National Assembly (Slovenia)

The National Assembly (Slovene: Državni zbor Republike Slovenije) is the main representative body of Slovenia. It is part of the Slovenian Parliament, which is the country's legislative branch. The National Assembly has 90 members who are elected for four-year terms.

Most members, 88 in total, are chosen through a system called party-list proportional representation. The remaining two seats are reserved for members of the Hungarian and Italian-speaking ethnic minorities. These two members have special rights to protect the interests of their communities.

As of April 2026, the 10th National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia is currently meeting, continuing the work of making laws and decisions for the country.

Legislative procedure

A bill can be submitted to the National Assembly by the Government, an MP, the National Council, or 5,000 voters. The legislative process starts when the Speaker gives a bill to the MPs.

There are three ways to pass a bill:

regular legislative procedure
abbreviated legislative procedure
urgent legislative procedure

Usually, a bill needs most of the present MPs to agree to pass. For some important laws, like those about elections or changing the Constitution, at least 60 of the 90 MPs must vote for the bill.

Regular legislative procedure

First reading

The first reading ends when the Speaker gives the bill to the MPs, unless ten MPs ask for a meeting within 15 days to talk about why the bill was submitted.

If the meeting happens, the assembly must vote on whether the bill can continue.

The Speaker picks a group to discuss the bill next. Other groups can talk about it too, but only the chosen group can vote on it.

Second reading

In the second reading, the group first talks about the bill and can change it. They make a report on the bill, which helps the whole assembly decide. The group talks about and votes on each part of the bill. Later, the assembly only votes and talks about the parts that the group changed.

The assembly and the group can decide that the bill should not continue if they didn’t decide this in the first reading.

Third reading

In the third reading, the group and the assembly vote on the whole bill. If it passes, the bill goes to the President to sign it.

Shortened legislative procedure

In the shortened procedure, there is no first reading, and the second and third readings happen together.

This can be used for bills about small issues, when a law is being replaced, when national laws need to match Acquis communautaire, or when the bill is about procedures before the Constitutional Court or changes ordered by the Constitutional Court.

Urgent legislative procedure

A bill can be passed quickly if it is important for the country’s safety or defense, if it deals with effects of natural disasters, or if it is needed to stop irreversible problems for the country.

There is no first reading, the second and third readings are at the same time, changes to the bill can be spoken about only, and the whole process is faster.

Suspensive veto

After a bill passes, the National Council can veto it within two weeks. The National Assembly needs most of its members to agree to override the veto.

List of speakers of the National Assembly

Main article: List of Speakers of the National Assembly of Slovenia

The National Assembly of Slovenia has had many leaders since it began. Here are some of the people who have served as speakers:

France Bučar (SDZ): 9 May 1990 – 23 December 1992
Herman Rigelnik (LDS): 23 December 1992 – 14 September 1994
Jožef Školč (LDS): 16 September 1994 – 3 December 1996
Janez Podobnik (SLS): 3 December 1996 – 27 October 2000
Borut Pahor (ZLSD): 10 November 2000 – 9 July 2004
Feri Horvat (ZLSD): 12 July 2004 – 22 October 2004
France Cukjati (SDS): 22 October 2004 – 15 October 2008
Pavel Gantar (Zares): 15 October 2008 – 2 September 2011
Ljubo Germič (LDS): 2 September 2011 – 21 December 2011
Gregor Virant (LGV/DL): 21 December 2011 – 28 January 2013
Janko Veber (SD): 27 February 2013 – 1 August 2014
Milan Brglez (SMC): 1 August 2014 – 22 June 2018
Matej Tonin (NSi): 22 June 2018 – 23 August 2018
Dejan Židan (SD): 23 August 2018 – 3 March 2020
Igor Zorčič (SMC): 5 March 2020 - 13 May 2022
Urška Klakočar Zupančič (GS): 13 May 2022 - 10 April 2026
Zoran Stevanović (Resni.ca): 10 April 2026 - (incumbent)

Electoral system

The National Assembly has 90 members who are chosen in two ways. Most of them, 88 members, are elected from eight different areas in the country. Votes are counted in a way that shares seats among parties based on how many votes they get. Some areas may elect more than one member, so not every area will have a representative.

Two more members are chosen by the Italian and Hungarian minority groups in Slovenia. Voters rank the candidates by putting numbers next to them, with 1 being the top choice. The candidate who gets the most points from these rankings wins a seat.

History

The National Assembly in Slovenia started with a different structure before 1992. It came from a group called the Socio-Political Assembly that existed from 1974 to 1990.

Slovenian anthem text in the lobby of NA.

Before 1974, Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia and had a group that made decisions for everyone. This group was led by a specific organization and changed its setup a few times over the years. In 1974, big changes happened, and the way people were chosen for these groups also changed.

Latest election

Main article: 2026 Slovenian parliamentary election

Elections of the representatives of national minorities

President of NA Dejan Židan (in the middle)

Italian national minority

Hungarian national minority

Historical composition of the Slovenian National Assembly

The National Assembly of Slovenia is the main part of the country's parliament. It has 90 members who are chosen by voters every four years. Over time, the way these members are chosen and the groups they belong to have changed.

Terms

The National Assembly of Slovenia has had several terms since it began. Here are the terms so far:

1st National Assembly
2nd National Assembly
3rd National Assembly
4th National Assembly
5th National Assembly
6th National Assembly
7th National Assembly
8th National Assembly

Members

Here are lists of the people who have served in each group of the National Assembly of Slovenia:

List of members of the 1st National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia sl)
List of members of the 2nd National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia sl
List of members of the 3rd National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia sl
List of members of the 4th National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia sl
List of members of the 5th National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia sl
List of members of the 6th National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia sl
List of members of the 7th National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia sl
List of members of the 8th National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia