Zhydachiv

Zhydachiv () is a city in Lviv Oblast (region) in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zhydachiv Raion (district). Local government is administered by the Zhydachivska city council. Its population is approximately .
Zhydachiv lies on the Stryi River. It has two schools and one Ukrainian gymnasium.
Name.
The city has historically had numerous name variants, reflecting its complex past, including and ("Zidichov"). It was mentioned for the first time in 1164 under the name "Udech". In documents from the 14th to 17th centuries, the city was referred to as Zudech, Zudachiv, Sudachiv, Zidachiv, Sidachiv, Zudechev and more.
History.
The first written mention of the city dates from the year 1164. At that time the city was part of Galician Rus' and was an important trade center at the confluence of the river Stryi in Dniester with a stone church of St. Nicholas.
Then called Udech, Zhydachiv formed from two settlements located at a distance of 800 m from each other. Great western fort occupied territory of present-day mount "Bazyivka" and east fort lies in the mount "Zamok" ("Castle"). Since then (13th century) comes famous miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary that still remains in the city.
Between this two fortifications were also mentioned are six unfortified settlements, which were also included in the structure of the city. Between the two Fortifications on the old river bed (district Korablysche) most likely was located a river harbor, and the district Bologna may be a main shopping area of the ancient Rus' city.
In the mid-14th century, Zhydachiv, together with all of Galicia, was seized by the Kingdom of Poland, then some time became a part of the Kingdom of Hungary and in 1387 again conquered by Jadwiga of Poland. From 1434 Zhydachiv, was part of Poland's Ruthenian Voivodeship. By the end of 14th century, there were two castles, four Orthodox churches, one Roman Catholic church, a Market Square and a wooden Town Hall. King Wladyslaw Jagiello granted in 1393 Magdeburg rights and several privileges, also founding a Roman Catholic church. Zhydachiv for centuries remained in private hands, among others it belonged to the noble Rzewuski family, had a defensive castle and was the seat of a starosta.
In the middle of the 17th century, population of Zhydachiv participated in the Khmelnytsky Uprising also known as the liberation war led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. In 1772, it was seized by the Habsburg Empire, as part of Austrian Galicia and in 1800 a Jewish rabbinical School was established.
From 1 November 1918 until May 1919, it was administered by the West Ukrainian People's Republic. After the Polish–Ukrainian War, Zhydachiv became a part of Second Polish Republic and was the seat of a county in Stanislawow Voivodeship. In 1929, the population of Zhydachiv was almost 4,200 including 1,960 Ukrainians, 1,290 Poles and a quarter of the total population (950 members) were the Jews. In September 1939, Zhydachiv was occupied by the Red Army. Soviet authorities deported the Polish residents to Siberia. When the Germans occupied the town in 1941–1944, they kept Jews imprisoned in a ghetto. In September 1942, they were deported to the Bełżec extermination camp and murdered.
After World War II, the city was incorporated into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and from that time started a process of industrialization. In 1951, Zhydachiv become a home of Ukraine's largest pulp and paper mill, which produces 90% of Ukrainian paper. The population has increased fivefold. After 1991, Zhydachiv has been a city in independent Ukraine as the center of the Zhydachiv Raion in Lviv Oblast.


Colleoni

The Colleoni were a Guelf-allied family in medieval Bergamo. Their Ghibelline opponents were the Suardi family, of which the Colleoni themselves were a branch.
When the Visconti of Milan seized Bergamo, they exiled the Colleoni and other Guelfs. On October 23, 1404, Paolo Colleoni seized Trezzo Castle by wile and held it by force until he was assassinated by his cousins, probably acting on behalf of the Duke of Milan. Paolo's son Bartolomeo became a famous mercenary and Captain-General of the Republic of Venice. He purchased and refurbished the Malpaga Castle in Cavernago as a new base for his family. The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo was built in his honor and houses his remains and those of his beloved daughter Medea.
Bartolomeo's grandson Count Alessandro Martinengo Colleoni commissioned Lorenzo Lotto's 1516 Martinengo Altarpiece for the Dominican church of Santi Bartolomei e Stefano in Bergamo.
The family's name is derived from the Latin "coleus", or testicle, and indeed, the family's coat of arms was two pairs of white testicles on a red field, above one red pair on a white field. The progenitor of the family, Gisalberto, was reportedly proud of this coat of arms which he displayed prominently on his properties. Later members of the family modified the testicles on the coat of arms into upside-down hearts.


Egils Levits

Egils Levits (born 30 June 1955) is a Latvian politician, lawyer, political scientist and jurist who has been the tenth and current President of Latvia since 8 July 2019. He was a Member of the European Court of Justice from 2004 to 2019.
During the late Soviet-era he was a member of the Popular Front of Latvia and contributed to the declaration of renewed Latvian independence in 1990. He was Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for Justice of Latvia from 1993 to 1994 and ambassador to Hungary, Austria and Switzerland from 1994 to 1995. He was then appointed a Judge of the European Court of Human Rights, a position he held until 2019. He finished second in the indirect election for President of Latvia in 2015 behind Raimonds Vējonis. Although an Independent, he was the candidate of the National Alliance. In 2018, Levits was reappointed a Judge of the European Court of Justice, having first been appointed in 2004. He is married and has two children: a son, Linards, and daughter, Indra. He published a book of memoirs in 2019.
Early life.
Levits was born in Riga, into the family of Latvian Jewish engineer Jonass Levits and his wife, Latvian-Baltic German poet Ingeborga Levite (née Barga, pen name Aija Zemzare). In 1972, the family was expelled from the USSR for their Soviet dissident activities and settled in West Germany, where Ingeborga's relatives lived. They lived in West Germany until 1990 when Latvia regained its independence.
Levits has stated in interviews that despite his Jewish heritage, he identifies himself foremost as Latvian.
Political career.
Levits has been involved in Latvian politics since the late 1980s. Levits became a member of the Popular Front of Latvia and a member of the Latvian Citizens' Congress established in 1989. Later, he joined the political club "Klubs 21" and in 1993 was elected a 5th Saeima deputy from the list of the party Latvijas Ceļš. In 2016, he was among the best paid EU officials. In 2018, he was named the "European Person of the Year in Latvia" by the European Movement – Latvia.
He has been an Ambassador of Latvia to Austria, Switzerland and Hungary.
He is the co-author of the Preamble to the Constitution of Latvia and has been the head for Commission for Constitutional Law, working under the President together with lawyer Lauris Liepa.
Presidential campaigns.
Levits was named a presidential candidate by the National Alliance party in 2011 and 2015, coming second in votes in the final round to minister of defense Raimonds Vējonis in 2015. Levits was widely discussed as a potential front runner candidate for the presidency in early 2019, and on April 15 the parties of the ruling coalition announced that they would support Levits' candidacy. Latvia's parliament elected him on 29 May 2019.
Presidency.
Levits was inaugurated in the Saeima on 8 July 2019. During his inaugural speech, he noted that "there is no ideal country, because that implies halted progress." After the ceremony, he visited the Freedom Monument, laid flowers at the grave of Jānis Čakste, and received the keys to Riga Castle from outgoing President Raimonds Vējonis. On July 10, he conducted his first foreign visit to Tallinn, Estonia, meeting with President Kersti Kaljulaid and Prime Minister Jüri Ratas.
Judicial career.
In 1995, Levits was elected representative of Latvia for European Court of Human Rights. Since 2004, he has been Latvia's representative to the European Court of Justice, where the mandate will expire in 2024.
Political views.
Levits has expressed traditionally conservative views on issues in Latvian politics. During his time as a European judge, he has been involved in and commented on current developments in Latvia; for example, he pointed out that neither the reception of refugees nor the Istanbul Convention violate the Constitution of Latvia. Levits has expressed skepticism about enacting major change to the financial system, calling Latvia one of the strongest economies in Europe. On the topic of Russian language, Levits has undertaken many initiatives to purge its use in Latvia, including banning private universities that employ instruction in any language except English and Latvian, and reaffirmed that Russian nationals (even Latvian-born) must first pass a Latvian literacy test to receive citizenship. Levits has said that "Russian language is a shackle from the darkest days in [Latvia's] history," and that "the only way to be freed from it is to use every opportunity to let it rust away." Levits is not a member of any political party, and has expressed a wish to remain independent.
In popular culture.
On the 7 December 2019 episode of "Saturday Night Live", Levits was portrayed by Alex Moffat, in a sketch that poked fun at Donald Trump's experience at the 2019 NATO summit.
Personal life.
Levits is married to Andra Levite, a gynecologist, and has a son named Linards and a daughter named Indra. In 2019, Levits released his first book "Valstsgriba. Idejas un domas Latvijai 1985–2018" ("Country's Will: Ideas and thoughts for Latvia 1985–2018") where he mentions articles, interviews and combines them with his personal opinion as a Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union. Aside from his native Latvian language, he also knows German (from his time in Germany), English, French and Russian.


