SLOVAKIA
Society

Cities in SLOVAKIA

Society

State structure and politics

On 1 January 1993 the Czechoslovak Federation was split into the independent republics of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The new constitution of 1992 stipulated that Slovakia would from then on be a parliamentary republic with a president as its head of state. The President's function is primarily ceremonial and he or she is elected by direct suffrage for a five-year term. Rudolf Schuster became the first directly elected president of Slovakia on 29 May 1999.

Executive power lies with the Prime Minister appointed by the President and his government.

Legislative power lies with the unicameral parliament, the National Council. The National Council consists of 150 members elected by direct universal suffrage once every four years. The cabinet is nominated by the prime minister and then appointed by the president. The right to vote is open to all citizens aged 18 and over.

Distribution of seats after parliamentary elections in 2012

Smer-SD 83 seats
KDH 16 seats
OL'aNO 16 seats
Most-Híd 13 seats
SDKÚ-DS 11 seats
SaS 11 seats

Administratively, the country is divided into 8 regions, which are divided into 79 districts. The regions are called "kraje" and are: Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky and Zilinsky.

Slovakia is a member of the Council of Europe and associated with the European Union (EU). It aspires to membership of both NATO and the EU, but in 1997 Slovakia was not in the first group of entrants for either organisation. For the current political situation see chapter history.

Education

The quality of education in Slovakia is quite good, although the teaching is highly theoretical. In that respect, there is not much reform to be seen yet.

Furthermore, the courses tend to specialise, which hampers flexibility and mobility. A relatively large number of students follow technical courses and, in recent years, economic and management courses have become more popular.

Sources