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As a young independent republic, Slovenia pursued economic stabilization and further political openness, while emphasizing its Western outlook and central European heritage. Today, with a growing regional profile, a participant in the SFOR peacekeeping deployment in Bosnia and the KFOR deployment in Kosovo, and a charter World Trade Organization member, Slovenia plays a role on the world stage quite out of proportion to its small size.
From 1998 to 2000, Slovenia occupied a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council and in that capacity distinguished itself with a constructive, creative, and consensus-oriented activism. Slovenia has been a Member State of the European Union since May 2004. It has also been a member of the United Nations since May 1992, of the Council of Europe since May 1993, and of all major international financial institutions (the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank Group, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) as well as 40 other international organizations, among them the World Trade Organization, of which it is a founding member.
Since the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia has instituted a stable, multi-party, democratic political system, characterized by regular elections, a free press, and an excellent human rights record. However, Slovenia is the only former Communist state that has never carried out lustration.[1] By Constitution of Slovenia the country is a parliamentary democracy and a republic. Within its government, power is shared between a directly elected president, a prime minister, and an incompletely bicameral legislature.[2][3] The legislative body is composed of the 90-member National Assembly—which takes the lead on virtually all legislative issues—and the National Council, a largely advisory body composed of representatives from social, economic, professional, and local interests. The Constitutional Court has the highest power of review of legislation to ensure its consistency with Slovenia's constitution. Its nine judges are elected for 9-year terms.
In 1997, elections were held to elect both a president and representatives to Parliament's upper house, the National Council. Milan Kučan, elected President of the Yugoslav Republic of Slovenia in 1990, led his country to independence in 1991. He was elected the first President of independent Slovenia in 1992 and again in November 1997 by a comfortable margin.
Janez Drnovšek of the center-left Liberal Democratic Party of Slovenia (LDS) was reelected Prime Minister in the 15 October 2000 parliamentary elections. Drnovšek's coalition held an almost two-thirds majority in Parliament.
The government, most of the Slovenian polity, shares a common view of the desirability of a close association with the West, specifically of membership in both the European Union and NATO. For all the apparent bitterness that divides left and right wings, there are few fundamental philosophical differences between them in the area of public policy. Slovenian society is built on consensus, which has converged on a social-democrat model. Political differences tend to have their roots in the roles that groups and individuals played during the years of communist rule and the struggle for independence.
As the most prosperous republic of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia emerged from its brief ten-day war of secession in 1991 as an independent nation for the first time in its history. Since that time, the country has made steady but cautious progress toward developing a market economy. Economic reforms introduced shortly after independence led to healthy economic growth. Despite the halting pace of reform and signs of slowing GDP growth today, Slovenians now enjoy the highest per capita income of all the transition economies of central Europe.
The Slovenians have pursued internal economic restructuring with caution. The first phase of privatization (socially owned property under the SFRY system) is now complete, and sales of remaining large state holdings are planned for next year. Trade has been diversified toward the West (trade with EU countries make up 66% of total trade in 2000) and the growing markets of central and eastern Europe. Manufacturing accounts for most employment, with machinery and other manufactured products comprising the major exports. Labor force surveys put unemployment at approximately 6.6% (Dec. 2000), with 106,153 registrations for unemployment assistance. Inflation has remained below double-digit levels, 6.1% (1999) and 8.9% (2000). Gross domestic product grew by about 4.8% in 2000 and is expected to post a slightly lower rate of 4.5% in 2001, as export demand lags. The currency is stable, fully convertible, and backed by substantial reserves. The economy provides citizens with a good standard of living.
Ten years after independence, Slovenia has made tremendous progress establishing democratic institutions, enshrining respect for human rights, establishing a market economy and adapting its military to Western norms and standards. Following this path it became a Member State of the European Union in 2004. In contrast to its neighbors, civil tranquility and strong economic growth have marked this period. Upon achieving independence, Slovenia offered citizenship to all residents, regardless of ethnicity or origin, avoiding a sectarian trap that has caught out many central European countries. Slovenia willingly accepted refugees from the fighting in Bosnia and has since participated in international stabilization efforts in the region.
On the international front, Slovenia has advanced rapidly toward integration into the Euro-Atlantic community of nations. Slovenia has achieved two of its primary foreign policy goals: membership in the EU and NATO. Slovenia also participates in the Southeast Europe Cooperation Initiative (SECI).
