The Slovak Republic
The Slovak Republic was established on January 1, 1993. It is located in Central Europe. Its area is circa 50, 000 sq km and the number of population is about 5, 000 000. The lowest lying place is the town of Streda nad Bodrogom, and the highest point is the Gerlach Peak in the High Tatra mountains. In northern and central Slovakia the countryside is hilly – covered with the Carpathian mountain range. The Danube creates a waterway which connects Slovakia with the Black Sea ports and, through the Rhein – Main – Danube canal, also with the ports of Western Europe. The climate is mild.
The Slovak Republic is an industrial as well as agricultural country. The greatest percentage is represented by the chemical, engineering and metallurgy industries. The population consists of Slovaks (85.7 per cent of the total), Hungarian, Czech, Ukrainian, German, Polish and Romans. The territory of Slovakia has been inhabited by Slavonic tribes since the 5th century. At that time appeared Samo’s Empire. In the 9th century was the foundation of the Great Moravian Empire laid. In 863 came Cyril and Methodius from Byzantium. They were the founders of the Slavic script and they brought Christian religion to this region.
In the 10th century Great Moravia came to an end and Slovakia became part of the feudal Hungarian state. After this the country went through hard times. There were Tartar and Turkish invasions, the latter lasted 150 years. The 19th century brought a time of national revival. The Slovaks wanted more rights, but their emancipation wasn’t successful. They were led by such personalities as Ľ. Štúr and J. M. Hurban.
The First World War brought liberation and in 1918 the Czechoslovak Republic came into being. After the Munich Treaty in 1938 appeared the Slovak State in Slovakia. In 1944 the country was the place of the second largest anti-fascist uprising in Europe. In 1948 the power was taken over by the communists. In 1993 two independent states came into being – the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic. Slovakia was officially recognized by 124 countries of the world, and 109 of them established diplomatic relations with it. The Slovak Republic has become a member of the United Nations Organization, the Council of Europe, IMF, EBRD, Interpol, WHO etc.
The Slovak System of Government
The Slovak Republic is a democratic state. Its government is divided into 3 branches:
1. the legislative, represented by the Parliament
2. the executive, represented by the Government and the President
3. the judicial, represented by courts
The Parliament officially called the National Council of the Slovak Republic consists of 150 members elected every 4 years. The citizens have the right to vote from the age of 18. The Council’s main task is to pass laws, ratify international treaties, and decide on sending troops abroad. The National Council is a law-making body. A new law-to-be, a bill, can be proposed by a deputy, a group of deputies, the government, or higher-level authorities. The bill goes to the Council where the deputies debate and then vote on it. The law must be approved by the government and it must be signed by the prime minister and the president. The president is elected every 5 years by the citizens. He represents the state abroad and concludes foreign treaties. He also appoints judges, generals of the army, ambassadors, university professors and other officials. He is commander-in-chief of the army. The government is composed of the prime minister, the vice-prime ministers, and the ministers. In this hierarchy the municipality is the smallest unit. The head of the municipal council is called a mayor. The ministries headed by the ministers, enforce the laws made by the Parliament. Some of the ministries are: Interior, Justice, Transport, Education, Culture, Health and others. The judicial power is divided into a system of courts, starting with the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. They apply the law in practice in individual cases. They can nullify a law expect for a constitutional one. In the elections the citizens can choose from a variety of political parties, the left wing, moderate, Christian, national, folk or right wing oriented ones.
