Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consisting of a 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) and the National
Council or Drzavni Svet (40 seats; this is primarily an advisory
body with limited legislative powers; it may propose laws, ask to
review any National Assembly decisions, and call national referenda;
members - representing social, economic, professional, and local
interests - are indirectly elected to five-year terms by an
electoral college)
elections: National Assembly - last held 3 October 2004 (next to be
held October 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - SDS 29.1%, LDS 22.8%,
ZLSD 10.2%, NSi 9%, SLS 6.8%, SNS 6.3%, DeSUS 4.1%, other 11.7%;
seats by party - SDS 29, LDS 23, ZLSD 10, NSi 9, SLS 7, SNS 6, DeSUS
4, Hungarian and Italian minorities 1 each
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:
Democratic Party of Retired (Persons) of Slovenia or DeSUS [Karl
ERJAVEC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Jelko KACIN]; New
Slovenia or NSi [Andrej BAJUK]; Slovenian Democratic Party or SDS
[Janez JANSA]; Slovene National Party or SNS [Zmago JELINCIC];
Slovene People's Party or SLS [Janez PODOBNIK]; Slovene Youth Party
or SMS [Darko KRANJC]; Social Democrats or SD [Borut PAHOR]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation: ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Samuel ZBOGAR chancery: 1525 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 667-5363 FAX: [1] (202) 667-4563 consulate(s) general: Cleveland, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas B. ROBERTSON embassy: Presernova 31, 1000 Ljubljana mailing address: American Embassy Ljubljana, US Department of State, 7140 Ljubljana Place, Washington, DC 20521-7140 telephone: [386] (1) 200-5500 FAX: [386] (1) 200-5555
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 are three six-pointed 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 Slovenia
Economy - overview:
With its small transition economy and population of approximately
two million, Slovenia is a model of economic success and stability
for its neighbors in the former Yugoslavia. The country, which
joined the EU in 2004, has excellent infrastructure, a well-educated
work force, and an excellent central location. It enjoys a GDP per
capita substantially higher than any of the other transitioning
economies of Central Europe. In March 2004, Slovenia became the
first transition country to graduate from borrower status to donor
partner at the World Bank. Slovenia plans to adopt the euro by 2007
and has met the EU's Maastricht criteria for inflation. Despite its
economic success, Slovenia faces growing challenges. Much of the
economy remains in state hands and foreign direct investment (FDI)
in Slovenia is one of the lowest in the EU on a per capita basis.
Taxes are relatively high, the labor market is often seen as
inflexible, and legacy industries are losing sales to more
competitive firms in China, India, and elsewhere. The current
center-right government, elected in October 2004, has pledged to
accelerate privatization of a number of large state holdings and is
interested in increasing FDI in Slovenia. In late 2005, the
government's new Committee for Economic Reforms was elevated to
cabinet-level status. The Committee's program includes plans for
lowering the tax burden, privatizing state-controlled firms,
improving the flexibility of the labor market, and increasing the
government's efficiency.