Social Democratic Party of Croatia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Social Democratic Party of Croatia Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske
Abbreviation	SDP
President	Peđa Grbin
Vice Presidents	See list Biljana Borzan Sabina Glasovac Ranko Ostojić Siniša Hajdaš Dončić
Founder	Ivica Račan
Founded	3 November 1990; 34 years ago (1990-11-03)
Preceded by	League of Communists of Croatia
Headquarters	Trg Drage Iblera 9, Zagreb
Youth wing	SDP Youth Forum
Membership (2020)	32,000
Ideology	Social democracy Progressivism
Political position	Centre-left
National affiliation	Rivers of Justice (since 2010)
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance Socialist International
European Parliament group	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Colors	Red
Slogan	"Sloboda. Jednakost. Solidarnost." ("Freedom. Equality. Solidarity.")
Sabor	37 / 151
European Parliament	4 / 12
County Prefects	2 / 21
Mayors	22 / 128
Municipalities	53 / 428
Party flag

The Social Democratic Party of Croatia (Croatian: Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske, often called SDP) is a major political party in Croatia. It believes in social democracy, which means it supports fairness, equality, and helping people in society. The SDP also supports new ideas and is very much in favor of Europe.

The party started in 1990. It came from an older party called the League of Communists of Croatia, which used to govern Croatia when it was part of Yugoslavia. The SDP first won elections in 2000 and formed a government led by Ivica Račan. After being in opposition for eight years, they won again in 2011. They formed a new government with their partners, led by Zoran Milanović.

Later, after the 2015 elections, the SDP went back into opposition. Some important members of the SDP have held high positions. For example, Ivo Josipović, a former SDP member, was the President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Another member, Neven Mimica, worked as a European Commissioner, helping with international cooperation.

The SDP is part of several international groups. These include the Party of European Socialists (PES), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament, the Progressive Alliance (PA), and the Socialist International (SI).

The SDP's Journey: A Look at Its History

How the SDP Started in the Early 1990s

Ivica Račan, who founded the SDP and was Croatia's Prime Minister from 2000 to 2003.

The SDP was created on November 3, 1990. It was formed by a group from the former League of Communists of Croatia (SKH). This group wanted to create a party that focused on social democracy.

The SKH delegation, led by Ivica Račan, left a big meeting in January 1990. They disagreed with the Serbian delegation about how Yugoslavia should be organized.

Around the same time, Croatia was getting ready for its first multi-party elections. In February 1990, the parliament in Croatia allowed many political parties to exist. The SKH changed its name to the "Party of Democratic Reform" (SKH-SDP). In the 1990 election, they came in second place.

On November 3, 1990, the party officially became the "Social Democratic Party" (SDP). In the August 1992 election, the SDP won 5.52% of the votes and 11 seats in parliament. In 1993, they changed their name slightly to "Social Democratic Party," which they still use today.

Joining Forces: The Merger with SDH

In 1990, another party called the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDSH) was also founded. This party wanted Croatia to become independent from Yugoslavia. It was one of the few parties that called itself "left-wing." Many smart people helped start this party.

In the 1990 election, SDSH did not win many seats. However, they were strong enough to get some government jobs. Before the 1992 elections, SDSH and SDP had disagreements about their names. The election showed that SDP was much stronger. This led to SDSH joining SDP in April 1994.

In the 1995 election, the SDP won 8.93% of the votes and 10 seats in parliament. They came in fourth place overall.

Leading Croatia: The Račan Government (2000–2003)

In August 1998, the leaders of SDP and another party, HSLS, agreed to work together. They ran in the January 2000 elections as a team. This group won the election with 38.7% of the votes and 71 seats.

The SDP and HSLS then formed a government with four other parties. Ivica Račan, as the leader of the strongest party, became the Prime Minister. During this time, the government worked to change the constitution several times.

In July 2002, the government broke apart. This happened because HSLS did not support an agreement with Slovenia. A new government was formed later that month, with members from the remaining parties. This government stayed in power until the next elections in November 2003. The SDP lost to another party, HDZ, and went back into opposition.

