Short facts about the government of Slovakia
| Country
name: |
conventional long
form: Slovak Republic
conventional short
form: Slovakia
local long form: Slovenska
Republika
local short form:
Slovensko |
| Government
type: |
parliamentary
democracy |
| 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, fully
effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of
the president; amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU
membership |
| Legal
system: |
civil law system based on
Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; 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 Rudolf SCHUSTER (since 15 June 1999)
head of
government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October
1998)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president elected
by direct popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 May 1999
(next to be held NA May/June 2004); following National Council elections, the
leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually
appointed prime minister by the president
election results:
Rudolf SCHUSTER elected president in the first direct, popular election; percent
of vote - Rudolf SCHUSTER 57%
note: government coalition - SDK,
SDL, SMK, SOP, KDH |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral National Council of the
Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are
elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year
terms)
elections: last held 25-26 September 1998 (next to be held
NA September 2002)
election results: percent of vote by party -
HZDS 27%, SDK 26.3%, SDL 14.7%, SMK 9.1%, SNS 9.1%, SOP 8%; seats by party -
governing coalition 93 (SDK 42, SDL 23, SMK 15, SOP 13), opposition 57 (HZDS 43,
SNS 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) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Christian Democratic Movement or KDH
[Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Liberal Democratic Union or LDU [Jan BUDAJ]; Movement for a
Democratic Slovakia or HZDS [Vladimir MECIAR]; Party of Civic Understanding or
SOP [Pavol HAMZIK]; Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Jozef MIGAS]; Party of
the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; Slovak Democratic and Christian
Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; note - this is DZURINDA's new party for 2002
elections; he remains chairman of a rump and splintering SDK; Slovak Democratic
Coalition or SDK (loose parliamentary club grouping representing members of the
smaller SSDS, SZS, and those committed to run under SDKU in 2002) [Mikulas
DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Anna
MALIKOVA] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
Association of Employers of Slovakia;
Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ;
Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG |
| International organization participation: |
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer),
CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory
user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA,
PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate
partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Martin BUTORA
chancery: Suite 250, 2201
Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; note - new chancery opening in June
2001 at International Court NW, Washington, DC
telephone: [1]
(202) 965-5161
FAX: [1] (202)
965-5166 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Carl SPIELVOGEL
embassy: Hviezdoslavovo
Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava
mailing address: use embassy street
address
telephone: [421] (7) 5443-3338
FAX: [421]
(7) 5443-0096 |
| Flag
description: |
three equal horizontal bands of white
(top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on
the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and
blue | Source: World Factbook |
