The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Socialist Slovenia or simply Slovenia, was one of the six
federal republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives ...
s forming
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and the
nation state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...
of the
Slovenes
The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...
. It existed under various names from its creation on 29 November 1945 until 25 June 1991. In 1990, while the country was still part of the Yugoslav federation, the
League of Communists of Slovenia allowed for the establishment of other political parties, which led to the democratization of the country.
Etymology
The official name of the republic was Federal Slovenia (Slovene: ''Federalna Slovenija'', Serbo-Croatian: ''Federalna Slovenija'' / Федерална Словенија) until 20 February 1946, when it was renamed the People's Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: ''Ljudska republika Slovenija'', Serbo-Croatian: ''Narodna Republika Slovenija'' / Народна Република Словенија). It retained this name until 9 April 1963, when its name was changed again, this time to ''Socialist Republic of Slovenia'' ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија).
On 8 March 1990, the Socialist Republic of Slovenia removed the prefix "Socialist" from its name, becoming the
Republic of Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
, though remaining a constituent state of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia until 25 June 1991, when it enacted the laws resulting in independence.
Independence
In September 1989, numerous
constitutional amendments were passed by the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, which introduced
parliamentary democracy
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
to the country. The same year
Action North both united the opposition and democratized communist establishment in Slovenia as the first defense action against
Milošević's supporters' attacks, leading to Slovenian independence.
The word 'Socialist' was removed from the name of the then state on 7 March 1990.
The socialist infrastructure was largely dissolved. The
first open democratic election was held on 8 April 1990.
The parliamentary elections were won by the opposition, known as the
DEMOS coalition
Democratic Opposition of Slovenia, also known as the DEMOS (in Slovenian: ''Demokratična opozicija Slovenije'') was a coalition of centre-right political parties, created by an agreement between the Slovenian Democratic Union, the Social Democrat ...
led by the dissident
Jože Pučnik
Jože Pučnik (9 March 1932 – 11 January 2003) was a Slovenian public intellectual, sociologist and politician. During the communist regime of Josip Broz Tito, Pučnik was one of the most outspoken Slovenian critics of dictatorship and lack ...
. At the same time,
Milan Kučan
Milan Kučan (; born 14 January 1941) is a Slovene politician who served as the first President of Slovenia from 23 December 1991 until 22 December 2002. Before being president of Slovenia, he was the 13th President of the Presidency of SR Slov ...
, the former chairman of the
League of Communists of Slovenia (ZKS), was elected President of the Republic. The democratically elected parliament nominated the
Christian Democratic leader
Lojze Peterle
Alojz "Lojze" Peterle (born 5 July 1948) is a Slovenian politician. He is a member of New Slovenia, part of the European People's Party. He served as Prime Minister of Slovenia from 1990 to 1992, Leader of the Christian Democrats from the foun ...
as Prime Minister, which effectively ended the 45-year-long rule of the Communist Party. During this period,
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
retained its old flag and coat of arms, and most of the previous symbols as it awaited the creation of new symbols that would eventually come after independence. The old national anthem, ''
Naprej zastava slave'', had already been replaced by the ''
Zdravljica
"Zdravljica" (; English: "A Toast") is a ''carmen figuratum'' poem by the 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet France Prešeren, inspired by the ideals of ''Liberté, égalité, fraternité''. It was written in 1844 and published with some change ...
'' in March 1990.
On 23 December 1990, a
referendum on independence was held in Slovenia, at which 94.8% of the voters (88.5% of the overall electorate) voted in favour of secession of Slovenia from Yugoslavia.
On 25 June 1991, the acts about the Slovenian independence were passed by the Assembly. Following a short
Ten-Day War
The Ten-Day War ( sl, desetdnevna vojna), or the Slovenian War of Independence (), was a brief armed conflict that followed Slovenia's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. It was fought between the separatists of the ...
, the military of Slovenia secured its independence; by the end of the year, its independence was recognized by the wider
international community
The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world.
As a rhetorical term
Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is ...
.
See also
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Subdivisions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
References
{{coord, 46.0500, N, 14.5000, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Communism in Slovenia
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Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
20th century in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
Political history of Slovenia
1945 establishments in Slovenia
1990s disestablishments in Slovenia
1945 establishments in Yugoslavia
1991 disestablishments in Yugoslavia
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
States and territories disestablished in 1991
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Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...