Political outline

Executive Power

The President is the head of the state and is elected by a popular vote for a five-year term. The role of the President is largely ceremonial. Following parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually nominated to become Prime Minister by the President and elected by the parliament to serve a four-year term.

Prime Minister is the head of the government and enjoys the executive powers which include implementation of the law in the country and running the day-to-day affairs. The Council of Ministers (cabinet) is nominated by the Prime Minister and elected by the parliament.

Legislative Power

The legislature is bicameral in Slovenia. The parliament consists of:

National Assembly (the lower house) having 90 seats; out of which 88 are elected through proportional voting and 2 members elected by ethnic minorities to serve four-year terms,

and the National Council (the upper house, more like an advisory body) having 40 seats; with its members elected indirectly (members representing social, economic, professional, and local interests) to serve five-year terms. National Assembly is the most important power centre in the country. The executive branch of government is directly or indirectly dependent on the support of the National Assembly.

Main political parties

Slovenia has a multi-party system and generally no single party has a chance of gaining power alone. Thus parties work with each other to form coalition governments. The major parties in the country are: 
- SD (Social Democrats) – a left-wing political party
- SDS (Slovenian Democratic Party) – a centre-right more urban party;
- Zares (New Politics) - a new political party established by some of the former LDS members
- LDS (Liberal Democracy of Slovenia ) – a centre-left liberal party;
- DeSUS (Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia) – a party of retired persons;
- NSi (New Slovenia – Christian People's Party ) – a right-of-centre political party;
- SNS (Slovenian National Party) – known for its Xenophobia and Euroscepticism;
- SLS (Slovenian People's Party) – a centre-right more rural political party;

Current political leaders

President: Danilo TURK (since December 2007)
Prime Minister: Borut PAHOR (since November 2008) – SD, heading a coalition with LDS, Zares and DeSUS

Next election dates

Presidential: Fall of 2012
National Assembly: Fall of 2012