Royal Exchange, Edinburgh


Elections in Jersey

Elections in Jersey take place for the States Assembly and at parish-level. Various parties have been formed over the years in Jersey, but few candidates stand for election affiliated to any political party. All elections in Jersey use the first-past-the-post voting system. In 2008, the voting age was reduced to 16 years.
National elections.
Jersey elects a legislature. From November 2011, the States Assembly has 51 elected members: 10 Senators (elected on an island-wide basis), 29 Deputies (elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies) and 12 Connétables (heads of the parishes).
The normal term of office for elected States Members is four years, though members elected in October 2011 and October 2014 will serve for shorter periods. From 2018, elections will be held in May every fourth year.
Senators.
The office of Senator was created in 1948. In the early years of Senatorial elections since 1948, parish loyalties meant that votes would swing around the candidates, with Saint Helier - the largest and last parish to declare - often deciding the election. Since the 1980s, parish loyalties to local candidates have faded in favour of Islandwide issues and it is usual for the pattern of winning candidates to be clear from the first declarations, with "Town" voters in St Helier only likely to decide the last-placed candidate. Initially, Senators served terms of nine years but this was reduced to six years in 1966 and to four years in 2011.
The number of Senators will be reduced to eight in the October 2014 elections. As part of the transitional arrangements for this new electoral system, the six Senators elected for six-year terms in 2008 did not face election in 2011.
Up to the 2008 elections, six of the 12 Senatorial seats fell vacant every three years in elections held in October. Deputies had three year terms, with elections held in November. Defeated Senatorial candidates were therefore able to stand in the following Deputorial elections. It was not uncommon for an incumbent Senator denied re-election by the Island electorate to seek a refreshed mandate in their own parish. A number of prospective candidates for Deputy used the preceding Senatorials as a "dry-run" to either raise their public profile or, in the absence of a strong tie to one particular parish, to see which Deputorial constituency gave them the highest Senatorial vote. There was no uniform date for Connétable elections.
To be nominated for Senator, a candidate must secure a nomination paper signed by 10 validly-registered voters, including a proposer and seconder. The proposer and seconder must attend in person the Electoral Assembly ("nomination meeting") held at the Parish Hall of St Helier, presided over by the "Comité des Connétables", and the proposer must read out publicly the nomination form, including the candidate's declaration of criminal convictions (or of no criminal convictions).
If more candidates are nominated than there are seats available, a poll is declared, to be taken on the date set by the Royal Court. If there are no more candidates nominated after 20 minutes than available seats, then the candidates are declared elected unopposed and no poll is taken. The Royal Court appoints an "autorisé" for each constituency to oversee the poll (usually, but not exclusively, a Jurat or Crown Officer). Results for each parish on polling day are declared by the "autorisé".
In the October 2011 elections, four senatorial seats were contested, each voter having a maximum of four unranked votes in a first past the post bloc voting system (multi-member plurality system). In the October 2014 elections, each voter had eight unranked votes for Senator.
Deputies.
The procedure for nomination for Deputy follows the same pattern as for the Senatorials, except that the nomination paper must be signed by 10 voters, including proposer and seconder, validly registered in the constituency in which they intend standing (for a Senatorial election, the constituency is one all-Island constituency). The proposer and seconder must attend in person the Electoral Assembly ("nomination meeting") presided by the Constable (or Chef de Police or Procureur du Bien Public) of the respective parish held at the respective parish's parish hall (Public Hall in the case of St. Martin) or other place as may be specified.
In the case of parishes divided into more than one electoral district, nominations are accepted at the Electoral Assembly by district, nominations for each district having to last at least 20 minutes. ("see articles on individual parishes for electoral districts")
In single-member districts, a simple first past the post election is held. In multi-member districts, the system is that of a first past the post bloc election analogous to the Senatorials.
Past elections.
By-elections.
For senators:
For deputies:
Local elections.
The first local election on the island was a one off event in 1940. The elected Connétable (or "Constable") heads the administration of each of the twelve parishes.
Procureurs du Bien Public and Centeniers are elected under the same rules as Senators, Deputies and Constables.
Centeniers, Vingteniers and Constable's Officers, collectively the Honorary Police are elected by a Parish assembly along with members of the Roads Committee and Roads Inspectors and must take an oath of office before the Royal Court.
Other municipal officials are also elected by an Assembly of Electors but are not subject to an oath of office.
Changes to the Voting Law meant that all elections for the position of Procureur du Bien Public and Centenier now follow the rule applied to elections to the States of Jersey. Since such elections are generally uncontested the following list details contested elections only. A full list of people elected to Parish Municipalities can be found at List of politicians in Jersey.
Constable elections are normally for a period of three years. From 2008, all Constables will be elected on a single day, all terms will be cut short to allow for this Thus all elections in 2006 and 2007 are for a period until that date.
Electoral register.
Those eligible to vote at a public election (for Senators, Deputies, Constables, Procureurs du Bien Public and Centeniers) are those whose names are included on the electoral register for the relevant electoral district (the register is compiled by vingtaine).
Those entitled to register must be
and either
The right to vote is determined by residency, not citizenship, and therefore citizens of any state may vote in Jersey elections provided they fulfill the other requirements for electoral registration.
On 4 July 2007, the States of Jersey voted to reduce voting age to 16. The law was brought into force on 12 March 2008, with effect from 1 April 2008, allowing 16- and 17-year-old voters to register in time for the 2008 elections.
Those entitled to vote at elections other than public elections are electors, ratepayers and mandataires.
The first public election by secret ballot was held on 1 December 1891, following the passing of the law providing for secret ballots on 26 January 1891. Secret ballots are not required for other elections (at Parish Assemblies) and may be conducted by show of hands, although such elections may be conducted by means of secret ballot.
Indirect elections.
Since the 1948 constitutional reforms, Jurats are elected by electoral college rather than by Islandwide vote.


San Michele de Murato

San Michele de Murato (, ) is a church in Murato, Haute-Corse, Corsica. The building was classified as a Historic Monument in 1840.


John Sproten

John Sproten was a pre-Reformation cleric who was appointed the Bishop of Sodor and Man in the late 14th century.
A Dominican friar, he was appointed the bishop of the diocese of Sodor and Man by Pope Boniface IX on 16 April 1392. It is not known when his episcopate ended, but his successor Conrad was appointed on 9 January 1402.
References.


