Slovakia’s population in 1999 was estimated at 5.4 million people, with a growth rate of 0.5%. The economy of Slovakia was largely dependent on its services sector, which accounted for around 65% of the country’s GDP. This was supplemented by the agricultural and manufacturing industries. Foreign relations in 1999 were largely positive with the country enjoying strong ties with many European nations and the wider international community. Politically, Slovakia had been a multi-party democracy since 1993 when it formally adopted a democratic system. The ruling party at this time was the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), which had been in power since 1992. In 1999, Rudolf Schuster was President and had been since 1999. See ethnicityology for Slovakia in the year of 2018.
Yearbook 1999
Slovakia. During the NATO bombing war against Yugoslavia in the spring, Slovakia made its airspace available to NATO’s plan and allowed transit through ground transports of troops and military equipment. Visit Countryaah official website to get information about the capital city of Slovakia. Slovakia believed that this gave the country the right to NATO security guarantees and, by extension, full membership in the defense organization.
- Also see Abbreviationfinder.org to see the acronym of SVK which stands for Slovakia and other definitions of this 3-letter abbreviation.
In May, Rudolf Schuster was elected Slovakia’s new president. It was the first time President was elected by universal suffrage. Schuster was the leader of the Citizens Understanding Party (Strana obèianskeho porozumenia, SOP), a center party, at least of the four government parties. He was the coalition’s joint candidate and received 57.2% of the vote in the second round, against 42.8% for the controversial former Prime Minister Vladimir Mečiar.
To try to prevent the economic downturn and the fall of the currency, the government decided during the summer on budgetary tightening, a VAT increase and increased energy and water prices. Mečiar called for demonstrations, and in September about 40,000 people in Bratislava participated in a union-organized protest against government policy and for Mečiar.
The difficult situation of the Roma in Slovakia came into European focus during the year, when thousands of Slovak Romans fled to a number of Western European countries, including Finland. The Slovak government rejected their information on persecution, but acknowledged that the Roma live in difficult economic and social conditions.
Slovakia succeeded in reaching a settlement with the Czech Republic in November on the financial transactions since Czechoslovakia was dissolved in 1993. The Czech Republic will return four and a half tonnes of gold to Slovakia and in addition write off debts to the value of approximately SEK 8 billion.
Slovakia promised during the year that the reactors in the aging Bohunice nuclear power plant will be closed in 2006 and 2008. The EU had pushed for far earlier decommissioning but still welcomed a decision to close.
In December, the EU decided that Slovakia should start negotiations on membership in the Union in early 2000, a long-awaited message for the government in Bratislava.
Dictionary of History
Slovakia is a state of central-eastern Europe. The Slovakia takes its name from the Western-Slavic populations that in the 6th century. they settled there permanently. In 906 it fell under the Hungarian rule, remaining linked to Hungary until 1918, when it became part of independent Czechoslovakia. The Magyars settled en masse in some regions (Košice, Bratislava) and generally established themselves as the ruling class. First manifested in the first half of the 19th century, the Slovak national awakening took shape especially after the repression of the Hungarian revolution of 1848-49. After the signing of the Pittsburgh Pact, in Oct. 1918 the Slovak National Council joined the proclamation of Czech independence. The relationship between Czechs and Slovaks, however, constituted a constant problematic element in subsequent Czechoslovak history (➔ Czechoslovakia). The centralistic approach of the 1920 Constitution and the prevalence of the economic interests of the more industrialized Czech regions favored the development of an autonomist tendency. In March 1939 the Slovakia proclaimed its independence under the leadership of the pro-Nazi J. Tiso, becoming a satellite state of Germany; between 1938 and 1944 the southern Slovakia was occupied by Hungary. It returned to be part of the Czechoslovak state in 1945. In 1969, a constitutional change established the Czechoslovak federation: thus the Slovak Socialist Republic was born. The centralist policy developed by G. Husák in the following decades, however, left Slovak institutions without any real power, favoring the industrialization process of Slovakia instead. The economic disparities with Bohemia and Moravia worsened again following the collapse of the socialist regime (1989) and the adoption of measures for the transition to a market economy: starting from 1990 the problem of a redefinition of the relationship between the two states was at the center of the political debate. After the proclamation of the Republic in 1993, which sanctioned the definitive division of Czechoslovakia, the political life of the Slovakia took place in a climate of great uncertainty, marked by the institutional conflict between the head of the government, the nationalist V. Mečiar, leader of the Movement for democratic Slovakia, and the President of the Republic M. Kováč. In 1998 the political elections were won by the center-left opposition, united in the Slovak Democratic Coalition, and its leader, the Christian Democrat M. Dzurinda, he was appointed prime minister. In 1999, after the approval of the law on the direct election of the head of state, R. Schuster, a former Communist, leader of the Party of Civic Understanding, was elected. Despite numerous difficulties, the majority managed to proceed along the path of reforms and entry into the European Community. In 2004 Slovakia became a member of the European Union; previously there had also been entry into NATO. In the same year, the Social Democrat I. Gašparovič was elected president, reappointed in 2009. the majority managed to proceed along the path of reforms and entry into the European Community. In 2004 Slovakia became a member of the European Union; previously there had also been entry into NATO. In the same year, the Social Democrat I. Gašparovič was elected president, reappointed in 2009. the majority managed to proceed along the path of reforms and entry into the European Community. In 2004 Slovakia became a member of the European Union; previously there had also been entry into NATO. In the same year, the Social Democrat I. Gašparovič was elected president, reappointed in 2009.
