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GovernmentCountry 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) Constitution
Ratified 1 September 1992, effective 1 January 1993; changed 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; note - legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal system International law organization participation
Accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction 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 April 2012); Deputy Prime Ministers Robert KALINAK, Peter KAZIMIR, Miroslav LAJCAK (since 4 April 2012) Cabinet Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister 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 10 March 2012 (next to be held in 2016) Election results Percent of vote by party - Smer-SD 44.4%, KDH 8.8%, OLaNO 8.6%, Most-Hid 6.9%, SDKU-DS 6.1%, SaS 5.9%, other 19.3%; seats by party - Smer-SD 83, KDH 16, OLaNO 16, Most-Hid 13, SDKU-DS 11, SaS 11 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
Parties in the Parliament
Bridge or Most-Hid [Bela BUGAR]; Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Jan FIGEL]; Direction-Social Democracy or Smer-SD [Robert FICO]; Freedom and Solidarity or SaS [Richard SULIK]; Ordinary People and Independent Personalities or OLaNO [Igor MATOVIC]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-Democratic Party or SDKU-DS [Mikulas DZURINDA] Selected parties outside the Parliament Civic Conservative Party or OKS [Peter ZAJAC]; Nation and Justice - Our Party or NAS [Anna BELOUSOVOVA]; Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Marek BLAHA]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Jozsef BERENYI]; People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia or LS-HZDS [Vladimir MECIAR]; People's Party - Our Slovakia or LSNS [Marian KOTLEBA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Jan SLOTA] 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; Medical Trade Association or LOZ; 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, ECB, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, 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, SELEC (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) 237-1054FAX [1] (202) 237-6438 Consulate(s) general Los Angeles, New York Diplomatic representation from the us
Chief of mission Ambassador Theodore SEDGWICK
Embassy Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava Mailing address P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava Telephone [421] (2) 5443-3338FAX [421] (2) 5441-8861 Flag description
Three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red derive from the Pan-Slav 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 Note The Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia National symbol(s)
Double-barred cross (Cross of Lorraine) surmounting three peaks National anthem
Name
"Nad Tatrou sa blyska" (Storm Over the Tatras) Lyrics/music Janko MATUSKA/traditionalNote Adopted 1993, in use since 1844; the anthem's music is based on the Slovak folk song "Kopala studienku"
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Slovakia (Bratislava):
 
GPS points from Slovakia (Bratislava)
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Slovakia's roots can be traced to the 9th century state of Great Moravia. Subsequently, the Slovaks became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where they remained for the next 1,000 years. Following the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867, language and education policies favoring the use of Hungarian (Magyarization) resulted in a strengthening of Slovak nationalism and a cultivation of cultural ties with the closely related Czechs, who were themselves ruled by the Austrians. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I, the Slovaks joined the 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.