GOVERNMENT
Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic. Delegates are elected for 4-year terms on the basis of proportional representation. The Slovak political scene supports a wide spectrum of political parties, including several social democratic parties and the nationalistic Slovak National Party.
In January
1999, Parliament passed a constitutional amendment allowing for
direct election of the president. Kosice Mayor Rudolf Schuster
was elected president in a May 1999 run-off with former Prime
Minister Meciar and took office on June 15, 1999. On April 17,
2004, Ivan Gasparovic, a former Meciar deputy, was elected president;
he was inaugurated on June 15, 2004. Virtually all executive powers
of government belong to the prime minister, but the president
does serve as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, can grant
pardons, and has the right to return legislation to Parliament.
Parliament, however, can override this veto with a simple majority
of the 150 members of Parliament.
The country's
highest appellate forum is the Supreme Court; below that are regional,
district, and military courts. In certain cases the law provides
for decisions of tribunals of judges to be attended by lay judges
from the citizenry. Slovakia also has a special Constitutional
Court, which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of
this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates
nominated by Parliament.
In
2002, Parliament passed legislation that created a Judicial Council.
This 18-member council, composed of judges, law professors, and
other legal experts, is now responsible for the nomination of
judges. All judges, except those of the Constitutional Court,
are appointed by the president from a list proposed by the Judicial
Council. The Council also is responsible for appointing Disciplinary
Senates in cases of judicial misconduct.
Principal
Government Officials
President--Ivan Gasparovic
Prime Minister--Robert Fico
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Jan Kubis
Ambassador to the United States--Rastislav Kacer
Ambassador to the United Nations--Peter Burian
Ambassador to NATO--Igor Slobodnik
Ambassador to the European Union--Maros Sefcovic
The
Slovak Republic has an embassy
in the United States, located at 3523 International Court, NW,
Washington, DC, 20008.
Slovakia
maintains a permanent mission to the United Nations in New York
and 10 honorary consulates in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Denver,
Kansas City, Indianapolis, Miami, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and
San Francisco. Slovakia opened a consulate general in New York
in September 2003 and plans to open another in Los Angeles in
late 2004.
Type: Parliamentary democracy.
Independence: The Slovak Republic was established January 1, 1993 (former Czechoslovak Republic established 1918).
Constitution: Signed September 3, 1992.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--National Council of the Slovak Republic (150 seats). Judicial--Supreme Court, Constitutional Court.
Political parties: Distribution of the 150 parliamentary seats is SMER (Direction) 50 seats; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) 31 seats; Slovak National Party (SNS) 20 seats; Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) 20 seats; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) 15 seats; Christian-Democratic Movement (KDH) 14 seats. Other parties include Alliance of New Citizens; Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS); Freedom Forum (SF); People's Union (LU).
Suffrage: Universal at 18 years.
Administrative divisions: Eight administrative regions, 79 districts.
