Privatization in Slovakia occurred primarily in the 1990s as a result of the Velvet Revolution in 1989 and after the creation of Slovak Republic in 1993 due to the splitting of Czechoslovakia. While the Czech Republic, under the leadership of President Václav Havel and Prime Minister Václav Klaus, has emerged as a favorite for Western investors and entrepreneurs, Slovakia under autocratic Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar struggled with the transition.[1]