History of Slovenia

The history of Slovenia chronicles the period of the Slovenian territory from the 5th century BC to the present. In the Early Bronze Age, Proto-Illyrian tribes settled an area stretching from present-day Albania to the city of Trieste. Slovenian territory was part of the Roman Empire, and it was devastated by Barbarian incursions in late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages, since the main route from the Pannonian plain to Italy ran through present-day Slovenia. Alpine Slavs, ancestors of modern-day Slovenians, settled the area in the late 6th Century A.D. The Holy Roman Empire controlled the land for nearly 1,000 years, and between the mid 14th century and 1918 most of Slovenia was under Habsburg rule. In 1918, Slovenes formed Yugoslavia along with Serbs and Croats, while a minority came under Italy. The state of Slovenia was created in 1945 as part of federal Yugoslavia. Slovenia gained its independence from Yugoslavia in June 1991, and is today a member of the European Union and NATO.
Prehistory to Slavic settlement.
Prehistory.
During the last glacial period, present-day Slovenia was inhabited by Neanderthals; the best-known Neanderthal archaeological site in Slovenia is a cave close to the village of Šebrelje near Cerkno, where the Divje Babe Flute, the oldest known musical instrument in the world, was found in 1995. The world's oldest securely dated wooden wheel and axle was found near the Ljubljana Marshes in 2002. In the transition period between the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, the Urnfield culture flourished. Numerous archeological remains dating from the Hallstatt period have been found in Slovenia, with important settlements in Most na Soči, Vače, and Šentvid pri Stični. Novo Mesto in Lower Carniola, one of the most important archaeological sites of the Hallstatt culture, has been nicknamed the "City of Situlas" after numerous situlas found in the area.
Ancient Romans.
In the Iron Age, present-day Slovenia was inhabited by Illyrian and Celtic tribes until the 1st century BC, when the Romans conquered the region establishing the provinces of Pannonia and Noricum. What is now western Slovenia was included directly under Roman Italia as part of the X region "Venetia et Histria". Important Roman towns located in present-day Slovenia included Emona, Celeia and Poetovio. Other important settlements were Nauportus, Neviodunum, Haliaetum, Atrans, and Stridon.
During the Migration Period, the region suffered invasions of many barbarian armies, due to its strategic position as the main passage from the Pannonian Plain to the Italian Peninsula. Rome finally abandoned the region at the end of the 4th century. Most cities were destroyed, while the remaining local population moved to the highland areas, establishing fortified towns. In the 5th century, the region was part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, and was later contested between the Ostrogoths, the Byzantine Empire and the Lombards.
Slavic settlement.
The Slavic ancestors of present-day Slovenes settled in the East Alpine area at the end of the 6th century. Coming from two directions, North (via today's East Austria and Czech Republic), settling in the area of today's Carinthia and west Styria, and South (via today's Slavonia), settling in the area of today's central Slovenia.
King Samo.
This Slavic tribe, also known as the Alpine Slavs, was submitted to Avar rule before joining the Slavic King Samo's tribal union in 623 AD. After Samo's death, the Slavs of Carniola (in present-day Slovenia) again fell to Avar rule, while the Slavs north of the Karavanke range (in present-day Austrian regions of Carinthia, Styria and East Tyrol) established the independent principality of Carantania.
Middle Ages.
Carantania to Carinthia.
In 745, Carantania and the rest of Slavic-populated territories of present-day Slovenia, being pressured by newly consolidated Avar power, submitted to Bavarian overrule and were, together with the Duchy of Bavaria, incorporated into the Carolingian Empire, while Carantanians and other Slavs living in present Slovenia converted to Christianity. The eastern part of Carantania was ruled again by Avars between 745 and 795.
Carantania retained its internal independence until 818 when the local princes, following the anti-Frankish rebellion of Ljudevit Posavski, were deposed and gradually replaced by a Germanic (primarily Bavarian) ascendancy. Under Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia, Carantania, now ruled by a mixed Bavarian-Slav nobility, briefly emerged as a regional power, but was destroyed by the Hungarian invasions in the late 9th century.
Carantania-Carinthia was established again as an autonomous administrative unit in 976, when Emperor Otto I, "the Great", after deposing the Duke of Bavaria, Henry II, "the Quarreller", split the lands held by him and made Carinthia the sixth duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, but old Carantania never developed into a unified realm.
In the late 10th and beginning of the 11th century, primarily because of the Hungarian threat, the south-eastern border region of the German Empire was organized into so called "marks", that became the core of the development of the historical Slovenian lands, the Carniola, the Styria and the western Goriška/Gorizia. The consolidation and formation of the historical Slovenian lands took place in a long period between 11th and 14th century being led by a number of important feudal families such as the Dukes of Spannheim, the Counts of Gorizia, the Counts of Celje and finally the House of Habsburg.
Slovenes as a distinct ethnic group.
The first mentions of a common Slovene ethnic identity, transcending regional boundaries, date from the 16th century.
During the 14th century, most of the Slovene Lands passed under the Habsburg rule. In the 15th century, the Habsburg domination was challenged by the Counts of Celje, but by the end of the century the great majority of Slovene-inhabited territories were incorporated into the Habsburg Monarchy. Most Slovenes lived in the administrative region known as Inner Austria, forming the majority of the population of the Duchy of Carniola and the County of Gorizia and Gradisca, as well as of Lower Styria and southern Carinthia.
Slovenes also inhabited most of the territory of the Imperial Free City of Trieste, although representing the minority of its population.
Early modern period.
In the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation spread throughout the Slovene Lands. During this period, the first books in the Slovene language were written by the Protestant preacher Primož Trubar and his followers, establishing the base for the development of the standard Slovene language. In the second half of the 16th century, numerous books were printed in Slovene, including an integral translation of the Bible by Jurij Dalmatin. During the Counter-Reformation in the late 16th and 17th centuries, led by the bishop of Ljubljana Thomas Chrön and Seckau , almost all Protestants were expelled from the Slovene Lands (with the exception of Prekmurje). Nevertheless, they left a strong legacy in the tradition of Slovene culture, which was partially incorporated in the Catholic Counter-Reformation in the 17th century. The old Slovene orthography, also known as Bohorič's alphabet, which was developed by the Protestants in the 16th century and remained in use until the mid-19th century, testified to the unbroken tradition of Slovene culture as established in the years of the Protestant Reformation.
Between the 15th and the 17th centuries, the Slovene Lands suffered many calamities. Many areas, especially in southern Slovenia, were devastated by the Ottoman–Habsburg wars. Many flourishing towns, like Vipavski Križ and Kostanjevica na Krki, were completely destroyed by incursions of the Ottoman Army, and never recovered. The nobility of the Slovene-inhabited provinces had an important role in the fight against the Ottoman Empire. The Carniolan noblemen's army thus defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Sisak of 1593, marking the end of the immediate Ottoman threat to the Slovene Lands, although sporadic Ottoman incursions continued well into the 17th century.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the western Slovene regions became the battlefield of the wars between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Venetian Republic, most notably the War of Gradisca, which was largely fought in the Slovene Goriška region. Between the late 15th and early 18th centuries, the Slovene lands also witnessed many peasant wars, the best-known being the Carinthian Peasant Revolt of 1478, the Slovene Peasant Revolt of 1515, the Croatian–Slovene Peasant Revolt of 1573, the Second Slovene Peasant Revolt of 1635, and the Tolmin Peasant Revolt of 1713.
The late 17th century was also marked by a vivid intellectual and artistic activity. Many Italian Baroque artists, mostly architects and musicians, settled in the Slovene Lands, and contributed greatly to the development of the local culture. Artists like Francesco Robba, Andrea Pozzo, Vittore Carpaccio and Giulio Quaglio worked in the Slovenian territory, while scientists such as Johann Weikhard von Valvasor and Johannes Gregorius Thalnitscher contributed to the development of the scholarly activities. By the early 18th century, however, the region entered another period of stagnation, which was slowly overcome only by the mid-18th century.
Age of Enlightenment to the national movement.
Between the early 18th century and early 19th century, the Slovene lands experienced a period of peace, with a moderate economic recovery starting from mid-18th century onward. The Adriatic city of Trieste was declared a free port in 1718, boosting the economic activity throughout the western parts of the Slovene Lands. The political, administrative and economic reforms of the Habsburg rulers Maria Theresa of Austria and Joseph II improved the economic situation of the peasantry, and were well received by the emerging bourgeoisie, which was however still weak.
In the late 18th century, a process of standardarization of Slovene language began, promoted by Carniolan clergymen like Marko Pohlin and Jurij Japelj. During the same period, peasant-writers began using and promoting the Slovene vernacular in the countryside. This popular movement, known as "bukovniki", started among Carinthian Slovenes as part a wider revival of Slovene literature. The Slovene cultural tradition was strongly reinforced in the Enlightenment period in the 18th century by the endeavours of the Zois Circle. After two centuries of stagnation, Slovene literature emerged again, most notably in the works of the playwright Anton Tomaž Linhart and the poet Valentin Vodnik. However, German remained the main language of culture, administration and education well into the 19th century.
Between 1805 and 1813, the Slovene-settled territory was part of the Illyrian Provinces, an autonomous province of the Napoleonic French Empire, the capital of which was established at Ljubljana. Although the French rule in the Illyrian Provinces was short-lived it significantly contributed to greater national self-confidence and awareness of freedoms. The French did not entirely abolish the feudal system, their rule familiarised in more detail the inhabitants of the Illyrian Provinces with the achievements of the French revolution and with contemporary bourgeois society. They introduced equality before the law, compulsory military service for men and a uniform tax system, and also abolished certain tax privileges, introduced modern administration, separated powers between the state and the Church, and nationalised the judiciary.
In August 1813, Austria declared war on France. Austrian troops led by General Franz Tomassich invaded the Illyrian Provinces. After this short French interim all Slovene Lands were, once again, included in the Austrian Empire. Slowly, a distinct Slovene national consciousness developed, and the quest for a political unification of all Slovenes became widespread. In the 1820s and 1840s, the interest in Slovene language and folklore grew enormously, with numerous philologists collecting folk songs and advancing the first steps towards a standardization of the language. A small number of Slovene activist, mostly from Styria and Carinthia, embraced the Illyrian movement that started in neighboring Croatia and aimed at uniting all South Slavic peoples. Pan-Slavic and Austro-Slavic ideas also gained importance. However, the intellectual circle around the philologist Matija Čop and the Romantic poet France Prešeren was influential in affirming the idea of Slovene linguistic and cultural individuality, refusing the idea of merging the Slovenes into a wider Slavic nation.
