Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The military action had not come totally unprovoked. To dramatise their bid for inde-
pendence and to generate support from the West, which preferred to see Yugoslavia con-
tinue to exist in some form or another, Slovenian leaders attempted to take control of the
border crossings first. Belgrade apparently never expected Slovenia to resist, believing
that a show of force would be sufficient for it to back down.
As no territorial claims or minority issues were involved, the Yugoslav government
agreed on 7 July to a truce brokered by leaders of what was then the European Commu-
nity (EC). Under the so-called Brioni Declaration, Slovenia would put further moves to
assert its independence on hold for three months provided it was granted recognition by
the EC after that time. The war had lasted just 10 days and taken the lives of 66 people.
The Road to Europe
Belgrade withdrew the federal army from Slovenian soil on 25 October 1991, less than a
month after Slovenia introduced its own new currency - the tolar. In late December,
Slovenia got a new constitution that provided for a bicameral parliamentary system of
government. The head of state, the president, is elected directly for a maximum of two
five-year terms. Milan Kučan held that role from independence until 2002, when the late
Janez Drnovšek (1950-2008), a former prime minister, was elected. Diplomat Danilo
Türk served as president from 2007 to 2012, when he was unseated by former prime min-
ister Borut Pahor, who garnered more than 67% of the vote. Executive power is vested in
the prime minister and his cabinet. The current prime minister is Janez Janša, who was re-
turned to power in 2012.
The EC formally recognised Slovenia in January 1992, and it was admitted to the UN
four months later as the 176th member-state. In May 2004, Slovenia entered the EU as a
full member and less than three years later adopted the euro, replacing the tolar as the na-
tional currency.
TIMELINE
2000-900 BC
Bronze Age settlers build wooden huts on stilts, farm, raise cattle, and produce coarse
pottery in the Ljubljana Barje, a marshy area south of present-day Ljubljana.
400 BC
