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The Slovene lands were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the latter's dissolution at the end of World War I. In 1918, the Slovenes joined the Serbs and Croats in forming a new multinational state, which was named Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II, Slovenia became a republic of the renewed Yugoslavia, which though communist, distanced itself from Moscow's rule. Dissatisfied with the exercise of power by the majority Serbs, the Slovenes succeeded in establishing their independence in 1991 after a short 10-day war. Historical ties to Western Europe, a strong economy, and a stable democracy have assisted in Slovenia's transformation to a modern state. Slovenia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the eurozone in 2007.
a short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an alpine mountain region adjacent to Italy and Austria, mixed mountains and valleys with numerous rivers to the east
Sava River polluted with domestic and industrial waste; pollution of coastal waters with heavy metals and toxic chemicals; forest damage near Koper from air pollution (originating at metallurgical and chemical plants) and resulting acid rain
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Slovenian (official) 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4%, Italian (official, only in municipalities where Italian national communities reside), Hungarian (official, only in municipalities where Hungarian national communities reside) (2002 census)
elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 11 November and a runoff on 2 December 2012 (next presidential election 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; 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; BRATUSEK became prime minister (Slovenia's first female prime minister) on 20 March 2013 after her cabinet was approved
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
Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the Judicial Council); Constitutional Court (judges elected for nine-year terms by the National Assembly and nominated by the president)
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)
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
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
Slovenia became the first 2004 European Union entrant to adopt the euro (on 1 January 2007) and has experienced one of the most stable political and economic transitions in Central and Southeastern Europe. With the highest per capita GDP in Central Europe, Slovenia has excellent infrastructure, a well-educated work force, and a strategic location between the Balkans and Western Europe. Privatization has lagged since 2002, and the economy has one of the highest levels of state control in the EU. Structural reforms to improve the business environment have allowed for somewhat greater foreign participation in Slovenia's economy and helped to lower unemployment. In March 2004, Slovenia became the first transition country to graduate from borrower status to donor partner at the World Bank. In 2007, Slovenia was invited to begin the process for joining the OECD; it became a member in 2012. Despite its economic success, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovenia has lagged behind the region average, and taxes remain relatively high. Furthermore, the labor market is often seen as inflexible, and legacy industries are losing sales to more competitive firms in China, India, and elsewhere. In 2009, the global recession caused the economy to contract - through falling exports and industrial production - by 8%, and unemployment to rise. Although growth resumed in 2010, it dipped into negative territory in 2012 and the unemployment rate continued to rise, approaching 12% in 2012.
note:defined by the EU's Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value, outstanding at the end of the year in the following categories of government liabilities: currency and deposits, securities other than shares excluding financial derivatives, and loans; general government sector comprises the subsectors: central government, state government, local government, and social security funds
note:see entry for the European Union for money supply in the euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 17 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders
ferrous metallurgy and aluminum products, lead and zinc smelting; electronics (including military electronics), trucks, automobiles, electric power equipment, wood products, textiles, chemicals, machine tools
public TV broadcaster, Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV), operates a system of national and regional TV stations; 35 domestic commercial TV stations operating nationally, regionally, and locally; about 60% of households are connected to multi-channel cable TV; public radio broadcaster operates 3 national and 4 regional stations; more than 75 regional and local commercial and non-commercial radio stations (2007)
Slovenian Armed Forces (Slovenska Vojska, SV): Forces Command (with ground units, naval element, air and air defense brigade); Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (ACPDR) (2013)
the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of Piran Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains unratified and in dispute; Slovenia also protests Croatia's 2003 claim to an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Slovenia has implemented the strict Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia
The online Factbook is updated weekly. ISSN 1553-8133
For additional information on government leaders in selected foreign countries, go to World Leaders.
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