Slovenia–United States relations

Last updated
Slovenia – United States relations
Slovenia USA Locator.svg
Flag of Slovenia.svg
Slovenia 		Flag of the United States.svg
United States
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Slovenia, Washington, D.C. Embassy of the United States, Ljubljana

The United States has maintained an official presence in Slovenia since the early 1970s, when the United States Information Agency (USIS) opened a library and American press and cultural center in Ljubljana. From its opening through 1992, the American Center worked to develop closer grassroots relations between the United States and the people of the then-Socialist Republic of Slovenia, a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On December 23, 1990, the Slovene people voted in a plebiscite to separate from greater Yugoslavia. On June 25, 1991, the new Republic of Slovenia officially declared its independence from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. A 10-day war commenced, during which Slovenian territorial troops fought off incursions by the Yugoslav People's Army. The United States formally recognized the new republic on April 7, 1992. To develop U.S. diplomatic relations with the new state, the United States opened a new Embassy in Ljubljana in August 1992. From the departure of Yousif Ghafari in January 2009 till November 2010, the U.S. Ambassador position was vacant. From November 2010 to 2015 it was held by Joseph A. Mussomeli. The Ambassador position is currently held by Jamie Harpootlian.

Contents

According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 26% of Slovenes approve of U.S. leadership, with 52% disapproving and 22% uncertain. [1]

During the 2017-2021 presidency of Donald Trump, the Slovenia-born Melania Trump was the First Lady of the United States.

Diplomacy and politics

Embassy of Slovenia in Washington, D.C. Embassy of Slovenia, Washington.jpg
Embassy of Slovenia in Washington, D.C.
Embassy of the United States in Ljubljana US embassy Ljubljana.JPG
Embassy of the United States in Ljubljana

Slovenian and American heads of state have exchanged several visits since Slovenia's independence, including George W. Bush's visit in June 2008 for the European Union-U.S. summit during Slovenia's EU Presidency. A meeting on the highest level between Slovenia and the United States happened in Prague in April 2010, when the President of the United States Barack Obama and the Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor attended a formal dinner of the leaders of the Central and Eastern Europe. Pahor called attention to the security situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Afghanistan and thanked the United States for its continuing support in strengthening trust among the Western Balkans leaders. [2]

On 28 November 2010, the New York Times media company published information acquired by WikiLeaks that in 2009, the United States officials offered Slovenia a meeting with Barack Obama under the condition that the country accepts one of the Guantanamo Bay detainees. [3] [4] According to the data published by Tableau Software, there were 947 leaked cables related to Slovenia. [5] On 29 November 2010, the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied any conditioning of the State Department with the acceptance of the Guantanamo detainees and said the cable mentioning the bargain is unknown to them. [6] Slovenian media reported the Government of Slovenia had been discussing the acceptance of one Guantanamo detainee and that it had been in the process of preparing the legislation needed to allow it to accept detainees from Guantanamo. [7] [8] The ambassador Mussomeli stated there was no bargaining among the states. [9]

On 7 February 2011, the Slovenian Prime Minister Pahor started his visit in the United States. In the three-day visit he met several Democrats, among them Tom Harkin and Joseph Biden and met for a short time with the President Barack Obama in the White House. He also met with several businessmen and held a lecture on the Johns Hopkins University about the relations between the United States and the European Union. The conversations with American politicians regarded the economic development in the United States and in Slovenia. The bilateral relations were assessed as very constructive. Pahor was accompanied by the Slovenian foreign minister Samuel Žbogar who on 11 February attended the discussion in the United Nations Security Council about safeguarding international peace and security and met with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon. [10]

Economy

The United States is Slovenia's largest non-European trading partner. The U.S. imported $699.7 million of goods from Slovenia, and exported $305.5 million in 2014. Under the Support for Eastern European Democracy (SEED) Act, the U.S. provided technical assistance on enterprise competitiveness, banking and pension reform, competition policy, and debt restructuring. Reflecting the progress Slovenia has made in these areas, Slovenia was among the first transition countries to "graduate" from the SEED program. Slovenia is a member of the European Union and trade relations are subject to Slovenian, EU, and U.S. law.

