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Slovenia

 Flag of Slovenia
Last reviewed: 29 September 2009

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HISTORY

Recent History

In 1990, the first democratic elections took place and were won by the united opposition movement. In the same year more than 88% of the electorate voted for a sovereign and independent Slovenia. Slovenia declared independence on 25 June 1991. A 10-day war ensued, following whcih the Yugoslav Army withdrew from Slovenia. The European Union recognised Slovenia in January 1992 and the UN accepted it as a member in May 1992.

In 2004, Slovenia joined the EU and NATO. In 2007, Slovenia adopted the Euro and joined the Schengen area. In the first half of 2008, Slovenia assumed the Presidency of the EU, the first of the ten new accession states (of 2004) to do so. In 2009 Slovenia is chairing the Council of Europe.

Longer Historical Perspective

In the 14th Century, most of the territory of Slovenia was taken over by the Habsburgs. Their powerful competitors were the counts of Celje, a feudal family from this area, who in 1436 acquired the title of "state counts". Their large dynasty, important at a European political level, died out in 1456 and its numerous large estates became the property of the Habsburgs, who retained control of the area right up to the beginning of the 20th Century.

German colonisation between the 11th and 15th Centuries narrowed Slovenian lands to an area only a little bigger than they are today. The end of the Middle Ages (15th and 16th centuries) was marked by Turkish incursions. Dissatisfaction with the ineffective feudal defences against the Turks and the introduction of new taxes brought about peasant revolts. Uprisings continued until the first half of the 18th Century when Austro-Hungary became dominant.

The first Slovenuab political programme, called "Unified Slovenia" emerged during the European "Spring of Nations" in March and April of 1848, demanding that all the lands inhabited by Slovenes should be united into one province, called Slovenia. In this province, Slovene would be made the official language. In 1878, although other neighbouring states became independent with the Treaty of Berlin, Slovenia stayed within the Austro-Hungarian empire but nationalism in the Balkans increased.

After Austro-Hungary’s defeat in WW1, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles created a Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which became Yugoslavia in 1929. WW2 saw turmoil with German invasion and partisan battles across Yugoslavia. In 1945, Tito declared Socialist Yugoslavia, a federation of six republics - Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia.

After the death of Tito in 1980, the economic and political situaiton deteriorated in Yugoslavia. This led, ten years later, to the end of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The flirst clear demand for Slovenian independence was made in 1987. In 1988 and 1989 the first political opposition parties emerged. In the 1989 May Declaration, they demanded a sovereign state for the Slovenian nation. Slovenia was the first republic to break away, achieving independence relatively peacefully.

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