In 1848, a mass political and popular movement for the United Slovenia ("") emerged as part of the Spring of Nations movement within the Austrian Empire. Slovene activists demanded a unification of all Slovene-speaking territories in a unified and autonomous Slovene kingdom within the Austrian Empire. Although the project failed, it served as an almost undisputed platform of Slovene political activity in the following decades.
Clashing nationalisms in the late 19th century.
Between 1848 and 1918, numerous institutions (including theatres and publishing houses, as well as political, financial and cultural organisations) were founded in the so-called Slovene National Awakening. Despite their political and institutional fragmentation and lack of proper political representation, the Slovenes were able to establish a functioning national infrastructure.
With the introduction of a constitution granting civil and political liberties in the Austrian Empire in 1860, the Slovene national movement gained force. Despite its internal differentiation among the conservative Old Slovenes and the progressive Young Slovenes, the Slovene nationals defended similar programs, calling for a cultural and political autonomy of the Slovene people. In the late 1860s and early 1870s, a series of mass rallies called "tabori", modeled on the Irish monster meetings, were organized in support of the United Slovenia program. These rallies, attended by thousands of people, proved the allegiance of wider strata of the Slovene population to the ideas of national emancipation.
By the end of the 19th century, Slovenes had established a standardized literary language, and a thriving civil society. Literacy levels were among the highest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and numerous national associations were present at grassroots level. The idea of a common political entity of all South Slavs, known as Yugoslavia, emerged.
Since the 1880s, a fierce culture war between Catholic traditionalists and integralists on one side, and liberals, progressivists and anticlericals dominated Slovene political and public life, especially in Carniola. During the same period, the growth of industrialization intensified social tensions. Both Socialist and Christian socialist movements mobilized the masses. In 1905, the first Socialist mayor in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was elected in the Slovene mining town of Idrija on the list of the Yugoslav Social Democratic Party. In the same years, the Christian socialist activist Janez Evangelist Krek organized hundreds of workers and agricultural cooperatives throughout the Slovene countryside.
At the turn of the 20th century, national struggles in ethnically mixed areas (especially in Carinthia, Trieste and in Lower Styrian towns) dominated the political and social lives of the citizenry. By the 1910s, the national struggles between Slovene and Italian speakers in the Austrian Littoral, and Slovene and German speakers, overshadowed other political conflicts and brought about a nationalist radicalization on both sides.
In the last two decades before World War One, Slovene arts and literature experienced one of its most flourishing periods, with numerous talented modernist authors, painters and architects. The most important authors of this period were Ivan Cankar, Oton Župančič and Dragotin Kette, while Ivan Grohar and Rihard Jakopič were among the most talented Slovene visual artists of the time.
 After the Ljubljana earthquake of 1895, the city experienced a rapid modernization under the charismatic Liberal nationalist mayors Ivan Hribar and Ivan Tavčar. Architects like Max Fabiani and Ciril Metod Koch introduced their own version of the Vienna Secession architecture to Ljubljana. In the same period, the Adriatic port of Trieste became an increasingly important center of Slovene economy, culture and politics. By 1910, around a third of the city population was Slovene, and the number of Slovenes in Trieste was higher than in Ljubljana.
At the turn of the 20th century, hundreds of thousands of Slovenes emigrated to other countries, mostly to the United States, but also to South America, Germany, Egypt and to larger cities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, especially Zagreb and Vienna. It has been calculated that around 300,000 Slovenes emigrated between 1880 and 1910, which means that one in six Slovenes left their homeland.
Emigration.
The period between the 1880s and World War I saw a mass emigration from the present-day Slovenia to America. The largest group of Slovenes eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio, and the surrounding area. The second-largest group settled in Chicago, principally on the Lower West Side. Many Slovene immigrants went to southwestern Pennsylvania, southeastern Ohio and the state of West Virginia to work in the coal mines and lumber industry. Some also went to the Pittsburgh or Youngstown, Ohio areas, to work in the steel mills, as well as Minnesota's Iron Range, to work in the iron mines.
During the First World War, which severely affected Slovenia in particular with the bloody soviet front and the politics of the great powers that threatened to dismantle the Slovene territory between several countries (the London Agreement, 1915), Slovenes have already tried to regulate their national position in the common state unit Croats and Serbs in the Habsburg Monarchy. The demand, known as the May Declaration, was given by the Slovene, Croatian and Serbian parliamentarians in the Vienna Parliament in the spring of 1917. The ruling circles of the Habsburg monarchy initially rejected the request, and subsequent government initiatives for the federalisation of the monarchy (for example, the October manifesto of Emperor Charles) was rejected by most Slovenian politicians, which has already leaned towards independence. The preservation of the reformed state was longest defended by the former head of the Slovenian People's Party and the last Provincial Commander-in-Chief of Carniola, Ivan Šusteršič, who had few supporters and influence.
Merging into the Yugoslav state and struggle for the border areas.
The Slovene People's Party launched a movement for self-determination, demanding the creation of a semi-independent South Slavic state under Habsburg rule. The proposal was picked up by most Slovene parties, and a mass mobilization of Slovene civil society, known as the Declaration Movement, followed. By early 1918, more than 200,000 signatures were collected in favor of the Slovene People Party's proposal.
During the War, some 500 Slovenes served as volunteers in the Serbian army, while a smaller group led by Captain Ljudevit Pivko, served as volunteers in the Italian Army. In the final year of the war, many predominantly Slovene regiments in the Austro-Hungarian Army staged a mutiny against their military leadership; the best-known mutiny of Slovene soldiers was the Judenburg Rebellion in May 1918.
Following the dissolution of Austro-Hungarian Empire in the aftermath of the World War I, a National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs took power in Zagreb on 6 October 1918. On 29 October independence was declared by a national gathering in Ljubljana, and by the Croatian parliament, declaring the establishment of the new State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. On 1 December 1918 the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs merged with Serbia, becoming part of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, itself being renamed in 1929 to Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
Slovenes whose territory fell under the rule of neighboring states Italy, Austria and Hungary, were subjected to policies of assimilation.
Border with Austria.
After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in late 1918, an armed dispute started between the Slovenes and German Austria for the regions of Lower Styria and southern Carinthia. In November 1918, Rudolf Maister seized the city of Maribor and surrounding areas of Lower Styria in the name of the newly formed Yugoslav state. The Austrian government of Styria refrained from military intervention and also opposed a referendum, knowing that the vast majority of Lower Styria was ethnically Slovenian. Maribor and Lower Styria were awarded to Yugoslavia in the Treaty of Saint-Germain.
Around the same time, a group of volunteers led by Franjo Malgaj attempted to take control of southern Carinthia. Fighting in Carinthia lasted between December 1918 and June 1919, when the Slovene volunteers and the regular Serbian Army managed to occupy the city of Klagenfurt. In compliance with the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the Yugoslav forces had to withdraw from Klagenfurt, while a referendum was to be held in other areas of southern Carinthia. In October 1920, the majority of the population of southern Carinthia voted to remain in Austria, and only a small portion of the province (around Dravograd and Guštanj) was awarded to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. With the Treaty of Trianon, on the other hand, Kingdom of Yugoslavia was awarded the Slovene-inhabited Prekmurje region, which had belonged to Hungary since the 10th century.
Border with Italy.
In exchange for joining the Allied Powers in the First World War, the Kingdom of Italy, under the secret Treaty of London (1915) and later Treaty of Rapallo (1920), was granted rule over much of the Slovene territories. These included a quarter of the Slovene ethnic territory, including areas that were exclusively ethnic Slovene. The population of the affected areas was approximately 327,000 of the total population of 1.3 million Slovenes.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
In 1921, against the vote of the great majority (70%) of Slovene MPs, a centralist constitution was passed in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Despite it, Slovenes managed to maintain a high level of cultural autonomy, and both economy and the arts prospered. Slovene politicians participated in almost all Yugoslav governments, and the Slovene conservative leader Anton Korošec briefly served as the only non-Serbian Prime Minister of Yugoslavia in the period between the two world wars.
In 1929, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The constitution was abolished, civil liberties suspended, while the centralist pressure intensified. Slovenia was renamed to Drava Banovina. During the whole interwar period, Slovene voters strongly supported the conservative Slovene People's Party, which unsuccessfully fought for the autonomy of Slovenia within a federalized Yugoslavia. In 1935, however, the Slovene People's Party joined the pro-regime Yugoslav Radical Community, opening the space for the development of a left wing autonomist movement. In the 1930s, the economic crisis created a fertile ground for the rising of both leftist and rightist radicalisms. In 1937, the Communist Party of Slovenia was founded as an autonomous party within the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. Between 1938 and 1941, left liberal, Christian left and agrarian forces established close relations with members of the illegal Communist party, aiming at establishing a broad anti-Fascist coalition.
The main territory of Slovenia, being the most industrialized and westernized among others less developed parts of Yugoslavia became the main center of industrial production: in comparison to Serbia, for example, in Slovenia the industrial production was four times greater and even twenty-two times greater than in Yugoslav Macedonia.
The interwar period brought a further industrialization in Slovenia, with a rapid economic growth in the 1920s followed by a relatively successful economic adjustment to the 1929 economic crisis. This development however affected only certain areas, especially the Ljubljana Basin, the Central Sava Valley, parts of Slovenian Carinthia, and the urban areas around Celje and Maribor. Tourism experienced a period of great expansion, with resort areas like Bled and Rogaška Slatina gaining an international reputation. Elsewhere, agriculture and forestry remained the predominant economic activities. Nevertheless, Slovenia emerged as one of the most prosperous and economically dynamic areas in Yugoslavia, profiting from a large Balkan market. Arts and literature also prospered, as did architecture. The two largest Slovenian cities, Ljubljana and Maribor, underwent an extensive program of urban renewal and modernization. Architects like Jože Plečnik, Ivan Vurnik and Vladimir Šubic introduced modernist architecture to Slovenia.
Fascist Italianization of Littoral Slovenes and resistance.
With a secret Treaty of London in 1915, the Kingdom of Italy was promised large portions of Austrian-Hungarian territory by the Triple Entente, in exchange for joining the Entente against the Central Powers in World War I. After the Central Powers were defeated in 1918, Italy went on to annex some of the promised territories, after signing the treaty of Rapallo with the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1920. However, these areas also included a quarter of Slovene ethnic territory and approximately 327.000 out of total population of 1.3 million Slovenes, were annexed by the Kingdom of Italy The treaty left half a million Slavs (besides Slovenes also Croatians) inside Italy, while only a few hundred Italians in the fledgling Yugoslav state".
