First Slovenian Democratic Govt to Mark Anniversary

Brdo pri Kranju, 22 May

Members of the first democratically elected Slovenian government met on Sunday at Brdo near Kranj to mark the government's 15th anniversary. The idea for the meeting was given by the first PM Alojz Peterle, now a MEP.

In April 1990, Slovenia held its first multi-party elections, which were overwhelmingly won by the opposition coalition DEMOS, while the reformed Communists became the strongest individual party in the assembly.
Ten parties made it to the assembly, alongside representatives of the Italian and Hungarian ethnic minorities and a handful of independent candidates.
Since the Slovenian Christian Democrats (SKD) won most votes within DEMOS, its leader Peterle was given the mandate to form a new government on 17 May 1990, slightly over a year before Slovenia went independent.
Peterle's cabinet was appointed with little opposition. Some of the members it included were Joze Mencinger as the economics minister, Igor Bavcar as the interior minister, Marko Kranjec as the finance minister, and Dimitrij Rupel as the head of the committee for international relations.
With a new Slovenian constitution passed in December 1991, "the executive council" of the Republic of Slovenia, as the government was termed in Yugoslavia, was renamed into "government" of the Republic of Slovenia.
Peterle, now a MEP, spoke to the press as almost all members of his 27-strong "executive council" gathered for a jubilee meeting at Brdo pri Kranju on Sunday afternoon.
He said Slovenia has developed in the right direction over the past 15 years, making major progress in many fields. Nevertheless, much still needs to be done, according to Peterle, in economy, justice and education.
Peterle's view was echoed by PM Janez Jansa, who was defence minister in his government. Jansa stressed that the basis on which the Slovenian state has been built were laid by the Slovenian government elected in the first multi-party elections.

First Slovenian Democratic Govt to Mark Anniversary

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