Slovakia
Slovakia, 1993 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
Slovakia became an independent democratic state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia, sometimes referred to as the Velvet Divorce. The first president of the Slovak Republic became Michal Kováč, elected by the National Council of Slovakia in February 1993. Slovakia became a member of OECD on 14 December 2000, NATO on 29 March 2004 and of the European Union on 1 May 2004. Slovakia joined the Schengen area on 21 December 2007 and adopted the Euro as its national currency on 1 January 2009.
Seat of power: Bratislava
Rulers
Michal Kováč
President of Slovakia, 1993–1998
Kováč was elected president by the National Council of Slovakia in February 1993 and inaugurated on 2 March 1993. Kováč's term ended on 2 March 1998.
Portrait of Michal Kováč: Bodajozef, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Mikuláš Dzurinda
President of Slovakia, 1998–1999
Dzurinda was appointed as prime minister for the first time in October 1998, leading five opposition parties united as the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) and defeating the government of Vladimír Mečiar at the polls. Under Dzurinda's leadership Slovakia managed to re-enter integration processes and registered a political comeback in relations both with the European Union and trans-Atlantic economic and political structures. The success of the reforms put through by his cabinet were best reflected in Slovakia's entry into the OECD in September 2000, completion of accession negotiations with the European Union and the entry of major investors into the Slovak market.
Portrait of Mikuláš Dzurinda: European People's Party, CC BY 2.0, file
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Ivan Gašparovič
President of Slovakia, 1998–1998
He became Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NRSR) after the victory of the HZDS in the June 1992 elections.
Portrait of Ivan Gašparovič: Michał Koziczyński, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, file
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Vladimír Mečiar
President of Slovakia, 1998–1998
Vladimír Mečiar served as the prime minister of Slovakia from June 1990 to May 1991, June 1992 to March 1994, and again from December 1994 to October 1998. Mečiar led Slovakia during the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992–93.
Portrait of Vladimír Mečiar: Péter Kamocsai, Public domain, file
Rudolf Schuster
President of Slovakia, 1999–2004
Rudolf Schuster served as the second president of Slovakia from 1999 to 2004. He was elected on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated on 15 June. In the presidential elections of April 2004, in which he sought re-election, Schuster was defeated.
Ivan Gašparovič
President of Slovakia, 2004–2014
Ivan Gašparovič became the third president of Slovakia in 2004 and in 2009 became the first and the only Slovak re-elected president. In April 2004 Gašparovič decided to run for the presidency against Vladimír Mečiar and the then governing coalition's candidate Eduard Kukan.
Portrait of Ivan Gašparovič: Michał Koziczyński, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, file
Andrej Kiska
President of Slovakia, 2014–2019
He ran as an independent candidate in the 2014 presidential election in which he was elected to the presidency in the second round of voting over Prime Minister Robert Fico. Kiska declined to run for a second term in 2019.
Portrait of Andrej Kiska: Katarzyna Czerwińska, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, file
Zuzana Čaputová
President of Slovakia, 2019–2024
She won the 2019 Slovak presidential election with 58% of the vote in the run-off. Čaputová is the first woman to hold the presidency, as well as the youngest president in the history of Slovakia, elected at the age of 45. She did not seek re-election in the 2024 Slovak presidential election.
Portrait of Zuzana Čaputová: European Commission (Vladimir Simicek), CC BY 4.0, file
Peter Pellegrini
President of Slovakia, 2024 to today
In January 2024, Pellegrini announced his candidacy in the 2024 Slovak presidential election. He defeated Korčok in the second round held on 6 April with 53% of the vote and was inaugurated as the 6th president of Slovakia on 15 June 2024.
Portrait of Peter Pellegrini: Xavier Lejeune, CC BY 4.0, file
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Culture
- Slovakia is also home to eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
- Known as the "European Detroit" due to its dense concentration of automotive manufacturing, Slovakia is the world's largest per-capita car producer.
- The Tatra Mountains, with 29 peaks higher than 2,500 metres (8,202 feet) AMSL, are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains.
Picture
The High Tatras are a mountain range along the border of northern Slovakia in the Prešov Region, and southern Poland in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship.
Image: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.