Slovenia has been an active participant in Partnership for Peace (PfP) and has sought to demonstrate its preparedness to take on the responsibilities and burdens of membership in the Alliance. The United States looks to Slovenia to play a productive role in continuing security efforts throughout the region. It has done much– contributing to the success of IFOR, SFOR, efforts in Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and elsewhere– and has continued to expand actively its constructive regional engagement.
Slovenia is one of the focus countries for the United States' southeast European policy, aimed at reinforcing regional stability and integration. The Slovenian Government is well-positioned to be an influential role model for other southeast European governments at different stages of reform and integration. To these ends, the United States urges Slovenia to maintain momentum on internal economic, political, and legal reforms, while expanding their international cooperation as resources allow. Given Slovenia's membership of the EU, many of these reforms are now legally binding through European law. NATO and EU efforts to assist Slovenia's military restructuring and modernization efforts are ongoing.
Borut Pahor has held the position of president since 2012. In November 2017, Slovenian President Borut Pahor was re-elected for a second term in close election.[4]
Former prime minister Janez Jansa spent six months in prison in 2014 after being convicted on bribery charges related to a 2006 arms deal. Jansa had denied any wrongdoing.[5]
In June 2018, the center-right Slovenia Democratic Party (SDS) of former prime minister Janez Jansa won in the election. SDS secured 25 seats in the 90-seat parliament. A center-left party, The List of Marjan Sarec (LMS), was in second place with 13 seats.[6]
Prime Minister Marjan Sarec resigned in January 2020. He led a center-left minority government since the 2018 elections.[7]
In March 2020, Janez Janša became prime minister for third time in the new coalition government of SDS, the Modern Centre Party (SMC), New Slovenia (NSi) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS). Jansa had previously been prime minister from 2004 to 2008 and from 2012 to 2013.[8] Janez Janša was known as a right-wing populist and an outspoken supporter of former US President Donald Trump.[citation needed] Janša was also known as an ally of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary.[9][10]
The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. Following National Assembly elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually nominated to become prime minister by the president and elected by the National Assembly. The Council of Ministers is nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly.
Legislative branch
The National Assembly (Državni zbor) has 90 members, elected for a four-year term, 88 members elected by proportional representation using D'Hondt formula and 2 members elected by ethnic minorities using the Borda count.
The history of Slovenia chronicles the period of the Slovenian territory from the 5th century BC to the present. In the Early Bronze Age, Proto-Illyrian tribes settled an area stretching from present-day Albania to the city of Trieste. The Slovenian territory was part of the Roman Empire, and it was devastated by the Migration Period's incursions during late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. The main route from the Pannonian plain to Italy ran through present-day Slovenia. Alpine Slavs, ancestors of modern-day Slovenians, settled the area in the late 6th Century AD. The Holy Roman Empire controlled the land for nearly 1,000 years, and between the mid-14th century and 1918 most of Slovenia was under Habsburg rule. In 1918, most Slovene territory became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, and in 1929 the Drava Banovina was created within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with its capital in Ljubljana, corresponding to Slovenian-majority territories within the state. The Socialist Republic of Slovenia was created in 1945 as part of federal Yugoslavia. Slovenia gained its independence from Yugoslavia in June 1991, and today it is a member of the European Union and NATO.
The Slovenian Democratic Party, formerly the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia, is a conservative parliamentary party; it is also one of the largest parties in Slovenia, with approximately 30,000 reported members in 2013.
New Slovenia – Christian Democrats is a Christian-democratic and conservative political party in Slovenia. Since 2018, it is led by Matej Tonin. The party was formed on 4 August 2000 following a split in the unified Slovenian People's Party and Slovene Christian Democrats (SLS+SKD). NSi is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and in the European Parliament its MEP Ljudmila Novak sits with the EPP Group.
The Social Democrats is a centre-left and pro-European social-democratic political party in Slovenia led by Matjaž Han. From 1993 until 2005, the party was known as the United List of Social Democrats. It is the successor of the League of Communists of Slovenia. As of 2022, the party is a member of a three-party coalition government with Robert Golob's Freedom Movement alongside The Left, as well as a full member of the Party of European Socialists and Progressive Alliance.
Ivan Janša, baptized and best known as Janez Janša, is a Slovenian politician who served three times as a prime minister of Slovenia, a position he had held from 2004 to 2008, from 2012 to 2013, and from 2020 to 2022. Since 1993, Janša has led the Slovenian Democratic Party, which has emerged as the pre-eminent Slovenian conservative party. Janša lost his fourth bid for prime minister in April 2022, his party defeated by the Freedom Movement party.
Borut Pahor is a Slovenian politician who served as President of Slovenia from 2012 to 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Slovenia from 2008 to 2012.
