Politics and Government
Slovakia is a parliamentary democratic republic with a multi-party system. The last parliamentary elections were held on 10 March 2012 and two rounds of presidential elections took place on 21 March 2009 and 4 April 2009.
The Slovak head of state is the president (currently Ivan Gašparovič), elected by direct popular vote for a five-year term. Most executive power lies with the head of government, the prime minister (currently Robert Fico), who is usually the leader of the winning party, but he/she needs to form a majority coalition in the parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the president. The remainder of the cabinet is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister.
Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic (Národná rada Slovenskej republiky). Delegates are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation. Slovakia's highest judicial body is the Constitutional Court of Slovakia (Ústavný súd), which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by parliament.
Slovakia has been a member state of the European Union and NATO since 2004. As a member of the United Nations (since 1993), Slovakia was, on 10 October 2005, elected to a two-year term on the UN Security Council from 2006 to 2007. Slovakia is also a member of WTO, OECD, OSCE, and other international organizations.
The Constitution of the Slovak Republic was ratified 1 September 1992, and became effective 1 January 1993). It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements. The civil law system is based on Austro-Hungarian codes. The legal code was modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge the Marxist-Leninist legal theory. Slovakia accepts the compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction with reservations.
The president is the head of state and the formal head of the executive, though with very limited powers. The president is elected by direct, popular vote under the two-round system for a five-year term.
Following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president. Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister has to receive the majority in the parliament.
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Ivan Gašparovič | Movement for Democracy | 15 June 2004 |
| Prime Minister | Robert Fico | SMER-SD | 4 April 2012 |
| Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic | Pavol Paška | SMER-SD | 4 April 2012 |
| Deputy Speakers of the National Council of the Slovak Republic | Jurinová Erika Ján Figeľ Jana Laššáková Renáta Zmajkovičová |
Obyčajní ľudia a nezávislé osobnosti KDH SMER-SD SMER-SD |
4 April 2012 4 April 2012 4 April 2012 4 April 2012 |
Read more about this topic: Slovak Government 1994-1998
Famous quotes containing the words politics and/or government:
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—Richard M. Nixon (1913–1995)
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—Charles Louis de Secondat Montesquieu (1689–1755)