Military

Slovenia contributed assistance to the United States and NATO by facilitating the deployment of the Implementation Force and subsequently contributed helicopters, medical personnel, military police, and an infantry company to the Stabilisation Force (SFOR) and continues to be active in the European Union Force. The United States supported Slovenia's accession to NATO in March 2004 and continues to work with the Slovenian military to promote greater cooperation and interoperability with NATO forces. The U.S. European Command provides a liaison team that works with the Ministry of Defense full-time to develop greater familiarity with NATO structures and procedures. As of June 2008, Slovenia had 34 troops deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ALTHEA, EUFOR, Joint Enterprise, NATO), 363 troops in the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR), 65 Slovenian personnel with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan, 2 instructors to the NATO Training Mission in Iraq, 14 troops in Lebanon (UNIFIL), 3 in Syria (UNTSO), 15 at the EU Mission in Chad, and 1 in the U.S. (CENTCOM, NATO). With strong U.S. support, Slovenia has developed the International Trust Fund as the demining instrument of choice in the Balkans and is expanding operations to include the Caucasus.

Slovenia also participates in several of the U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation's programs. The State Partnership Program allows access to experts within the state of Colorado on the full range of military-to-military, military-to-civilian and civilian-to-civilian activities between Slovenia and the U.S. The International Military Education and Training program provides military education and training in a professional and non-political manner, exposing foreign students to US professional military organizations. Training through the IMET program has been available to Slovenian Ministry of Defense employees and members of Slovenian Armed forces since 1993. To date, several hundred students have been trained in the US and in various seminars organized in Slovenia. Slovenia has also been an active participant in the U.S. Service Academies, a four-year military officer program, with 5 Military, 2 Air Force and 1 Naval Academy graduates in the Slovene Armed Forces.

Travel and education

In October 1997, Slovenia joined the group of countries whose citizens enjoy the privilege of visa-free travel to the United States and American travelers receive mutual benefits in Slovenia. Approximately 17,000 Slovenes travel to the U.S. each year and an estimated 20,000 Americans visit Slovenia.

The Fulbright Program, funded by the U.S. government, sends 6-8 scholars and students to Slovenia from the U.S. every year, and hosts 6-8 scholars and students from Slovenia in the U.S.

Culture

Benjamin Franklin's book Poor Richard's Almanack was the first translation of an English text into Slovene. [11] It was translated in 1812 by Janez Nepomuk Primic (1785–1823). [12] In the first half of the 19th century, the Slovenes came into their first true encounter with America and the United States by the writings of the missionary Frederick Baraga (1797–1868), active among the Ojibwe Indians in Michigan. [11] In 1853, just one year after its original publication, two independent translations of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin were independently published by the writer Franc Malavašič in Ljubljana and the priest Janez Božič in Graz. [13] These started the since-then uninterrupted dialogue between American authors and Slovene translators and readers. [11]

See also

Notes

1. ^ Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook. Retrieved on 2009-02-25.
2. ^ U.S. Embassy Ljubljana. Retrieved on 2009-03-09.
3. ^ Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, Washington. Retrieved on 2009-03-09.
4. ^ U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2015-02-10.
5. ^ U.S. Department of State. Retrieved on 2009-03-09.
6. ^ Office of Defense Cooperation Slovenia. Retrieved on 2009-03-09.

