Slovakia

Abstract

From early medieval days, Slovakia was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and after its defeat became part of the first Czechoslovak state. In 1939, the first formally independent Slovak state was established, closely linked to Germany. In 1945, after the Second World War, Czechoslovakia was re-established as a unitary state. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the democratic elections of 1947, and then in February 1948 took over all powers in the state. After the ‘Velvet Revolution’ in 1989, the process of a gradual transition to a pluralistic democratic-political and public-administration system began in Czechoslovakia and, as a result of historical developments, Czechoslovakia democratically split on 1 January 1993, into two independent countries: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. After a successful process of transition in major areas of political, social and economic life, Slovakia became, on 1 May 2004, a member of the EU and from 1 January 2009 of the Eurozone.