Trieste was at the end of 19th century de facto the largest Slovene city, having had more Slovene inhabitants than even Ljubljana. After being ceded from the multi-ethnic Austria, Italian lower middle class—who felt most threatened by the city's Slovene middle class—sought to make Trieste "città italianissima", committing series of attacks, led by Black Shirts, on Slovene shops, libraries, lawyer offices, and the central place of the rival community in "Narodni dom". Forced Italianization followed and by the mid-1930s, several thousand Slovenes, especially intellectuals from Trieste region, emigrated to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and to South America.
The present-day Slovenian municipalities of Idrija, Ajdovščina, Vipava, Kanal, Postojna, Pivka, and Ilirska Bistrica, were subjected to forced Italianization. The Slovene minority in Italy (1920-1947) lacked any minority protection under international or domestic law. Clashes between the Italian authorities and Fascist squads on one side, and the local Slovene population on the other, started as early as 1920, culminating with the burning of the Narodni dom, the Slovenian National Hall of Trieste. After all Slovene minority organizations in Italy had been suppressed, the militant anti-fascist organization TIGR was formed in 1927 in order to fight Fascist violence. The anti-Fascist guerrilla movement continued throughout the late 1920s and 1930s.
When Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania joined the Tripartite pact in 1940, pressure greatly increased on Yugoslavia to join in as Hitler was trying to protect its southern flank before launching the attack on the Soviet Union. The signing of the Treaty of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with Germany on March 25, 1941, was followed two days later by a coup led by aviation general Dusan Simovic. Regent prince Pavel was thrown out and authority was granted to young Peter. General Simovic took over the provisional administration of the government. Thus, Yugoslavia did not seem to be reliable anymore to Hitler, and so on April 6, 1941, according to the operation Marita and without a formal declaration of war, Axis forces invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The attack began with the bombing of Belgrade, killing 20,000 people. The resistance of the Yugoslav royal army was only symbolic, as only half of the recruits were able to collect due to slow mobilization, and the military equipment and doctrine of Serbia from the Balkan wars and the First World War were obsolete. Thus, on April 10, German troops have already reached Zagreb and on April 12 Belgrade. The Italian army launched its attack only on April 11, when Hungary joined. At that time, the German army was already in Karlovac. The Italian army split into two parts: it penetrated the part towards both Ljubljana and beyond via Kočevje, and the second part penetrated via Dalmatia. The German army also broke out of Bulgaria and with the mobilized units easily prevented the withdrawal of the Yugoslav army into the Thessaloniki front.
Shortly after the attack, the National People's Council was formed under the leadership of Marko Natlačen, who called for a peaceful handover of weapons and expelled the occupier. After the capitulation of the Yugoslav army, Hungary took over most of Prekmurje. In 1941, five Slovene settlements were established under the authority of NDH: Bregansko selo (now called Slovenska vas), Nova vas near Bregana (now Nova vas near Mokrice), Jesenice in Dolenjska, Obrežje and Čedem. The territory was about 20 square kilometers, with about 800 inhabitants at that time.
The Italians in the beginning held a moderate policy in their occupied territory. In this way, bilingualism coincided, the Italian language was introduced into schools only as a teaching subject, all non-political, cultural and sports associations allowed it. In the occupied territory, composed of Ljubljana, Notranjska and Dolenjska with approximately 320,000 inhabitants, Italy established the Province of Ljubljana (Italian Provincia di Lubiana). After the first successful rebel actions of the occupants in the occupied territory, the Italian authorities changed the policy and began the program of ethnic cleansing [15]. The execution of this plot led to the expulsion of approximately 35,000 civilians, of whom in the Italian concentration camps, in 1942 and 1943, about 3500 men, women and children died of hunger and disease [16] That this was an attempt to ethnic cleansing, results not only from the very large number of people killed and displaced, but also from the statements and orders of the high Italian officers, and in particular from the content of the notorious 3C circular, signed by General Mario Roatta on March 1, 1942. ]
The German form of occupation was the tiniest of all three, since they banned all Slovenian newspapers, the German language was introduced into schools as a language, the adults were violently enrolled in the Styrian Homeland Association and the Carinthian People's Union or their armed sections. The official language has also become German. They violently took away 600 children who seemed to satisfy the criteria of the Aryan race and assigned them to the Lebensborn organization, they introduced Nazi laws, and later began to mobilize the military, which was contrary to international law, ...
On April 26, 1941, the Anti-Imperialist Front was set up in Ljubljana (renamed the Liberation Front) in the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which began an armed struggle against the occupiers. The founding groups of the Anti-Imperialist Front were: the Communist Party of Slovenia, part of the Christian Socialists, the democratic part of the Liberal Gymnastical Society Sokol and a part of the cultural workers who were unconnected. In memory of this event was determined April 27 as the day of the resistance against the occupier.
In Volkmerjev prehod in Maribor, on April 29, 1941, two anti-German-style young men under the leadership of Bojan Ilich burned two personal cars of the German Civil Administration. This was the first rebuffing anti-occupation campaign in occupied Slovenia, which was born out of a revolt at the trance, which was visited by Hitler during the three days before that of most of the German Germans. Nazi police arrested about 60 young men, but they soon released them because they could not prove their participation in the fire. On June 22, 1941, the main command of the Partisan forces was established and on the same day, the Secrets of the Liberation Movement OF were published. Subsequently, on November 1, 1941, the Basic Points of the OF, whose points 8 and 9 were written under the influence of the Atlantic Charter, were also published. By the signing of the Dolomite Declaration on March 1, 1943, the leading role in the Liberation Front was taken over by the Communist Party of Slovenia, which in the victorious national liberation struggle itself assumed all power.
In 1943, a liberated territory was formed in Kočevje, where the OF organized the Kočevski Choir, in which it elected the highest organ of the Slovenian state, adopted a decision on joining the Primorska Slovenia and elected a delegation for the II. sitting AVNOJ.
At the end of the war, the Slovene Partisan army, together with the Yugoslav Army and the Soviet Red Army, freed the entire Slovenian ethnic territory. The VOS departments under the command of the Communist Party and the Soviet model, after the end of the war, mostly performed post-war extrajudicial killings against civilian and military personnel. Up to 600 graves have been evacuated so far throughout Slovenia.
Slovenia in Titoist Yugoslavia.
Following the re-establishment of Yugoslavia at the end of World War II, Slovenia became part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, declared on 29 November 1943. A socialist state was established, but because of the Tito–Stalin split, economic and personal freedoms were broader than in the Eastern Bloc. In 1947, Italy ceded most of the Julian March to Yugoslavia, and Slovenia thus regained the Slovenian Littoral. The towns of Koper, Izola, and Piran, Italian-populated urban enclaves saw mass ethnic Italian and anti-Communist emigration (part of the Istrian Exodus) due to the ongoing Foibe massacres and other revenge against them for Italian war crimes and due to their fear of Communism, which by 1947 had nationalised all private property.
The dispute over the port of Trieste however remained opened until 1954, until the short-lived Free Territory of Trieste was divided among Italy and Yugoslavia, thus giving Slovenia access to the sea. This division was ratified only in 1975 with the Treaty of Osimo, which gave a final legal sanction to Slovenia's long disputed western border. From the 1950s, the Socialist Republic of Slovenia enjoyed a relatively wide autonomy.
Stalinist period.
Between 1945 and 1948, a wave of political repressions took place in Slovenia and in Yugoslavia. Thousands of people were imprisoned for their political beliefs. Several tens of thousands of Slovenes left Slovenia immediately after the war in fear of Communist persecution. Many of them settled in Argentina, which became the core of Slovenian anti-Communist emigration. More than 50,000 more followed in the next decade, frequently for economic reasons, as well as political ones. These later waves of Slovene immigrants mostly settled in Canada and in Australia, but also in other western countries.
The 1948 Tito–Stalin split and aftermath.
In 1948, the Tito–Stalin split took place. In the first years following the split, the political repression worsened, as it extended to Communists accused of Stalinism. Hundreds of Slovenes were imprisoned in the concentration camp of Goli Otok, together with thousands of people of other nationalities. Among the show trials that took place in Slovenia between 1945 and 1950, the most important were the Nagode Trial against democratic intellectuals and left liberal activists (1946) and the Dachau trials (1947–1949), where former inmates of Nazi concentration camps were accused of collaboration with the Nazis. Many members of the Roman Catholic clergy also suffered persecution. The case of bishop of Ljubljana Anton Vovk, who was doused with gasoline and set on fire by Communist activists during a pastoral visit to Novo Mesto in January 1952, echoed in the western press.
1950s: heavy industrialization.
In the late 1950s, Slovenia was the first of the Yugoslav republics to begin a process of relative pluralization. A decade of industrialisation was accompanied also by a fervent cultural and literary production with many tensions between the regime and the dissident intellectuals. From the late 1950s onward, dissident circles started to be formed, mostly around short-lived independent journals, such as "Revija 57" (1957–1958), which was the first independent intellectual journal in Yugoslavia and one of the first of this kind in the Communist bloc, and "Perspektive" (1960–1964). Among the most important critical public intellectuals in this period were the sociologist Jože Pučnik, the poet Edvard Kocbek, and the literary historian Dušan Pirjevec.
1960s: "Self-management".
By the late 1960s, the reformist faction gained control of the Slovenian Communist Party, launching a series of reforms, aiming at the modernization of Slovenian society and economy. A new economic policy, known as workers self-management started to be implemented under the advice and supervision of the main theorist of the Yugoslav Communist Party, the Slovene Edvard Kardelj.
1970s: "Years of Lead".
In 1973, this trend was stopped by the conservative faction of the Slovenian Communist Party, backed by the Yugoslav Federal government. A period known as the "Years of Lead" (Slovene: "svinčena leta") followed. During this period, censorship and repression of the press and artists increased, while freedom of speech declined. Many people were jailed because of their political beliefs.
1980s: Towards independence.
In the 1980s, Slovenia experienced a rise of cultural pluralism. Numerous grass-roots political, artistic and intellectual movements emerged, including the Neue Slowenische Kunst, the Ljubljana school of psychoanalysis, and the "Nova revija" intellectual circle. By the mid-1980s, a reformist fraction, led by Milan Kučan, took control of the Slovenian Communist Party, starting a gradual reform towards a market socialism and controlled political pluralism.
