power in February 1948 and began to centralize control. The next 4 decades were characterized by strict communist rule, interrupted only briefly during the Prague Spring of 1968. The Slovak-born Communist leader Alexander Dubcek presided over a thawing of communist power and proposed political, social, and economic reforms in his effort to make "socialism with a human face" a reality. Concern among other Warsaw Pact governments that Dubcek had gone too far prompted an invasion and Dubcek's removal from his position.

The 1970s were characterized by the development of a dissident movement. On January 1, 1977 more than 250 human rights activists signed a manifesto called Charter 77, which criticized the government for failing to meet its human rights obligation. The so-called "Candle Demonstration," which took place in Bratislava in March 1988, was the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. The demonstration, organized by Roman Catholic groups asking for religious freedom in Czechoslovakia, was brutally suppressed by the police.

On November 17, 1989, a series of public protests, known as the "Velvet Revolution," began and led to the downfall of communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Dissident groups, such as Charter 77 in the Czech Republic and Public Against Violence in Slovakia, united to form a transitional government and assist with the first democratic elections since 1948. Several new parties emerged to fill the political spectrum.

After the 1992 elections, Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), which demanded Slovak autonomy as a matter of fairness, emerged as the leading party in Slovakia. In June 1992, the Slovak parliament voted to declare sovereignty, and the federation dissolved peacefully on January 1, 1993. Meciar's party ruled Slovakia for its first 5 years as an independent state. His authoritarian style as Prime Minister created international concerns about the democratic development of Slovakia. In the 1998 elections, HZDS received about 27% of the vote, but was unable to find coalition partners and went into opposition.

An anti-Meciar coalition formed a government led by Mikulas Dzurinda, the chairman of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) and began to pursue critical economic and political reforms. The first Dzurinda government enabled Slovakia to enter the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), begin accession negotiations with the European Union (EU) and close virtually all chapters of the accession acquis, and make the country a strong candidate for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) accession. However, the popularity of the governing parties declined sharply, and several new parties gained relatively high levels of support in public opinion polls.

In the September 2002 parliamentary elections, a last-minute surge in support for the SDKU gave Dzurinda a mandate for a second term. He formed a government with three other center-right parties: the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), Christian Democrats (KDH), and Alliance of New Citizens (ANO). The main priorities of the coalition were ensuring a strong Slovak performance within NATO and the EU, fighting corruption, attracting foreign investment, and reforming social services, such as the health care system. Following a summer 2003 parliamentary shake-up, the government lost its narrow parliamentary majority and controlled only 69 of the 150 seats; however, because of conflicts among the opposition parties, the coalition was able to remain in power with the tacit support of Meciar’s HZDS.

Slovakia became a member of NATO on March 29, 2004, and joined the EU on May 1, 2004. All parliamentary political parties strongly supported Slovakia's NATO and EU accession.

After parliamentary elections on June 17, 2006, Robert Fico became Prime Minister, leading a coalition of Direction (Smer-SD), the Slovak National Party (SNS), and the People’s Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (LS-HzDS). During Fico’s tenure, the ambitious economic reforms of the previous government largely stagnated although, in most cases, they were not rolled back. Fico’s government supported the mission in Afghanistan, increasing deployments from just over 50 to more than 300 while in office. In January 2010, Slovakia accepted three Guantanamo detainees for resettlement.

The most recent parliamentary elections were held on June 12, 2010. Although Smer-SD gained the largest share of parliamentary seats, four center-right parties--SDKU, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), KDH, and Bridge (Most-Hid)--formed a narrow governing coalition with the stated principal aim of weeding out corruption and cronyism. SDKU’s Iveta Radicova leads the government; she is the first female Prime Minister in Slovakia’s history.^[1]

Government

Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic. Delegates are elected for 4-year terms on the basis of proportional representation. The Slovak political scene supports a wide spectrum of political parties, including several center-right parties and the Slovak National Party.

In January 1999, Parliament passed a constitutional amendment allowing for direct election of the president. Kosice Mayor Rudolf Schuster was elected president in a May 1999 run-off with former Prime Minister Meciar and took office on June 15, 1999. On April 17, 2004, Ivan Gasparovic, a former Meciar deputy, was elected president; he was re-elected to a second 5-year term on April 4, 2009. Virtually all executive powers of government belong to the prime minister, but the president serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, is empowered to grant pardons, and has the right to return legislation to Parliament. Parliament, however, can override this veto with a simple majority.

The country's highest appellate forum is the Supreme Court; below that are regional, district, and military courts. In certain cases the law provides for decisions of tribunals of judges to be attended by lay judges from the citizenry. Slovakia also has a special Constitutional Court, which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by Parliament.

In 2002, Parliament passed legislation that created a Judicial Council. This 18-member council, composed of judges, law professors, and other legal experts, is responsible for the nomination of judges. All judges, except those of the Constitutional Court, are appointed by the president from a list proposed by the Judicial Council. The Council determines principles for the selection, evaluation, promotion, and continuing education of judges, and should establish principles of judicial ethics. The Judicial Council appoints Disciplinary Senates in cases of judicial misconduct.^[2]

Foreign Policy

Slovakia became a member of NATO on March 29, 2004 and joined the EU in May 2004. Slovakia is a member of the United Nations and participates in its specialized agencies. It is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the OECD. It also is part of the Visegrad Four (Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Poland), a forum for discussing areas of common concern. On December 21, 2007, Slovakia joined the Schengen zone. Slovakia maintains diplomatic relations with 134 countries. There are 35 embassies and 26 honorary consulates in Bratislava.

