Sovereignty Day () is a public holiday in Slovenia, celebrated on 25 October. It commemorates one of the key events in the process of attaining independence, namely withdrawal of the last

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

(JNA) soldier from the territory of present-day

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. It is a designated state holiday, but not a work-free day.

Background

The

Ten-Day War The Ten-Day War (), or the Slovenian War of Independence (), was a brief armed conflict that followed Slovenia's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. It was fought between the Slovenian Territorial Defence together wi ...

, a civil war, started in the former Yugoslavia on 27 June 1991 between the Yugoslav army and the

Slovenian Territorial Defence The Territorial Defense of the Republic of Slovenia ( (TO RS)), also known as the Territorial Defense of Slovenia (Slovenian: ''Teritorialna obramba Slovenije OS'), was the predecessor of the Slovenian Armed Forces. It was named after the Yugo ...

, ending on 7 July with Slovenia's decisive victory and Slovenia becoming independent. In the

Brioni Agreement The Brioni Agreement, also known as the Brioni Declaration (, , sr-Cyrl, Брионска декларација, ) is a document signed by representatives of Slovenia, Croatia, and Yugoslavia under the political sponsorship of the European Co ...

signed by both parties, Slovenia agreed to postpone its independence by three months and the Yugoslav military was allowed to leave Slovenian territory in stages, with a deadline of the end of October. The last Yugoslav army soldier left around midnight of 25 October 1991, the day now declared as "Sovereignty Day".

Date issue

The key event, the departure of the ship with the last remaining JNA soldiers from the

Port of Koper Port of Koper (', ') is a public limited company, which provides port and logistics services in the only Slovenian port, in Koper. It is situated in the Gulf of Koper in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea, mainly connecting markets of Cent ...

, actually happened on the night of 25 October 1991. Therefore, some consider 26 October to be the real anniversary. However, the last two ships that were still moored in the port at midnight were flying foreign flags, and thus constituted foreign territory according to

admiralty law Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and conflict of laws, private international law governing the relations ...

. All the troops on board therefore left the Slovene territory as soon as they boarded – which was before midnight.

History

The bill was sponsored by a member of the ruling

Modern Centre Party The Modern Centre Party (, SMC) was a social-liberal political party in Slovenia led by Minister of Economical Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek, who succeeded former Prime Minister and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Miro Ce ...

on the initiative of two veterans' societies, and was enacted with a large majority of 70 to 4 by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

on 9 March 2015. Regarding celebrations, Marjan Dolinšek, a member of the Modern Centre Party, said, "The new holiday would be celebrated as day of pride, unity and confidence in memory of what preserved the nation through centuries". No official state celebration was organized on the first Sovereignty Day on 25 October 2015, nor is one planned for future years. An open day was organized by the president's office, with the president

Borut Pahor Borut Pahor (; born 2 November 1963) is a Slovenian politician who served as President of Slovenia from 2012 to 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Slovenia from 2008 to 2012. A longtime member and former president of the Social D ...

making a speech on this occasion. Apart from that, commemorations took place on the municipal level, most notably in

Kamnik Kamnik (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 26–27. or ''Stein in Oberkrain'') is the ninth-largest town of Slovenia, located in t ...

, where the two veterans' societies unveiled a monument to the actions by members of Slovenian Territorial Defence and

police force The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizen ...

during the Ten-Day War.

References

{{reflist, 30em October observances Public holidays in Slovenia Recurring events established in 2015 Autumn in Slovenia