The Yugoslav economic crisis of the 1980s increased the struggles within the Yugoslav Communist regime regarding the appropriate economic measures to be undertaken. Slovenia, which had less than 10% of overall Yugoslav population, produced around a fifth of the country's GDP and a fourth of all Yugoslav exports. The political disputes around economic measures was echoed in the public sentiment, as many Slovenes felt they were being economically exploited, having to sustain an expensive and inefficient federal administration.
In 1987 and 1988, a series of clashes between the emerging civil society and the Communist regime culminated with the Slovene Spring. In 1987, a group of liberal intellectuals published a manifesto in the alternative "Nova revija" journal; in their so-called Contributions for the Slovenian National Program, they called for democratization and a greater independence for Slovenia. Some of the articles openly contemplated Slovenia's independence from Yugoslavia and the establishment of a full-fedged parliamentary democracy. The manifesto was condemned by the Communist authorities, but the authors did not suffer any direct repression, and the journal was not suppressed (although the editorial board was forced to resign). At the end of the same year, a massive strike broke out in the Litostroj manufacturing plant in Ljubljana, which led to the establishment of the first independent trade union in Yugoslavia. The leaders of the strike established an independent political organization, called the Social Democratic Union of Slovenia. Soon afterwards, in mid May 1988, an independent Peasant Union of Slovenia was organized. Later in the same month, the Yugoslav Army arrested four Slovenian journalists of the alternative magazine "Mladina", accusing them of revealing state secrets. The so-called Ljubljana trial triggered mass protests in Ljubljana and other Slovenian cities. (See:1987-1988 Slovenia protests)
A mass democratic movement, coordinated by the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, pushed the Communists in the direction of democratic reforms. These revolutionary events in Slovenia pre-dated by almost one year the Revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe, but went largely unnoticed by international observers.
At the same time, the confrontation between the Slovenian Communists and the Serbian Communist Party (which was dominated by the nationalist leader Slobodan Milošević), became the most important political struggle in Yugoslavia. The poor economic performance of the Federation, and rising clashes between the different republics, created a fertile soil for the rise of secessionist ideas among Slovenes, both anti-Communists and Communists. On 27 of September 1989 the Slovenian Assembly made many amendments to the 1974 constitution including the abandonment of the League of Communists of Slovenia monopoly on political power and the right of Slovenia to leave Yugoslavia.
In an action named "Action North" in 1989, Slovene police forces, members of which later organized their own veteran organization, prevented several hundred Milošević supporters from meeting in Ljubljana on 1 December at a so-called Rally of Truth, with an attempt to overthrow Slovenian leadership because of its opposition to Serb centralist policy. The action can be considered the first defense action for Slovenian independence.
On 23 January 1990, the League of Communists of Slovenia, in protest against the domination of the Serb nationalist leadership, walked out of the 14th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia which effectively ceased to exist as a national party – they were followed soon after by the League of Communists of Croatia.
In September 1989, numerous constitutional amendments were passed by the Assembly, which introduced parliamentary democracy to Slovenia. On 7 March 1990, the Slovenian Assembly passed the amendment XCI changing the official name of the state to the Republic of Slovenia dropping the word 'Socialist'. The new name has been official since 8 March 1990.
Republic of Slovenia.
Free elections.
On 30 December 1989 Slovenia officially opened the spring 1990 elections to opposition parties thus inaugurating multi-party democracy. The "Democratic Opposition of Slovenia" (DEMOS) coalition of democratic political parties was created by an agreement between the Slovenian Democratic Union, the Social Democrat Alliance of Slovenia, the Slovene Christian Democrats, the Farmers' Alliance and the Greens of Slovenia. The leader of the coalition was the well-known dissident Jože Pučnik.
On 8 April 1990, the first free multiparty parliamentary elections, and the first round of the Presidential elections, were held. DEMOS defeated the former Communist party in the parliamentary elections, by gathering 54% of the votes. A coalition government led by the Christian Democrat Lojze Peterle was formed, and began economic and political reforms that established a market economy and a liberal democratic political system. At the same time, the government pursued the independence of Slovenia from Yugoslavia.
Milan Kučan was elected President in the second round of the Presidential elections on 22 Apr 1990, defeating the DEMOS candidate Jože Pučnik.
Kučan presidency (1990–2002).
The DEMOS government (1990–1992): Independence.
Milan Kučan strongly opposed the preservation of Yugoslavia through violent means. After the concept of a loose confederation failed to gain support by the republics of Yugoslavia, Kučan favoured a controlled process of non-violent disassociation that would enable the collaboration of the former Yugoslav nations on a new, different basis.
On 23 December 1990, a referendum on the independence of Slovenia was held, in which the more than 88% of Slovenian residents voted for the independence of Slovenia from Yugoslavia. Slovenia became independent through the passage of the appropriate acts on 25 June 1991. In the morning of the next day, a short Ten-Day War began, in which the Slovenian forces successfully rejected Yugoslav military interference. In the evening, the independence was solemnly proclaimed in Ljubljana by the Speaker of the Parliament France Bučar. The Ten-Day War lasted till 7 July 1991, when the Brijuni Agreement was made, with the European Community as a mediator, and the Yugoslav National Army started its withdrawal from Slovenia. On 26 October 1991, the last Yugoslav soldier left Slovenia.
On 23 December 1991 the Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia passed a new Constitution, which became the first Constitution of independent Slovenia.
Kučan represented Slovenia at the peace conference on former Yugoslavia in the Hague and Brussels which concluded that the former Yugoslav nations were free to determine their future as independent states. On May 22, 1992 Kučan represented Slovenia as it became a new member of the United Nations.
The most important achievement of the Coalition, however, was the declaration of independence of Slovenia on 25 June 1991, followed by a Ten-Day War in which the Slovenians rejected Yugoslav military interference.
As a result of internal disagreements the coalition fell apart in 1992. It was officially dissolved in April 1992 in agreement with all the parties that had composed it. Following the collapse of Lojze Peterle's government, a new coalition government, led by Janez Drnovšek was formed, which included several parties of the former DEMOS. Jože Pučnik became vice-president in Drnovšek's cabinet, guaranteeing some continuity in the government policies.
The first country to recognise Slovenia as an independent country was Croatia on 26 June 1991. In the second half of 1991, some of the countries formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union recognized Slovenia. These were the Baltic countries Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and Georgia, Ukraine, and Belarus. On 19 December 1991, Iceland and Sweden recognised Slovenia, and Germany passed a resolution on the recognition of Slovenia, realised alongside the European Economic Community (EEC) on 15 January 1992. On 13, respectively 14 January 1992, the Holy See and San Marino recognised Slovenia. The first transmarine countries to recognise Slovenia were Canada and Australia on the 15, respectively 16 January 1992. The United States was at first very reserved towards the Slovenian independence and recognised Slovenia only on 7 April 1992.
The recognition by the EEC was particularly significant for Slovenia, as in December 1991 the EEC passed criteria for the international recognition of newly founded countries, which included democracy, the respect for human rights, the government of law, and the respect for the national minority rights. The recognition of Slovenia therefore indirectly also meant that Slovenia had been meeting the passed criteria.
In December 1992, after the independence and the international recognition of Slovenia, Kučan was elected as the first President of Slovenia in the 1992 presidential election, with the support of the citizens list. He won another five-year term in the 1997 election, running again as an independent and again winning the majority in the first round.
Drnovšek premiership (1992–2002): Re-orientation of Slovenia's trade.
Drnovšek was the second Prime Minister of independent Slovenia. He was chosen as a compromise candidate and an expert in economic policy, transcending ideological and programmatic divisions between parties. Drnovšek's governments reoriented Slovenia's trade away from Yugoslavia towards the West and contrary to some other former Communist countries in Eastern Europe, the economic and social transformation followed a gradualist approach. After six months in opposition from May 2000 to Autumn 2000, Drnovšek returned to power again and helped to arrange the first meeting between George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin (Bush-Putin 2001).
Drnovšek presidency (2002–2007); EU and NATO membership.
Drnovšek held the position of the President of Republic from 2002 to 2007. During the term, in March 2003, Slovenia held two referendums on joining the EU and NATO. Slovenia joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and the European Union on 1 May 2004. On 1 January 2007 Slovenia joined the Eurozone and adopted the euro as its currency.
Janša premiership (2004–2008): Unsustainable growth.
Janez Janša was Prime Minister of Slovenia from November 2004 to November 2008 for the first time. During the term characterized by over-enthusiasm after joining EU, between 2005 and 2008 the Slovenian banks have seen loan-deposit ratio veering out of control, over-borrowing from foreign banks and then over-crediting private sector, leading to its unsustainable growth.
Türk presidency (2007–2012).
Danilo Türk held the position of the President of Republic from 2007 to 2012.
Pahor premiership (2008–2012): Blocked reforms.
Borut Pahor was Prime Minister of Slovenia from November 2008 until February 2012. Faced by the global economic crisis his government proposed economic reforms, but they were rejected by the opposition leader Janez Janša and blocked by referenda in 2011. On the other hand, the voters voted in favour of an arbitration agreement with Croatia, aimed to solve the border dispute between the countries, emerging after the breakup of Yugoslavia.
Pahor Presidency (2012-).
Pahor has held the position of president since 2012. In November 2017, Slovenian President Borut Pahor was re-elected for a second term in close election.
Janša premiership (2012–2013): Anti-corruption report.
Janša was Prime Minister of Slovenia from February 2012 until March 2013 for the second time. He was replaced by the first female PM in history of Slovenia, Alenka Bratušek, after the official anti-corruption agency's "Report on the Parliamentary Parties' Leaders" was issued.
Former prime minister Janez Jansa spent six months in prison in 2014 after being convicted on bribery charges related to a 2006 arms deal. Jansa had denied any wrongdoing.
Miro Cerar was prime minister since September 2014 until March 2018. His government coalition included Cerar’s Party of Modern Centre, the Social Democrats and pensioners’ party Desus.
In June 2018, the center-right Slovenia Democratic Party (SDS) of former prime minister Janez Jansa won in the election. SDS secured 25 seats in the 90-seat parliament. A center-left party, The List of Marjan Sarec (LMS), was in second place with 13 seats. Cerar’s Party of The Modern Centre was fourth with just 10 seats.
In August 2018, new prime minister Marjan Sarec formed a minority government made up of five center-left parties.
In January 2020, prime minister Sarec resigned because his minority government was too weak to push through important legislation.
Janša premiership (2020-).
In March 2020, Janez Janša became prime minister for third time in the new coalition government of SDS, the Modern Centre Party (SMC), New Slovenia (NSi) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS). Jansa had previously been prime minister from 2004 to 2008 and from 2012 to 2013.


