July 1992: Slovak declaration kickstarts breakup of Czechoslovakia

Thirty years ago Slovakia made clear that it wanted to embark on the path of independence for the second time in history.

The Declaration on the Sovereignty of the Slovak Republic, which was approved by the Slovak National Council on July 17, 1992, ended with the following words: “With this declaration, the Slovak National Council declares the sovereignty of the Slovak Republic as the basis of the sovereign state of the Slovak nation.”

That same day Czechoslovak president Václav Havel announced that he was stepping down.

Following two years of unsuccessful negotiations on the future name and form of Czechoslovakia, the division of the shared state began to take shape.

In Brno on August 26 Václav Klaus and Vladimír Mečiar confirmed an agreement on the dissolution of the state in writing.

On January 1, 1993, Czechs and Slovaks went their separate ways.