The National Council of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Národná rada Slovenskej republiky), abbreviated to ''NR SR'', is the national

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. It is

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

and consists of 150 members, who are elected by

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

under

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

with seats distributed via Hagenbach-Bischoff quota every four years. Slovakia's parliament has been called the 'National Council' since 1 October 1992. From 1969 to 1992, its predecessor, the parliament of the Slovak part of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, was called the

Slovak National Council The Slovak National Council ( sk, Slovenská národná rada (SNR)) was an organisation that was formed at various times in the 19th and 20th centuries to act as the highest representative of the Slovak nation. It originated in the mid-19th century ...

( sk, Slovenská národná rada). The National Council approves domestic legislation, constitutional laws, and the annual budget. Its consent is required to ratify international treaties, and is responsible for approving military operations. It also elects individuals to some positions in the executive and judiciary, as specified by law. The parliament building is in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, Slovakia's capital, next to

Bratislava Castle Bratislava Castle ( sk, Bratislavský hrad, ; german: Pressburger Burg; hu, Pozsonyi vár) is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on an isolated rocky hill ...

in Alexander Dubček Square.

Functions

The 150-seat

National Council of the Slovak Republic is Slovakia's sole constitutional and

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

body. It considers and approves the constitution, constitutional amendments, and other legislation. It approves the state budget. It elects some officials specified by law, as well as justices of the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

and the prosecutor general. Prior to their ratification, the parliament also should approve all important international treaties. Moreover, it gives consent for dispatching of military forces outside of Slovakia's territory and for the presence of foreign military forces on the territory of the Slovak Republic.

Decision-making

The parliament may vote only if a majority of all its members (76) are present. To pass a decision, the approval of a simple majority of all MPs present is required. Almost all legal acts can be adopted by this relative majority. An absolute majority (76 votes) is required to pass a vote of no-confidence in the cabinet or its members, or to elect and recall the Council's speaker or the deputy speakers. A qualified majority of 3/5 of all deputies (at least 90 votes) is required for the adoption of a constitution or a constitutional statute.

Committees of the National Council

Standing committees and current leadership are listed below. }) , Anna Andrejuvová , style="background:" , , OĽaNO , - !scope="row", Function Incompatibility Committee
( sk, Výbor pre nezlučiteľnosť funkcií) , Boris Susko , style="background:" , , Smer–SSD , - !scope="row", Committee for European Affairs
( sk, Výbor pre európske záležitosti) , Vladimíra Marcinková , style="background:" , , SaS , - !scope="row", Constitutional Committee
( sk, Ústavnoprávny výbor) , Milan Vetrák , style="background:" , , OĽaNO , - !scope="row", Committee for Finance and Budget
( sk, Výbor pre financie a rozpočet) , Marián Viskupič , style="background:" , , SaS , - !scope="row", Committee for Economic Affairs
( sk, Výbor pre ekonomické záležitosti) , Peter Kremský , style="background:" , , OĽaNO , - !scope="row", Committee for Agriculture and the Environment
( sk, Výbor pre pôdohospodárstvo a životné prostredie) , Jaroslav Karahuta , style="background:" , , Sme rodina , - !scope="row", Committee for Public Administration and Regional Development
( sk, Výbor pre verejnú správu a regionálny rozvoj) , Jozef Lukáč , style="background:" , , Sme rodina , - !scope="row", Committee for Social Affairs
( sk, Výbor pre sociálne veci) , Vladimír Ledecký , style="background:" , , SaS , - !scope="row", Committee for Health
( sk, Výbor pre zdravotníctvo) , Jana Bittó Cigániková , style="background:" , , SaS , - !scope="row", Committee for Defence and Security
( sk, Výbor pre obranu a bezpečnosť) , Juraj Krúpa , style="background:" , , SaS , - !scope="row", Foreign Committee
( sk, Zahraničný výbor) , Marián Kéry , style="background:" , , Smer–SSD , - !scope="row", Committee for Education, Science, Youth and Sport
( sk, Výbor pre vzdelávanie, vedu, mládež a šport) ,

Richard Vašečka Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, style="background:" , , OĽaNO , - !scope="row", Committee for Culture and Media
( sk, Výbor pre kultúru a médiá) , Kristián Čekovský , style="background:" , , OĽaNO , - !scope="row", Committee for Human Rights and National Minorities
( sk, Výbor pre ľudské práva a národnostné menšiny) , ''Peter Pollák'' , style="background:" , , OĽaNO , - !scope="row", Special Control Committee to Control the Activities of the NBU
( sk, Osobitný kontrolný výbor pre kontrolu čiinosti NBÚ) , Martin Beluský , style="background:" , , ĽSNS , - !scope="row", Special Control Committee to Control the Activities of the SIS
( sk, Osobitný kontrolný výbor pre kontrolu čiinosti SIS) , Marián Saloň , style="background:" , , Smer–SSD , - !scope="row", Special Control Committee to Control the Activities of the Military Inteligence
( sk, Osobitný kontrolný výbor pre kontrolu činnosti Vojenského Spravodajstva) , ''Zuzana Šebová'' , style="background:" , , Sme rodina , - !scope="row", Committee for Review of Decisions of the NBU
( sk, Výbor na preskúmavanie rozhodnutí NBÚ) , Martin Nemky , style="background:" , , Smer–SSD

Speakers

The current speaker of the Slovak National Council is

Boris Kollár Boris Kollár (born 14 August 1965), BJK, is a Slovak businessman and politician serving as the Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. Political career In 2015, he started the political party We Are Family ( sk, Sme Rodina). ...

Structure of former legislatures

The length of the bars underneath represents each party's electoral performance. The difference in the total width of the bars is due to the

election threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

of 5%; this threshold prevents a varying number of small parties from entering the National Council (most notably, after the 1994 election).

Slovak Parliament 1990–1992

Slovak Parliament 1992–1994

Slovak Parliament 1994–1998

Slovak Parliament 1998–2002

Slovak Parliament 2002–2006

Slovak Parliament 2006–2010

Slovak Parliament 2010–2012

Slovak Parliament 2012–2016

Slovak Parliament 2016–2020

Slovak Parliament 2020–

Elections

Members of the parliament are elected directly for a 4-year term, under the

proportional system Proportionality, proportion or proportional may refer to: Mathematics * Proportionality (mathematics), the property of two variables being in a multiplicative relation to a constant * Ratio, of one quantity to another, especially of a part compare ...

. Although the suffrage is

universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

, only a citizen who has the right to vote, has attained 18 years of age and has permanent residency in the Slovak Republic is eligible to be elected. Similarly to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, the whole country forms one multi-member constituency. The

is 5%. Voters may indicate their preferences within the semi-open list. Parliamentary elections were last held in 2020.

Latest election

2020 Slovak Parliamentary Election Parliamentary elections were held in Slovakia on 29 February 2020 to elect all 150 members of the National Council. The anti-corruption list led by Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) movement emerged as the largest parliame ...

Members (1990–present)

List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 1990–92 A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 1992–94 A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

* List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 1994–98 * List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 1998–2002 * List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2002–06 * List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2006–10 *

List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2010–12 A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2012–16 A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

* List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2016–20 * List of members of the National Council of Slovakia, 2020–24

Buildings

Bust of Jozef Miloslav Hurban in the National Council of the Slovak Republic

The main parliament building is situated next to the

on the castle hill. The building is insufficiently large to accommodate all officials and representatives. This is because it was built during the Czechoslovak period as a building for the

Federal Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...

, which usually met in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. The secondary parliament building, which was the main building until 1994, is situated next to the Trinitarian Church below the castle hill in Bratislava.