The Slovak Socialist Republic ( sk, Slovenská socialistická republika, SSR) was from 1969 to 1990 a republic within the

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...

, when previously unitary Czechoslovak state changed into a

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

. The name was used from 1 January 1969 until November 1989. The Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, SR) was from 1990 to 1992 a republic within the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, that is now the independent

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 ...

History

After the

occupation of Czechoslovakia Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

in 1968 liberalisation reforms were halted and then reversed. The only significant exception was the federalization of the country. The former centralist state of Czechoslovakia was divided in two: the ''

Czech Socialist Republic The Czech Socialist Republic ( cs, Česká socialistická republika, ČSR) was a republic within the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The name was used from 1 January 1969 to November 1989, when the previously unitary Czechoslovak state changed ...

'' and ''Slovak Socialist Republic'' by the

Constitutional Law of Federation The Constitutional Act on the Czechoslovak Federation ( cs, Ústavní zákon o československé federaci, sk, Ústavný zákon o česko-slovenskej federácii) was a constitutional law in Czechoslovakia adopted on 27 October 1968 and in force from ...

of 28 October 1968, which came into effect on 1 January 1969. New national parliaments (the

Czech National Council The Czech National Council ( cs, Česká národní rada, ČNR) was the legislative body of the Czech Republic since 1968 when the Czech Republic was created as a member state of Czech-Slovak federation. It was legally transformed into the Cham ...

and 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 ...

) were created and the old parliament of Czechoslovakia was renamed the " Federal Assembly" and was divided in two chambers: the ''House of the People'' ( cz, Sněmovna lidu, sk, Snemovňa ľudu) and the ''House of Nations'' ( cz, Sněmovna národů, sk, Snemovňa národov). Very complicated rules of voting were put in effect. Federalization was notional – all the real power was kept by the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

. The increased number of "parliaments" conveniently provided more positions for party members though their role was just symbolic. After the fall of socialism in Czechoslovakia, the word "socialist" was dropped in the names of the two republics, i.e. the Slovak Socialist Republic was renamed Slovak Republic (still part of Czechoslovakia, since April 1990 of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic). The complicated system of parliamentary voting (there were de facto 5 different bodies each having right of veto) was kept after the fall of socialism, complicating and delaying political decisions during radical changes in the economy. In November 1992, the federal parliament voted to dissolve the country officially on 31 December 1992. As of 1 January 1993, the Slovak Republic became an independent state named

External links

Constitutional Law of Federation (in Czech)
{{Coord, 48, 08, N, 17, 06, E, type:country_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Czechoslovak Socialist Republic Communism in Slovakia Former socialist republics States and territories disestablished in 1993

History

See also

External links