 Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Slovenia conventional short form:Slovenia local long form:Republika Slovenija local short form:Slovenija former:People's Republic of Slovenia, Socialist Republic of Slovenia
Government type:
parliamentary republic
Capital:
name:Ljubljanageographic coordinates:46 03 N, 14 31 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:
200 municipalities (obcine, singular - obcina) and 11 urban municipalities (mestne obcine, singular - mestna obcina)
Independence:
25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday:
Independence Day/Statehood Day, 25 June (1991)
Constitution:
previous 1974 (preindependence); latest passed by legislature 23 December 1991; amended several times, last in 2013 (2013)
Legal system:
civil law system
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:President Borut PAHOR (since 22 December 2012)head of government:Interim Prime Minister Alenka BRATUSEK (since 5 March 2014) cabinet:Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly elections:president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 11 November and a run-off on 2 December 2012 (next to be held in 2017); following National Assembly elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition usually nominated to become prime minister by the president and elected by the National Assembly election results:Borut PAHOR elected president in run-off election; percent of vote - Borut PAHOR 67.4%, Danilo TURK 32.6%; on February 27, 2013 a no-confidence vote in Parliament resulted in Alenka BRATUSEK becoming prime minister designate; on 20 March 2013 BRATUSEK became prime minister (Slovenia's first female prime minister) after her cabinet was approved note:Alenka BRATUSEK resigned 5 May 2014; snap elections will be held 13 July 2014
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of a National Council or Drzavni Svet (40 seats; members indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve five-year terms; note - this is primarily an advisory body with limited legislative powers; it may propose laws, ask to review any National Assembly decision, and call national referenda) and the National Assembly or Drzavni Zbor (90 seats; 88 members are elected on a proportional basis and 2 are elected by the Italian and Hungarian minorities through a majoritarian, preferential system; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)elections:National Assembly - last held on 4 December 2011 (next to be held in 2015) election results:percent of vote by party - PS 28.6%, SDS 26.2%, SD 10.5%, LGV 8.4%, DeSUS 7%, SLS 6.9%, NSi 4.8%, other 7.6%; seats by party - PS 28, SDS 26, SD 10, LGV 8, DeSUS 6, SLS 6, NSi 4, Hungarian minority 1, Italian minority 1
Judicial branch:
highest court(s):Supreme Court (consists of the court president and 37 judges organized into 7 departments - civil, criminal, commercial, labor and social security, administrative, registry, and international cooperation); Constitutional Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and 7 judges)judge selection and term of office:Supreme Court president and vice president appointed by the National Assembly upon the proposal of the Minister of Justice based on the opinions of the Judicial Council, an 11-member independent body elected by the National Assembly from proposals submitted by the president, attorneys, law universities, and sitting judges; other Supreme Court judges elected by the National Assembly from candidates proposed by the Judicial Council; Supreme Court judge term NA; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the National Assembly from nominations by the president of the republic; Constitutional Court president selected from among their own for a 3-year term; other judges elected for single 9-year terms subordinate courts:county, district, regional, and high courts; specialized labor-related and social courts; Court of Audit; Administrative Court
| | Political parties and leaders:
Civic List or DL [Gregor VIRANT] (formerly LGV)Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia or DeSUS [Karl ERJAVEC] New Slovenia or NSi [Ljudmila NOVAK] Positive Slovenia or PS [Alenka BRATUSEK (interim)] Slovene People's Party or SLS [Radovan ZERJAV] Slovenian Democratic Party or SDS [Janez JANSA] Social Democrats or SD [Igor LUKSIC] (formerly ZLSD)
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Slovenian Roma Association [Jozek Horvat MUC]; various trade and public sector employee unions
International organization participation:
Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:Ambassador Bozo CERAR (since 6 September 2013)chancery:2410 California Street N.W., Washington, DC 20008 telephone:[1] (202) 386-6601 FAX:[1] (202) 386-6633 consulate(s) general:Cleveland, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:Ambassador Joseph A. MUSSOMELI (since 29 October 2010)embassy:Presernova 31, 1000 Ljubljana mailing address:American Embassy Ljubljana, US Department of State, 7140 Ljubljana Place, Washington, DC 20521-7140 telephone:[386] (1) 200-5500 FAX:[386] (1) 200-5555
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red, derive from the medieval coat of arms of the Duchy of Carniola; the Slovenian seal (a shield with the image of Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak, in white against a blue background at the center; beneath it are two wavy blue lines depicting seas and rivers, and above it are three six-pointed stars arranged in an inverted triangle, which are taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje, the great Slovene dynastic house of the late 14th and early 15th centuries) appears in the upper hoist side of the flag centered on the white and blue bands
National symbol(s):
Mount Triglav
National anthem:
name:'Zdravljica' (A Toast)
lyrics/music:France PRESEREN/Stanko PREMRL note:adopted 1989; the anthem was originally written in 1848; the full poem, whose seventh verse is used as the anthem, speaks of pan-Slavic nationalism |