Editing History of Slovakia (section)

==== Velvet Revolution (1989) ====

On 17 November 1989, a series of public protests known as the "[[Velvet Revolution]]" began and led to the downfall of Communist Party rule in Czechoslovakia. A transition government formed in December 1989, and the first free elections in Czechoslovakia since 1948 took place in June 1990. In 1992, negotiations on the new federal constitution deadlocked over the issue of Slovak autonomy. In the latter half of 1992, agreement emerged to dissolve Czechoslovakia peacefully. On 1 January 1993, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic each simultaneously and peacefully proclaimed their existence. Both states attained immediate recognition from the United States of America and from their European neighbors.

In the days following the "Velvet Revolution," Charter 77 and other groups united to become the [[Civic Forum]], an umbrella group championing bureaucratic reform and [[civil liberties]]. Its leader, the playwright and former dissident [[Václav Havel]] won election as President of Czechoslovakia in December 1989. The Slovak counterpart of the Civic Forum, [[Public Against Violence]], expressed the same ideals.

In the June 1990 elections, Civic Forum and Public Against Violence won landslide victories. Civic Forum and Public Against Violence found, however, that although they had successfully completed their primary objective – the overthrow of the communist régime – they proved less effective as governing parties. In the 1992 elections, a spectrum of new parties replaced both Civic Forum and Public Against Violence.