A European State with a seat in the European Union, the United Nations and other key forums/decision making bodies.

Population circa 2,108,708

A State that only became Independent on 15 December 1994 but celebrates its independence each year on the 26^th of December

Slovenia’s Independence and Unity Day (Slovene: Dan samostojnosti in enotnosti) is a Slovenian national holiday which is celebrated on the 26^th of  December every year to commemorate the official proclamation of the Slovenian independence referendum on 26^th December 1990.

The referendum took place on the 23^rd of December 1990 and the result was proclaimed on the 26^th of  December of that year recording the fact that 95% of the voters favoured the establishment of an independent and sovereign nation.

Between 1991 and 2005, the holiday used to be known simply as Independence Day. The current name was adopted in September 2005, following the proposal of the then-opposition Social Democrats, in order to emphasise the national consensus at the time of the 1990 referendum, which was supported by all political parties represented in the Assembly of Slovenia at the time.

Independence and Unity Day is not to be confused with Slovenia’s Statehood Day, which is celebrated each year on June 25, in honour of the declaration of Slovenian independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

Brief modern history

On June 25, 1991, Slovenia seceded from Yugoslavia and declared their Capital of Slovenia as Ljubljana.With independence secured, Slovenia adopted a democratic constitution on December 23, 1991 and over the next decade the economy grew quickly, and Slovenia enjoyed political stability

Throughout the 1990s Slovenia, with the support of all major political parties, had pursued membership in both the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the European Union (EU). In 2003, following invitations to join from both organisations, Slovenes overwhelmingly endorsed membership, and Slovenia became a full member of both organisations in 2004.

Slovenia adopted the Euro in 2007 and during the first half of 2008 was the first post-communist country to hold the EU presidency. In September 2008 the centre-left Social Democrats narrowly won parliamentary elections, thereby ending four years of government by the centre-right.