Following the example of the Accademia dell'Arcadia in Rome, dei Gelati in Bologna and other learned Italian societies, the chronicler, historian and lawyer Janez Gregor Dolničar (Thalnitscher) (1655-1719) and the cathedral provost, Janez Krstnik Prešeren (1656-1704) became leaders of Ljubljana's intellectual elite, founding a similar society in 1693 called 'Academia Operosorum Labacensium' (The Workers' Academy of Ljubljana). One of the main aims of the 13 lawyers, 6 theologians and 4 doctors who joined the society at its official convening in 1701 was, as written in the academy's charter, to publish "the Ljubljana academy's learned discussions on theology, jurisprudence, medicine, civics ..." The number of Academy members grew, reaching 42 by 1714, including respected foreigners such as the Italian poet and literary historian, Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni, and Valvasor's colleague, the Croatian writer and scholar, Pavao Ritter Vitezovič. The work of Academy members, and others operating outside its circle, was diverse and distinct from their artistic and scientific or academic predecessors. Artistic literary production, inspired by Classical and Renaissance themes, generally hid its lack of artistic merit behind baroque and long-winded rhetoric. The most notable scientific essays included work by Academy members, including Janez Gregor Dolničar on history, Janez Štefan Florijančič (Floriantschitsch von Grienfeld) on economics, and the doctor, Marko Grbec (Gerbezius) on medicine. ...

Will not academy members, since all of them work only in accordance with their own reason, be captured by this powerful and alluring knowledge, directed in part towards an understanding of the future? Will they not be captured by this knowledge of things from their very origins onwards, and be carried along so forcefully that soon, each in line with his own reason and vocation, they will investigate the very rarest of things, taking these from darkness into the light and making them available to all, for their own pleasure and that of others?

... was founded in 1864 with the voluntary contributions of educators, traders and entrepreneurs in order to print more demanding works from different fields in Slovene, raise the level of education and knowledge, create Slovenian terminology for various professions, etc. The then Austrian rulers supported the establishment of such groups, as evidenced by the personal contribution of Emperor Franz Joseph. The Slovene Society reached its first peak at the beginning of the 20th century when the books it published were in high circulation and it maintained contact with universities and academies from London to St Petersburg.

... the struggle for the Slovene Academy of Arts and Science (Slovenska Akademija znanosti in umetnosti) lasted almost until the end of the 1930s, with no support given by the Zagreb or Belgrade academies.

... our best men will have the opportunity to foster scientific work, our nation will receive from it a great deal of encouragement for further participation, all our educational organisations will be offered inflow of fresh ideas and new aspirations.

Naturally, the post-war social and political upheavals did not leave the Academy untouched; indeed, they impacted its membership and its internal structure profoundly. Immediately after the war, four of its members were requested to leave the institution, amongst them three founding members, two were expelled by the revolutionary authorities, one by the Academy, while the fourth was forced to submit his resignation. On the other hand, under the presidency of France Kidrič (1945 to 1950), a literary historian, and for a short period under the linguist Fran Ramovš (1950 to 1952), the institution was characterised by structural expansion and the enlargement of Academy's ranks. ... From the original four sections, the Academy was further expanded to five and later six sections, with new institutes and similar bodies also founded. The Academy composed of institutes was initially modelled after the Soviet academy, but it also reflected Slovenian requirements. Yet, quite soon this organizational set-up of the Academy, particularly from 1955 to 1958, began to change, with the separation of large technical institutes, which became independent ... Another characteristic of the post-war period was the high degree of dependence of the Academy on the state and its official Marxist ideology. On the basis of the laws passed in 1948 and 1949, the autonomy of the Academy was not merely limited - the Slovenian assembly abolished it. Only the 1980 Act on the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts was more liberal, although the state at that time did not renounce its influence in the selection of Academy membership.

The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ... is the supreme national institution of sciences and arts. It brings together scientists and artists, electing its members for their outstanding achievements in the field of sciences and arts. The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts cultivates, encourages and promotes sciences and arts, through its activities, contributes to the development of scientific thought and of creativity in the arts, particularly by: (i) addressing basic issues of sciences and arts; (ii) participating in establishing the policies of research activities and artistic creation; (iii) giving appraisals, proposals and opinions on the position, development and promotion of sciences and arts, and on the organisation of research activities and artistic creation; (iv) organising research work, also in cooperation with universities and other research institutions, particularly in the fields crucial for raising awareness of and gaining insight into the natural and cultural heritage of the Slovenian nation and for the development of its language and culture; and (v) developing international cooperation in the field of sciences and arts.