Timeline: Slovakia

A chronology of key events

1993 January - Independence after Czechoslovakia splits. Parliament elects Michal Kovac of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (MDS) president. Vladimir Meciar, also of the MDS, is prime minister in coalition government.

Bratislava: Site was originally inhabited by Celts, Romans Bratislava population: 429,000 Capital of Hungary 1526-1784 Part of Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918

1994 March - New coalition led by Jozef Moravcik of Democratic Union of Slovakia formed following no-confidence vote in Meciar government.

1994 December - Meciar heads another coalition following new elections.

1995 March - Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Hungary signed, guaranteeing the existing border and ethnic minority rights.

1995 November - New law restricting official use of any language other than Slovak gives rise to international condemnation.

1998 March - Constitutional stalemate as President Kovac ends term and parliament fails to agree on a successor. Prime Minister Meciar assumes presidential powers, prompting protest demonstrations and EU condemnation. He takes the opportunity to dismiss nearly half the country's ambassadors and overturn several Kovac decisions.

1998 June - Decision to start up first reactor at Mochovce nuclear plant not far from Austrian border angers Vienna.

European integration

PM Vladimir Meciar pursued populist, nationalist agenda 2004: Strongman of Slovak politics

1998 September/October - Meciar loses premiership following elections. Mikulas Dzurinda, heads new coalition, pledges to strengthen democracy and put Slovakia back on the road to European integration.

1999 January - Parliament ends nearly a year of constitutional crisis by passing a new law allowing for president to be directly elected by the people.

1999 May - Pro-Western candidate Rudolf Schuster wins country's first direct presidential elections.

1999 July - Parliament approves law to improve the status of minority languages.

2001 February - Parliament approves far reaching changes to the country's constitution, a key step towards gaining membership of the EU and Nato. The new constitution decentralises power in Slovakia, increases the authority of the state audit office, strengthens the independence of the judiciary and gives greater recognition to minority rights.

Rudolf Schuster: First directly-elected president

2002 January - Eight new regional parliaments created under amended constitution, one of the key requirements for EU entry.

2002 September - Mikulas Dzurinda wins second term as premier in a centre-right coalition government.

2002 December - EU summit in Copenhagen formally invites Slovakia to join in 2004.

2003 May - Slovaks vote in referendum in favour of EU membership. Turnout is just over the required 50 per cent.

2004 February - Police and troops brought in to end rioting by Romany population protesting against cuts in benefits in parts of eastern Slovakia.

2004 March - Slovakia admitted to Nato.

2004 April - Ivan Gasparovic elected president, defeating former Prime Minister Meciar in second round of voting.

2004 May - Slovakia is one of 10 new states to join the EU.

2005 May - Parliament ratifies EU constitution.

Mikulas Dzurinda, PM from 1998-2006 2003: Slovakia's running ex-prime minister

2005 November - Slovakia joins European Exchange Rate Mechanism, a significant step on the way to membership of the eurozone.

2006 January - Slovak military plane crashes in Hungary, killing 42 people.

2006 April - Floods as Danube bursts banks.

Court intervenes to end strike by doctors and nurses over pay and sell-offs in the healthcare sector.

2006 June-July - Left-wing opposition leader Robert Fico becomes prime minister in a coalition government with Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia and a right-wing party.

2006 October - Robert Fico announces withdrawal of Slovakia's troops in Iraq by the end of 2007.

2007 November - Scandal involving land deals leads to firing of Farm Minister Miroslav Jurena and plunges the three-party ruling coalition into crisis.

Police seize enriched uranium that could be used for a ''dirty bomb'' and arrest two Hungarians and a Ukrainian.

2007 December - Slovakia withdraws its last troops from Iraq.

2008 July - EU gives formal approval for Slovakia to adopt the euro in January 2009.

2009 January - Slovakia adopts the euro.

2009 April - Ivan Gasparovic becomes first Slovak president to win re-election, defeating centre-right challenger Iveta Radicova in the second round of voting.