| Country name: |
conventional long form:
Slovak Republic
conventional short form:
Slovakia
local long form:
Slovenska Republika
local short form:
Slovensko
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| Government type: |
parliamentary democracy
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| Administrative divisions: |
8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky
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| Independence: |
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
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| National holiday: |
Constitution Day, 1 September (1992)
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| 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
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| 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
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| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal
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| 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
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| 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)
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| 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)
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| 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]
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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