Political parties and leaders:
Parties in the Parliament: Christian Democratic Movement or KDH
[Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Direction-Social Democracy or Smer-SD [Robert
FICO]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR];
People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia or LS-HZDS
[Vladimir MECIAR]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU-DS
[Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Jan SLOTA];
Parties outside the Parliament: Agrarian Party of the Provinces or
ASV [Jozef VASKEBA]; Civic Conservative Party or OKS [Peter TATAR];
Free Forum [Zuzana MARTINAKOVA]; Hope or NADEJ [Alexandra NOVOTNA];
Left-wing Bloc or LB [Jozef KALMAN]; Mission 21 - New Christian
Democracy or MISIA 21 [Ivan SIMKO]; Movement for Democracy or HZD
[Jozef GRAPA]; New Citizens Alliance or ANO [Pavol RUSKO]; Party of
the Democratic Left or SDL [Ladislav KOZMON]; Prosperita Slovenska
or PS [Frantisek A. ZVRSKOVEC]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS
[Vladimir DADO]; Slovak National Coalition or SLNKO [Vitazoslav
MORIC]; Slovak People's Party or SLS [Jozef SASIK]; Union of the
Workers of Slovakia or ZRS [Jan LUPTAK]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Federation of Employers' Associations of the Slovak Republic;
Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade
Unions or KOZ; National Union of Employers or RUZ; Slovak Chamber of
Commerce and Industry or SOPK; Entrepreneurs Association of Slovakia
or ZPS; The Business Alliance of Slovakia or PAS
International organization participation:
ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI,
CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM,
IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO,
ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD,
OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council
(temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNTSO, UNWTO,
UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Rastislav KACER
chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054
FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Rodolphe "Skip" M. VALLEE
embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava
mailing address: P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava
telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338
FAX: [421] (2) 5443-0096
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
superimposed with the coat of arms of Slovakia (consisting of a red
shield bordered in white and bearing a white Cross of Lorraine
surmounting three blue hills); the coat of arms is centered
vertically and offset slightly to the hoist side
Economy Slovakia
Economy - overview:
Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a
centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA
government made excellent progress during 2001-04 in macroeconomic
stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly
complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands,
and the government has helped facilitate a foreign investment boom
with business-friendly policies, such as labor market liberalization
and a 19% flat tax. Foreign investment in the automotive sector has
been strong. Slovakia's economic growth exceeded expectations in
2001-06, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an
unacceptable 18% in 2003-04, dropped to 10.2% in 2006, but remains
the economy's Achilles heel. Slovakia joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$96.35 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$46.9 billion (2006 est.)