Milan Zver is a Slovenian politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Slovenia. He is a member of the Slovenian Democratic Party, part of the European People's Party. He is the Vice-President of the Slovenian Democratic Party. He served as Minister of Education and Sports from 2004 to 2008.
Parliamentary elections were held in Slovenia on 4 December 2011 to elect the 90 deputies of the National Assembly. This was the first early election in Slovenia's history. The election was surprisingly won by the center-left Positive Slovenia party, led by Zoran Janković. However, he failed to be elected as the new Prime Minister in the National Assembly, and the new government was instead formed by a right-leaning coalition of five parties, led by Janez Janša, the president of the second-placed Slovenian Democratic Party. The voter turnout was 65.60%.
Parliamentary elections were held in Slovenia on 13 July 2014 to elect the 90 deputies of the National Assembly. The early election, less than three years after the previous one, was called following the resignation of Alenka Bratušek's government in May. Seventeen parties participated, including seven new parties, some of which formed only months before the election took place. Party of Miro Cerar (SMC), a new party led by lawyer and professor Miro Cerar, won the election with over 34% of the vote and 36 seats. Seven political parties won seats in the National Assembly. Three political parties left the Assembly, including Zoran Janković's Positive Slovenia, the winner of the 2011 election. A leftist United Left party entered the Assembly for the first time, winning six seats.
2014 European Parliament elections were held in Slovenia on 25 May 2014. It was the first in the series of three elections held in the 2014, and the major test leading up to the parliamentary elections in July. The political atmosphere was in a crisis that started with the fall of Borut Pahor's government, then Janez Janša's government in 2013, the latter coming after Janša was accused of corruption. The cabinet of Alenka Bratušek was breaking up, as the former leader of the Positive Slovenia Zoran Janković, who was under the suspicion of corruption, announced his candidature for party president, even though the coalition parties threatened to leave the government if he was to be elected, which later he was.
The 10th Government of Slovenia and the second one of Janez Janša was announced on 10 February 2012. It was formed after the 2011 Slovenian parliamentary election. It was the second government of Janez Janša, and so he became the second premier to return to the position, after Janez Drnovšek, who was Prime minister four times.
Parliamentary elections were held in Slovenia on 3 June 2018. The elections were originally expected to be held later in June 2018, but after the resignation of Prime Minister Miro Cerar on 14 March 2018 all parties called for snap elections. They were the third consecutive snap elections after 2011 and 2014.
Presidential elections were held in Slovenia on 22 October 2017. Nine candidates ran in the first round of the elections, in which the incumbent independent President Borut Pahor placed first and Marjan Šarec of the List of Marjan Šarec (LMŠ) placed second. No candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, resulting in a run-off between Pahor and that was held on 12 November 2017. Pahor won the run-off with 53% of the vote; voter turnout in the second round was 42.13%, the lowest in any presidential election since independence.
Marjan Šarec is a Slovenian politician, actor and comedian who served as prime minister of Slovenia from 2018 to 2020. He has served as the minister of defence in the government of Prime Minister Robert Golob since 1 June 2022.
The 8th National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia was elected in the 3 June 2018 Slovenian parliamentary elections. At the order of President Borut Pahor, it first convened on 22 June 2018. The assembly was in session during the outgoing 12th Government of Prime Minister Miro Cerar and elected the 13th and 14th governments. It was the fourth consecutive time in which centre-left and left-wing parties had a majority.
Parliamentary elections were held in Slovenia on 24 April 2022 to elect all 90 members of the National Assembly.
Anže Logar is a Slovenian politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the third Janša cabinet from March 2020 to June 2022.
The 14th Government of Slovenia was formed following the resignation of Prime Minister of the 13th Government Marjan Šarec in January 2020. Janez Janša of Slovenian Democratic Party formed a coalition with Modern Centre Party, New Slovenia, and Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia. The government was confirmed on 13 March 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Freedom Movement is a social-liberal political party in Slovenia. It was founded on 26 January 2022, as the successor of the Party of Green actions (Z.DEJ). At the January congress, Robert Golob was elected as the party's first president and the party received its new identity and name.
↑ "U-I-295/07-8" (in Slovenian). Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia. 22 October 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2010. S tega vidika lahko govorimo o nepopolni dvodomnosti slovenskega parlamenta, kajti po ustavnopravni teoriji se šteje za dvodomno vsaka ureditev, v kateri delujeta na področju zakonodajne funkcije dva organa, ne glede na to, kakšno razmerje je med njima.
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