Executive branch:
chief of state: President Milan KUCAN (since 22 April 1990)
head of government: Prime Minister Janez DRNOVSEK (since 14 May 1992)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and
elected by the National Assembly
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 24 November 1997 (next to be held NA 2002);
following National Assembly elections, the leader of the majority
party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually nominated to
become prime minister by the president and elected by the National
Assembly; election last held 10 November 1996 (next to be held NA
November 2000)
election results: Milan KUCAN elected president; percent of
vote—Milan KUCAN 56.3%, Janez PODOBNIK 18%; Janez DRNOVSEK elected
prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote—51%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Drzavni Zbor
(90 seats, 40 are directly elected and 50 are selected on a
proportional basis; note—the numbers of directly elected and
proportionally elected seats varies with each election; members are
elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: National Assembly—last held 10 November 1996 (next to be
held Fall 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party—LDS 27.01%, SLS 19.38%,
SDS 16.13%, SKD 9.62%, ZLDS 9.03%, DeSUS 4.32%, SNS 3.22%; seats by
party—LDS 25, SLS 19, SDS 16, SKD 10, ZLSD 9, DeSUS 5, SNS 4,
Hungarian minority 1, Italian minority 1; note—seating as of January
1997 is as follows: LDS 25, SLS 19, SDS 16, SKD 9, ZLSD 9, DeSUS 5,
SNS 4, Hungarian minority 1, Italian minority 1, independents 1
note: the National Council or Drzavni Svet is an advisory body with
limited legislative powers; it may propose laws and ask to review
any National Assembly decisions; in the election of NA November
1997, 40 members were elected to represent local, professional, and
socioeconomic interests (next election to be held in the fall of
2002)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are elected by the
National Assembly on the recommendation of the Judicial Council;
Constitutional Court, judges elected for nine-year terms by the
National Assembly and nominated by the president
Political parties and leaders: Liberal Democratic or LDS [Janez
PETERLE, chairman]; Social Democratic Party of Slovenia or SDS
PODOBNIK, chairman]; United List (former Communists and allies) or
JELINCIC, chairman]; Democratic Party of Retired (Persons) of
Political pressure groups and leaders: none
International organization participation: CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC,
EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN
Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UPU,
WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dimitrij RUPEL chancery: 1525 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires J. Paul REID embassy: address NA, Ljubljana mailing address: P.O. Box 254, Prazakova 4, 1000 Ljubljana; American Embassy Ljubljana, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7140
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red with the Slovenian seal (a shield with the image of Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak, in white against a blue background at the center, beneath it are two wavy blue lines depicting seas and rivers, and above it, there are three six-sided stars arranged in an inverted triangle which are taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje, the great Slovene dynastic house of the late 14th and early 15th centuries); the seal is located in the upper hoist side of the flag centered in the white and blue bands
Economy