Twenty Slovak experts served in EU-led civilian missions in 2010, including 17 police officers, one military expert, and two customs officers.^[3]

Security

The armed forces of the Slovak Republic number about 14,000 uniformed personnel and are made up of Land Forces, Air Forces (which includes air defense forces), and a Joint Training and Support Command. Land forces consist of two mechanized infantry brigades. Other land forces include a separate NBC battalion, engineer battalion, ISTAR company, signal battalion, and command support battalion. Air and Air Defense Forces are comprised of a fighter wing of MiG-29s, a wing of Mi-24 attack and Mi-17 utility helicopters, and a SAM brigade. (The Mi-24s are scheduled to be retired in 2011.) Military police are under the command of the Ministry of Defense and a special operations regiment falls under the command of the General Staff. The armed forces are the most respected national institution according to recent opinion polling.

As of January 2011, Slovakia had just over 525 soldiers deployed in six missions worldwide, with more than 60% serving in Afghanistan. At the beginning of 2011, 60% of deployed Slovak soldiers served under NATO command, 38% under the UN, and 2% under the EU. Defense spending was cut by more than 20% in the 2010 budget, and is expected to reach just 1.2% of GDP in 2011.^[4]

Economy

With the establishment of the Slovak Republic in January 1993, Slovakia continued the difficult transformation from a centrally-planned to a modern market-oriented economy. This reform slowed in the 1994-98 period due to the crony capitalism and irresponsible fiscal policies of Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar's government. While economic growth and other fundamentals improved steadily during Meciar's term, public and private debt and trade deficits soared, and privatization, often tarnished by corrupt insider deals, progressed only in fits and starts. Real annual GDP growth peaked at 6.5% in 1995 but declined to 1.3% in 1999. Much of the growth in the Meciar era, however, was attributable to high government spending and over-borrowing rather than productive economic activity.

The pace of economic reforms picked up during the second administration of Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, which oversaw the simplification of the tax system, reforms of the labor code and pension systems, and a large number of privatizations. With the onset of the global recession in 2008, Slovakia’s highly export-dependent economy began to contract, finishing that year with 6.4% growth, following 10.4% growth in 2007. The economy slowed rapidly in the first quarter of 2009--contracting 12% from the previous quarter--as the deepening recession was exacerbated by a political crisis between Russia and Ukraine that led to a 3-week disruption of Slovakia’s natural gas supply. A return to modest growth was forecast for 2010.

Slovakia entered into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in November 2005, and joined the European Monetary Union on January 1, 2009. Headline consumer price inflation dropped from a high of 26% in 1993 to 1.4% in 2009. The current account deficit, including the cost of the second pension pillar, reached 5.0% in 2008 then moved considerably higher. The general government deficit for 2010 was forecast at 5.5%, although private sector analysts expected it to be as high as 7.0%. Government debt was estimated at 37.1% of GDP at the end of 2009.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovakia accounted for much of the growth in the period 2000-2008. Cheap and skilled labor, low taxes, a 19% flat tax for corporations and individuals, no dividend taxes, a relatively liberal labor code, and a favorable geographical location are Slovakia's main advantages for foreign investors. The main points of economic reform remained untouched even after the 2006 elections. FDI inflow cumulatively reached $39.4 billion in 2008; the total inflow of FDI in 2008 was $1.39 billion.

Germany is Slovakia's largest trading partner, purchasing 20.1% of Slovakia's exports and supplying 16.8% of its imports in 2009. Other major partners include the Czech Republic (12.9% of Slovakia’s exports and 12.3% of Slovakia’s imports), Italy (6.1% and 3.7%), Russia (3.8% and 9.0%), Austria (5.8% and 2.9%), Hungary (6.3% and 5.3%), Poland (7.2% and 3.9%) and France (7.8% and 4.0%). Slovakia imports nearly all of its oil and gas from Russia and its export markets are primarily OECD and EU countries. More than 85.1% of its trade in 2008 was with EU members and with OECD countries (86.2%). Slovakia's exports to the United States made up 1.7% of its overall exports in 2008 ($1.21 billion), while imports from the U.S. accounted for 1.2% of its total purchases abroad ($847.24 million).^[5]

Demographics

The majority of the 5.4 million inhabitants of the Slovak Republic are Slovak (85.8%). Hungarians are officially the largest ethnic minority (9.7%) and are concentrated in the southern and eastern regions of Slovakia. Up to 10% of the population is thought to be Roma, although the last official census (2001) put their number at 1.7%. Other ethnic groups include Czechs, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Poles. The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens (69%) are Roman Catholic; the second-largest group is Protestants (9%). About 3,000 Jews remain of the estimated pre-World War II population of 120,000. The official state language is Slovak, and Hungarian is widely spoken in the south.

Despite its modern European economy and society, Slovakia has a significant rural element. About 45% of Slovaks live in villages of less than 5,000 people, and 14% in villages of less than 1,000.^[6]