Country 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)
National holiday:
Constitution Day, 1 September (1992)
Constitution:
several previous (preindependence); latest passed by legislature 1 September 1992, signed 3 September 1992, effective 1 October 1992; amended several times, last in 2014; note - an amendment passed by the National Council failed in a national referendum held in early 2015 (2015)
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
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Slovakia
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Andrej KISKA (since 15 June 2014)
head of government: Prime Minister Robert FICO (since 4 April 2012); Deputy Prime Ministers Robert KALINAK, Peter KAZIMIR, Miroslav LAJCAK (since 4 April 2012), Lubomir VAZNY (since 26 November 2012)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held in 2 rounds on 15 and 29 March 2014 (next to be held in March 2019); following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president
election results: Andrej KISKA elected president; percent of vote in second round - Andrej KISKA (independent) 59.4%, Robert FICO (Smer-SD) 40.6%
Legislative branch:
description: unicameral National Council or Narodna Rada (150 seats; members directly elected in a single national constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 10 March 2012 (next to be held in March 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:
highest court(s): Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic (consists of 84 judges - as of 2015 - organized into criminal, civil, commercial, and administrative divisions with 3- and 5-judge panels; Constitutional Court (consists of 13 judges)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judge candidates proposed by the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic, a 17-member independent body to include the Supreme Court chief justice and presidential and governmental appointees; judges appointed by the president for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; Constitutional Court judges nominated by the National Council of the Republic and appointed by the president; judges appointed for 12-year terms
subordinate courts: regional and district civil courts; Higher Military Court; military district courts; Court of Audit
Political parties and leaders:
parties in the Parliament:
Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Jan FIGEL]
Direction-Social Democracy or Smer-SD [Robert FICO]
Most-Hid or Bridge [Bela BUGAR]
Ordinary People and Independent Personalities or OLaNO [Igor MATOVIC]
selected parties outside the Parliament:
Civic Conservative Party or OKS [Ondrej DOSTAL]
Freedom and Solidarity or SaS [Richard SULIK]
Nation and Justice - Our Party or NAS [Anna BELOUSOVOVA]
Network or Siet [Radoslav PROCHAZKA]
New Majority or NOVA [Daniel LIPSIC]
Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Jozsef BERENYI]
People's Party - Our Slovakia or LSNS [Marian KOTLEBA]
Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-Democratic Party or SDKU-DS [Pavol FRESO]
Slovak National Party or SNS [Andrej DANKO]
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 or AZZZ
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), CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), 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 (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Peter KMEC (since 17 September 2012)
chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054
FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438
consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Charge d’Affaires J. Liam WASLEY (since September 2015)
embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava
mailing address: P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava
telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338
FAX: [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 double-barred cross of St. Cyril and St. Methodius 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 St. Cyril and St. Methodius) surmounting three peaks; national colors: white, blue, red
National anthem:
name: "Nad Tatrou sa blyska" (Lightning Over the Tatras)
lyrics/music: Janko MATUSKA/traditional
note: adopted 1993, in use since 1844; music based on the Slovak folk song "Kopala studienku"
NOTE: The information regarding Slovakia on this page is re-published from the 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Slovakia Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Slovakia Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 27-Apr-16