Slovenia

VI

History

Under the Roman Empire (27 bc-ad 476), Slovenia was part of the provinces of Pannonia and Noricum. During the 6th century ad, the region was invaded by the Mongolian Avars and later by Slavs who threw off Avar domination. A period of Bavarian rule ensued, during which most of the people converted to Roman Catholicism.

A

Early Statehood and Foreign Rule

In ad 623, the chieftain Franko Samo created the first independent Slovene state, which stretched from Lake Balaton (now located within Hungary) to the Mediterranean. It lasted until late in the 8th century, when the region became part of the Frankish Empire. In the 10th century it was reorganized as the duchy of Carantania by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. From 1335 until 1918, except for a brief interlude from 1809 to 1814, Slovenes were governed by the Habsburgs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Austrian Crown lands of Kärnten (Carinthia), Carniola, and Steiermark (Styria), except for a minority in the republic of Venice.

B

Nationalism and Incorporation in Yugoslavia

During the Napoleonic Wars, the region was taken from Austria by France and reorganized as the Illyrian Provinces from 1809 to 1814. This brief period of liberal rule fostered the Slovene and South Slav nationalism which was to triumph at the close of World War I in 1918, with the formation of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which means “Land of the South Slavs”, in 1929). In 1941, during World War II, Germany, Hungary, and Italy divided the territory among themselves. In spite of forced transfers of populations during the war, since 1945 most Slovenes have lived in the Slovenian republic, which in 1947 also acquired Slovenian-speaking districts on the Adriatic Sea (in Istria) from Italy.

Slovenia’s dissatisfaction with its membership of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia grew during the 1980s, with increased sentiment first for greater autonomy and then for independence. A legal opposition group, the Slovene League of Social Democrats, led by France Tomsič, was formed in January 1989. In October of that year, the Slovene Assembly voted a constitutional amendment giving it the right to secede from Yugoslavia.

C

Independence Struggle

As Communist power crumbled throughout Eastern Europe, Slovenia held the first multi-party elections in Yugoslavia since World War II in April 1990. On July 2 the new Assembly adopted a “declaration of sovereignty” by 187 votes to 3, and in September proclaimed its control over the territorial defence force on its soil. Nearly 90 per cent of Slovenia’s population voted for independence in a referendum on December 23, 1990.

On June 25, 1991, following various political upsets, including Serbian refusal to transfer the Yugoslavian rotating presidency to the Croatian representative, Slovenia and Croatia each declared themselves independent of Yugoslavia, but agreed to suspend implementation for three months pending peace talks sponsored by the European Community (EC, now EU). The Serb-dominated Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) sent forces to both republics in an attempt to secure Yugoslavia’s borders. In Slovenia, a ten-day war ensued, in which Slovene forces defeated the JNA.

The JNA’s defeat, coupled with fighting in Serbia’s closer neighbour, Croatia, allowed Slovenia to quickly secure true independence as well as international recognition as a separate republic. The three-month moratorium having expired, Slovenia and Croatia declared their complete independence from Yugoslavia on October 8. On January 15, 1992, the EC, led by Germany, acknowledged the independence of Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United States acknowledged their independence on April 7.

D

The Independent Republic

The newly independent republic’s first presidential and parliamentary elections were held on December 6, 1992. The incumbent, independent candidate Milan Kučan, was elected to the presidency of the republic against seven opponents, with 64 per cent of the vote. The moderate Liberal Democratic Party, headed by Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek, emerged as the strongest party. The Liberal Democrats subsequently formed a coalition government with the Christian Democrats, the Social Democrats, the United List, and the Greens.

Following recognition in 1992 Slovenia instituted economic reforms and joined various international organizations. The country also became a haven for refugees of the surrounding war-torn republics; by mid-1993, 70,000 people fleeing the Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian War had sought refuge in Slovenia. Tensions with both Italy and Croatia over border disputes were the only lingering complications from the Slovenian quest for sovereignty. Progress was made in resolving these disputes in 1994 and early 1995. An agreement was reached in January 1994 with Croatia over the decommissioning of the shared nuclear power facility at Krsko near their common border; in March 1995, in a further agreement, they agreed to divide ownership equally. There was also significant progress made in negotiations over the dispute with Italy regarding former Italian lands in the Istrian Peninsula, in western Slovenia. Italy, seeking economic reparations for its citizens who formerly owned land now located in Slovenia, had initially blocked negotiations on Slovenia’s associate membership of the EU over the Istrian issue. Italy suspended its opposition in March 1995 as the two sides moved closer to an agreement and negotiations with the EU began. Agreement was reached with a consortium of banks, in June 1995, that Slovenia would assume responsibility for 18 per cent of the total commercial bank debt owed by the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Legislative elections to the State Chamber in November 1996 failed to produce an overall victor and it was not until January 1997 that Drnovšek, leader of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia, was re-elected as prime minister. In July 1997 Slovenia failed in its bid to be one of the first former Communist states to be incorporated into NATO, despite French advocacy, with the United States being the most prominent opponent of its inclusion. In November 1997 Milan Kučan was re-elected as the president by a clear majority. Immediately afterwards, the statutory electoral college elected a new complement for the parliamentary upper house, the State Council. In June 1999, on his first visit to the country, US President Bill Clinton cited Slovenia as a success story—a model of democracy and prosperity that the West would like to see duplicated in the region. After the conclusion of the European Union (EU) summit in Helsinki, Finland, in December 1999, it was widely expected that Slovenia would join the EU in 2002. On April 8, 2000, the Slovenian government, led by the centre-left prime minister, Janez Drnovšek, collapsed after losing a vote of confidence in parliament following a Cabinet reshuffle. In June 2000 Andrej Bajuk, deputy president of the Slovenian People's Party, became prime minister, forming a coalition conservative government with the centre-right Social Democrats.

The period of political uncertainty ended in July 2000 with the announcement of a general election in October and on keeping the proportional system of voting for 50 out of 90 members of the National Assembly, a proposal that had been unsuccessfully challenged by the proponents of a majority system. Although the ruling coalition, barely a month old, had collapsed just before the announcement, the overall situation ultimately stabilized and Bajuk remained in office. He founded a new conservative grouping, the New Slovenia—Christian People’s Party (NSi), in August.

In the October general election, however, Drnovšek’s LDS returned to power, with over 36 per cent of the vote and 34 deputies in the Assembly. In the following month, the LDS formed a coalition government with three other parties, and Janez Drnovšek was appointed prime minister.

Drnovšek stood in December 2002’s elections for the presidency, beating Barbara Brezigar by 56.5 per cent to 43.5. He resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Anton Rop of the LDS, the former finance minister; Drnovšek was sworn in as president on December 22. Slovenians voted in a referendum on March 23, 2003, to back the proposals for membership of NATO (by 66 per cent) and the EU (by 89 per cent), making Slovenia the second country after Malta to achieve a “yes” vote in various polls on European expansion. In April 2004 the republic joined NATO and in May it became a member of the EU. The October 2004 parliamentary elections saw a narrow victory for the opposition Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS). Under its leader Janez Janša it attempted to form a coalition government. In February 2005, Slovenia was one of the first European countries to approve the new EU constitution and in January 2007 it adopted the Euro as its new currency. President Drnovšek declined to run for a further term as president in December 2007 because of illness and died two months later. The presidency battle was won by Danilo Türk with 68 per cent of the vote.