In September 1989, numerous
constitutional amendments were passed by the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, which introduced
parliamentary democracy to the country. The same year
Action North both united the opposition and democratized communist establishment in Slovenia as the first defense action against
Milošević's supporters' attacks, leading to Slovenian independence. The word 'Socialist' was removed from the name of the then state on 7 March 1990. The socialist infrastructure was largely dissolved. The
first open democratic election was held on 8 April 1990. The parliamentary elections were won by the opposition, known as the
DEMOS coalition led by the dissident
Jože Pučnik. At the same time,
Milan Kučan, the former chairman of the
League of Communists of Slovenia (ZKS), was elected President of the Republic. The democratically elected parliament nominated the
Christian Democratic leader
Lojze Peterle as Prime Minister, which effectively ended the 45-year-long rule of the Communist Party. During this period,
Slovenia retained its old flag and coat of arms, and most of the previous symbols as it awaited the creation of new symbols that would eventually come after independence. The old national anthem,
Naprej zastava slave, had already been replaced by the
Zdravljica in March 1990. On 23 December 1990, a
referendum on independence was held in Slovenia, at which 94.8% of the voters (88.5% of the overall electorate) voted in favour of separation of Slovenia from Yugoslavia. On 25 June 1991, the acts about the Slovenian independence were passed by the Assembly; Slovenia was immediately recognized by likewise declared
Croatia and it recognized the latter in kind. Following a short
Ten-Day War, the military of Slovenia secured its independence; by the end of the year, its independence was recognized by the wider
international community. == See also ==