Related Research Articles

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. Between the mid-14th century through 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 politics of Slovenia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Slovenia is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Government of Slovenia. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly and in minor part in the National Council. The judiciary of Slovenia is independent of the executive and the legislature. Slovenia is a Member State of the European Union and is represented in the Council of the EU and through elections to the European Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janez Drnovšek</span> Former President and Prime Minister of Slovenia

Janez Drnovšek was a Slovenian liberal politician, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1989–1990), Prime Minister of Slovenia and President of Slovenia (2002–2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimitrij Rupel</span> Slovenian politician (born 1946)

Dimitrij Rupel is a Slovenian politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris Pahor</span> Slovenian writer (1913–2022)

Boris Pahor, OMRI was a Slovene novelist from Trieste, Italy, who was best known for his heartfelt descriptions of life as a member of the Slovenian minority in pre–Second World War increasingly fascist Italy as well as a Nazi concentration camp survivor. In his novel Necropolis he visits the Natzweiler-Struthof camp twenty years after his relocation to Dachau. Following Dachau, he was relocated three more times: to Mittelbau-Dora, to Harzungen, and finally to Bergen-Belsen, which was liberated on 15 April 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janez Janša</span> Slovenian politician (born 1958)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borut Pahor</span> 4th President of Slovenia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation</span> Anti-fascist Slovene civil resistance and political organization during WWII

The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation, or simply Liberation Front, originally called the Anti-Imperialist Front, was a Slovene anti-fascist political party. The Anti-Imperialist Front had ideological ties to the Soviet Union in its fight against the imperialistic tendencies of the United States and the United Kingdom, and it was led by the Communist Party of Slovenia. In May 1941, weeks into the German occupation of Yugoslavia, in the first wartime issue of the illegal newspaper Slovenski poročevalec, members of the organization criticized the German regime and described Germans as imperialists. They started raising money for a liberation fund via the second issue of the newspaper published on 8 June 1941. When Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the Anti-Imperialist Front was formally renamed and became the main anti-fascist Slovene civil resistance and political organization under the guidance and control of the Slovene communists. It was active in the Slovene Lands during World War II. Its military arm was the Slovene Partisans. The organisation was established in the Province of Ljubljana on 26 April 1941 in the house of the literary critic Josip Vidmar. Its leaders were Boris Kidrič and Edvard Kardelj.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Erjavec</span> Slovenian lawyer and politician

Karl Viktor Erjavec is a Slovenian lawyer and politician who served in the government of Slovenia as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2018. He was the president of the Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia, having held the position from 2005 to January 2020 and again from December 2020 until March 2021. He was Minister of Defense from 2004 to 2008 and 2018 to 2020 and Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning from 2008 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatia–Slovenia relations</span> Bilateral relations

The foreign relations between Croatia and Slovenia are bound together by shared history, neighboring geography and common political ideologies. Both states established diplomatic relations in 1992, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the independence of Croatia. Modern relations are warm and friendly. The two states have disputes over their border and sovereign rights over certain nuclear and economic assets. The countries share 670 km (420 mi) of common border. They are perennially each other's largest trading partners on an import-export basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russia–Slovenia relations</span> Bilateral relations

Russia–Slovenia relations are foreign relations between Russia and Slovenia. Both countries established diplomatic relations on 25 May 1992. Russia has an embassy in Ljubljana. Slovenia has an embassy in Moscow and two honorary consulates. Until 2022, Russia had five honorary consuls in Slovenia, but Slovenia withdrew its consent to the appointments due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia (ARS) are the national archives of Slovenia. They were created in 1945, but have their origins in 1773. They are supervised by the Slovenian Ministry of Culture. They are located in the Gruber Palace in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Since March 2012, the archive's executive director has been Jože Dežman, who replaced Dragan Matić.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Žbogar</span> Slovenian diplomat and politician

Samuel Žbogar is a Slovenian diplomat and politician who is the EU Special Representative in North Macedonia. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia from 2008 to 2012. He is currently acting Minister for Development Cooperation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexico–Slovenia relations</span> Bilateral relations

The nations of Mexico and Slovenia established diplomatic relations in 1992. Both nations are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatia–Slovenia border disputes</span>

Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Slovenia and Croatia became independent countries. As the border between the countries had not been determined in detail prior to independence, several parts of the border were disputed, both on land and at the sea, namely in the Gulf of Piran.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia exercises executive authority in Slovenia pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of Slovenia. It is also the highest administrative authority in Slovenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slovene Partisans</span> Slovene part of the Communist-led Yugoslav World War II resistance movement

The Slovene Partisans, formally the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Slovenia, were part of Europe's most effective anti-Nazi resistance movement led by Yugoslav revolutionary communists during World War II, the Yugoslav Partisans. Since a quarter of Slovene ethnic territory and approximately 327,000 out of total population of 1.3 million Slovenes were subjected to forced Italianization after the end of the First World War, and genocide of the entire Slovene nation was being planned by the Italian fascist authorities, the objective of the movement was the establishment of the state of Slovenes that would include the majority of Slovenes within a socialist Yugoslav federation in the postwar period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India–Slovenia relations</span> Bilateral relations

India–Slovenia relations are the bilateral relations between India and Slovenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Slovenian parliamentary election</span>

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.

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Global Leadership Project Report - 2012 Gallup
  2. ↑ "Prime Minister Borut Pahor meets US President Barack Obama in Prague". Office of the Prime Minister. 9 April 2010.
  3. ↑ "Cables Obtained by WikiLeaks Shine Light Into Secret Diplomatic Channels". New York Times. 28 November 2010.
  4. ↑ "WikiLeaks omenja tudi Slovenijo: Če bi sprejeli ujetnika iz Guantanama, bi Pahor lahko obiskal Obamo" [WikiLeaks mentions Slovenia too: If we would accept a detainee from Guantanamo, Pahor could visit Obama] (in Slovenian). 29 November 2010.
  5. ↑ "Skoraj 1000 depeš o Sloveniji" [Almost 1,000 cables about Slovenia?] (in Slovenian). 29 November 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ "MZZ: ZDA niso pogojevale obiska slovenskega premierja" [Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The United States did not Condition the Visit of the Slovenian Prime Minister] (in Slovenian). MMC RTV Slovenija. 29 November 2010.
  7. ↑ "Pahor: Obama ni pogojeval mojega obiska" [Pahor: Obama did not condition my visit] (in Slovenian). MMC RTV Slovenija. 29 November 2010.
  8. ↑ "Začetek objave zaupnih dokumentov" [Beginning of the Publication of Classified Papers] (in Slovenian). Žurnal24. 29 November 2010.
  9. ↑ "Veleposlanik ZDA: Vaš premier je časten človek" [The Ambassador of the USA: Your Prime Minister is an Honorable Man] (in Slovenian). MMC RTV Slovenia. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  10. ↑ "Foto: Pahor segel Obami v roke" [Photo: Pahor Shakes Hands with Obama] (in Slovenian). MMC RTV Slovenia. 9 February 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 Mazi-Leskovar, Darja (May 2003). "Domestication and Foreignization in Translating American Prose for Slovenian Children". Meta: Translators' Journal. 48 (1–2). Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal: 250–265. doi:10.7202/006972ar. ISSN   1492-1421.
  12. ↑ "Janez Nepomuk Primic in ustanovitev stolice za slovenski jezik na liceju v Gradcu 1811" [Janez Nepomuk Primic and the Establishment of the Chair of Slovene at the Lyzeum in Graz in 1811](PDF). Slavistična revija [Journal of Slavic Linguistics] (in Slovenian and English). 50 (1). January–March 2002. ISSN   1855-7570.
  13. ↑ Drnovšek, Marjan (1998). Usodna privlačnost Amerike: pričevanja izseljencev o prvih stikih z novim svetom[The Fatal Attractiveness of America: The Testimonies of Expatriates About the First Contacts with the New World]. Korenine (in Slovenian). Nova revija. ISBN   961-6017-56-X. COBISS   73608960.

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Relations of Slovenia and the United States at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.