Codex diplomaticus Caietanus

The Codex diplomaticus Caietanus (CDC) is an edited collection of documents (diplomas) pertaining to the south Italian city of Gaeta in the Middle Ages, from the eighth century to the fourteenth. The collection represents "for its geographically restricted range ... a relative abundance of sources". The "Codex" consists of documents kept in the archives of the Abbey of Montecassino, including the archives of the Gattola family, which were given to the abbey. The "Codex" was originally conceived in the late eighteenth century and finally published, as part of the "Tabularium casinense" series, by the monks of Montecassino in three volumes beginning with the first in 1887, the second volume in 1891 and the third volume in two installments in 1958 and 1960. Although the assembling of all the documents relating to medieval Gaeta was sometimes undertaken uncritically, the monks appended a comprehensive and trustworthy index.
The "Codex" is the main source for the history of the Duchy of Gaeta and it provides greater detail for it than for the neighbouring early medieval states of Amalfi, Naples and Sorrento.


Richard Parr

Richard Parr (1592?–23 March 1644) was an English bishop of Sodor and Man.
Life.
He was born about 1592 in Lancashire. On 2 September 1609 he entered Brasenose College, Oxford, then aged 17. He commenced B.A. 17 June 1613, was elected Fellow in 1614, and proceeded M.A. 19 April 1616, B.D. 10 June 1624, D.D. 1 July 1634.
In 1616 he took orders, and was a frequent preacher, as well as a tutor. On 25 August 1626 he was instituted rector of Ladbroke, Warwickshire. In 1629 he resigned that living, and was instituted (6 February) to the rectory of Eccleston. On 10 June 1635 he was consecrated bishop of Sodor and Man, retaining Eccleston "in commendam". He wintered in England.
In 1641 Parr rebuilt St. Catherine's, Ramsey. His chaplain and curate at Eccleston was Edward Gee. In October 1643 the living was sequestered and given to Gee. Parr remained in his diocese, where he was not disturbed, as the Isle of Man was held by the royalists till 1651.
He died at Bishop's Court, Peel, on 23 March 1644, and was buried on 26 March in the grave of Bishop John Phillips in St Germans Cathedral, Peel. The see was not filled until 1661, by the appointment of Samuel Rutter (died 30 May 1663). The bishop spelled his name originally Parre, and later Parr. He published some sermons.
Family.
Parr married in 1624 Elizabeth Raymond, daughter of Thomas Raymond of Guildford. His son, Robert Parr, was rector of Ballaugh (1640–70).


List of earls in the reigns of Henry VI and Edward IV of England

Henry VI of England and Edward IV of England reigned during the turbulent period of English history in the fifteenth century known as the Wars of the Roses. The Wars of the Roses were a series of English civil wars for control of the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet. The House of Lancaster, associated with a red rose was led by Henry VI, and the House of York, whose symbol was a white rose, was led by Edward IV.
Each King reigned for two periods between 1422 and 1483 as follows:
31 August 1422-4 March 1461 Henry VI
4 March 1461-3 October 1470 Edward IV
3 October 1470-11 April 1471 Henry VI
11 April 1471-9 April 1483 Edward IV
The following individuals were Earls (suo jure or jure uxoris) or Countesses (suo jure) during the reigns of Henry VI and Edward IV.
The period of tenure as Earl or Countess is given after the name and title of each individual, including any period of minority.
Earl of Arundel
John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel (1421-1435)
Humphrey FitzAlan, 15th Earl of Arundel (1435-1438)
William FitzAlan, 16th Earl of Arundel (1438-1487)
Earl of Cambridge
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, 2nd Earl of Cambridge (1426-1460)
Edward Plantagenet, 4th Duke of York, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (1460-1461)
Earl of Chester
Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester (1453-1471)
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester (1460)
Edward Plantagenet, 4th Duke of York, Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester (1471)
Earl of Devon (First Creation)
Thomas de Courtenay, 5th Earl of Devon (1422-1458)
Thomas de Courtenay, 6th Earl of Devon (1458-1461)
John Courtenay, 7th Earl of Devon (1461-1469)
Earl of Devon (Second Creation)
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Earl of Devon (1469)
Earl of Devon (First Creation Restored)
John Courtenay, 7th Earl of Devon (1469-1471)
Earl of Dorset (Third Creation)
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Dorset (1442-1455)
Earl of Essex
Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex (1461-1483)
Earl of Huntingdon (Fourth Creation)
John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, Earl of Huntingdon (1416-1447)
Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter, Earl of Huntingdon (1447-1461)
Earl of Huntingdon (Fifth Creation)
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, Earl of Huntingdon (1471)
Earl of Huntingdon (Sixth Creation)
William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Earl of Huntingdon (1479-1491)
Earl of Kendal (First Creation)
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, Earl of Kendal (1414-1435)
Earl of Kendal (Second Creation)
John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, Earl of Kendal (1443-1444)
Earl of Kendal (Third Creation)
John de Foix, 1st Earl of Kendal (1446-1462)
Earl of Kent (Seventh Creation)
William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent (1461-1463)
Earl of Kent (Eighth Creation)
Edmund Grey, 1st Earl of Kent (1465-1490)
Earl of Lincoln (Sixth Creation)
John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln (1467-1487)
Earl of March (First Creation)
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, Earl of March (1425-1460)
Edward Plantagenet, 4th Duke of York, Earl of March (1460-1461)
Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland (1416-1455)
Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland (1455-1461)
John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu, Earl of Northumberland (1464-1470)
Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland (1473-1489)
Earl of Oxford
John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford (1417-1462)
John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford (1462-1513)
Earl of Pembroke (Fifth Creation)
Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1414-?)
Earl of Pembroke (Sixth Creation)
William de la Pole, Earl of Pembroke (1447-1450)
Earl of Pembroke (Seventh Creation)
Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke (1452-1461)
Earl of Pembroke (Eighth Creation)
William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1468-1469)
William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1469-1479)
Earl of Richmond (Sixth Creation)
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, Earl of Richmond (1414-1435)
Earl of Richmond (Seventh Creation)
Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (1452-1456)
Henry Tudor, 2nd Earl of Richmond (1478-1485) [from 1485 King Henry VII of England]
Earl Rivers
Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers (1466-1469)
Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers (1469-1483)
Earl of Rutland (Second Creation)
Edmund, Earl of Rutland (1446-1460)
Earl of Salisbury (Second Creation)
Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury (1400-1428)
Alice Montacute, 5th Countess of Salisbury (1428-1462)
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (jure uxoris) (1428-1460)
Richard Neville, 6th Earl of Salisbury (1460-1471)
Earl of Salisbury (Third Creation)
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, 1st Earl of Salisbury (1449-1478)
Earl of Shrewsbury (Second Creation)
John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (1442-1453)
John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury (1453-1460)
John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury (1460-1473)
George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury (1473-1538)
Earl of Somerset (Second creation)
John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Somerset (1418-1444)
Earl of Stafford
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 6th Earl of Stafford (1403-1460)
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 7th Earl of Stafford (1460-1483)
Earl of Suffolk (Third Creation)
William de la Pole, 4th Earl of Suffolk (1415-1450)
Earl of Surrey (Second Creation)
John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk, 1st Earl of Surrey (1451-1476)
Earl of Tankerville
Henry Grey, 2nd Earl of Tankerville (1421-1450)
Richard Grey, 3rd Earl of Tankerville (1450-1460)
Earl of Warenne
Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, Earl of Warenne (1477-c.1483)
Earl of Warwick
Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick (1401-1439)
Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick, 14th Earl of Warwick (1439-1446)
Anne de Beauchamp, 15th Countess of Warwick (suo jure) (1446-1492)
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (jure uxoris) (1448-1471)
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick (1478-1499)
Earl of Westmorland
Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland (1397-1425)
Ralph Neville, 2nd Earl of Westmorland (1425-1484)
Earl of Wiltshire (Third Creation)
James Butler, 1st Earl of Wiltshire (1449-1461)
Earl of Wiltshire (Fourth Creation)
John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire (1470-1473)
Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (1473-1499)
Earl of Winchester (Third Creation)
Lewis de Bruges, 1st Earl of Winchester (1472-1492)
Earl of Worcester (Fourth Creation)
John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester (1449-1470)
Edward Tiptoft, 2nd Earl of Worcester (1471-1485)
Further reading.
Ellis, Geoffrey. (1963) "Earldoms in Fee: A Study in Peerage Law and History." London: The Saint Catherine Press, Limited.


Bestwina

Bestwina is a village in Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Bestwina. It lies approximately north of Bielsko-Biała and south of the regional capital Katowice.
The village has in 2012 a population of 4,618.
History.
The village was first mentioned in 1273. It became a seat of a Catholic parish as it was mentioned in the register of Peter's Pence payment among Catholic parishes of Oświęcim deaconry of the Diocese of Kraków as "Bestwina".
Politically it belonged initially to the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz and the Castellany of Oświęcim, which was in 1315 formed in the process of feudal fragmentation of Poland into the Duchy of Oświęcim, ruled by a local branch of Silesian Piast dynasty. In 1327 the duchy became a fee of the Kingdom of Bohemia. In 1457 Jan IV of Oświęcim agreed to sell the duchy to the Polish Crown, and in the accompanying document issued on 21 February the village was mentioned as "Bestwina".
The territory of the Duchy of Oświęcim was eventually incorporated into Poland in 1564 and formed Silesian County of Kraków Voivodeship. Upon the First Partition of Poland in 1772 it became part of the Austrian Kingdom of Galicia. After World War I and fall of Austria-Hungary it became part of Poland. It was annexed by Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II, and afterwards it was restored to Poland.


Liburnian cities in Illyria


Marquisate of Gibraltar

Marquis of Gibraltar was a short-lived Castilian noble title (1478–1501). It belonged to the House of Medina Sidonia.
Biography.
The marquisate was created by the queen Isabella I of Castile to reward Enrique Pérez de Guzmán, 2nd Duke of Medina Sidonia. The Duke of Medina Sidonia had been recognized his rights and powers over the town of Gibraltar and its Campo by Isabella upon the death of Henry IV, her predecessor. As him, the Catholic Monarchs had to face a turbulent nobility. In Andalucía, the most powerful and rival families were the Guzmans (the Dukes of Medina Sidonia) and the Ponce de Leons (the Counts of Arcos).
Rodrigo Ponce de León had been rewarded in 1471 by Henry IV with the Marquisate of Cádiz for his participation in the capture of Gibraltar in 1462. In order to balance the awards granted to the noble families, Isabella of Castile issued on September 30, 1478, a letters patent naming the Duke of Medina Sidonia, Marquis of Gibraltar. The Queen used the formula "we name you Marquis of your city of Gibraltar".
After the Duke's death in 1492, the Catholic Monarchs reluctantly renewed the title to Juan Alfonso Pérez de Guzmán, 3rd Duke of Medina Sidonia, and therefore, 2nd Marquis of Gibraltar. However, as the strategic relevance of the town made it very important for the Monarchy, the Kings asked the Duke for the return of the town and its jurisdiction to the Crown property in 1501. This time, the Duke submitted to the royal request and ceded the town to the Crown. On December 22, 1501, the Queen issued a formal decree making the city and fortress acknowledge the Crown as their Lord. Therefore, the Marquisate of Gibraltar disappeared.