The 2000 election win was a big moment for Croatia. It was the first time power changed hands peacefully in Croatia's new democracy. Račan's government was seen as very supportive of Western countries. During their time in power, Croatia signed an agreement with the European Union. This helped Croatia get closer to joining the EU.

In Opposition: The Years 2003–2011

Ivo Josipović, who was the President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015.

This was the flag of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia from 2005 to 2008.

In the 2005 presidential election, the SDP supported Stjepan Mesić. He won his second term as president with a large number of votes.

In 2007, the party faced a sad event: their long-time leader, Ivica Račan, passed away. He had been sick with cancer. After his death, Zoran Milanović was chosen as the new leader of the party. He won against other important candidates.

For the November 2007 election, the SDP had an economic plan. They came in second place, just behind the HDZ party. Even though they didn't win the most seats, they became the largest opposition party.

In the June 2009 local elections, the SDP did well in some important cities. They won in places like Dubrovnik and Vukovar, which were usually strongholds for other parties. They also kept control of economically strong areas like Zagreb and Rijeka.

Before the 2009–10 presidential election, the SDP held a special vote to choose their candidate. Ivo Josipović won this vote. He then went on to win the presidential election in 2010.

Leading Again: The Milanović Government (2011–2015)

Milanović with other members of the Croatia is Growing coalition, signing an agreement on September 8, 2015.

In 2010, the SDP formed a group called the Kukuriku coalition with three other parties. They worked together for the December 2011 election. This group won the election, getting 81 out of 151 seats in parliament.

After the win, the SDP formed a government with two of its partners. Zoran Milanović, the party president, became the new Prime Minister on December 23, 2011.

The Milanović government started by making several new laws. In 2012, they passed a law about medical help for having babies. They also introduced health education in schools. Milanović also announced plans to give more rights to same-sex couples. In 2013, a public vote was held to ban same-sex marriage in the constitution. The SDP was against this ban, but it passed. Milanović then introduced a law called the Life Partnership Act in 2014, which gave rights to same-sex couples.

The government faced several challenges, including a long economic downturn and protests. They also had to deal with the European migrant crisis.

Some of the SDP's biggest successes in power included a new law about tracking money and dealing with the Swiss franc loan crisis. In 2015, they decided to change Swiss franc loans into euro loans to help people who were struggling.

The government also made changes to taxes to help with the economy. They lowered some social payments and public worker wages. The unemployment rate was highest in February 2014. The SDP supported Ivo Josipović in the 2014–15 presidential election, but he lost.

Back in Opposition: From 2015 to Today

The SDP's 13th General Convention in 2016.

In the 2015 elections, the SDP and its partners won 56 out of 151 seats. After a long time of talks, the SDP's group could not agree to form a new government. So, they went back into opposition.

On April 2, 2016, the SDP held elections for its leader. Zoran Milanović was re-elected as president of the SDP.

In June 2016, there was a vote that led to an early election in November. The SDP ran as the biggest party in the People's Coalition. Even though many thought they would win, they got 54 seats, while the HDZ won more. Because of this, Zoran Milanović said he would not run for leader again and would leave politics. Davor Bernardić was then elected as the new chairman of the SDP on November 26, 2016.

In the 2020 elections, the SDP had its lowest results in a long time. Davor Bernardić resigned the day after the election. Peđa Grbin was chosen as the new leader on October 3, 2020. Only members who had paid their fees could vote in this election.

In July 2021, some disagreements happened within the party. Some members were removed from the party. These members then formed a new group in parliament called the Social Democrats Club. This new group had 18 members, while the SDP was left with 14. On July 9, 2022, they officially started a new party called the Social Democrats.

How the SDP is Organized

The first and longest-serving president of the SDP was Ivica Račan. The current president is Peđa Grbin, who was chosen in October 2020.

Besides the president, the party also has four vice-presidents: Biljana Borzan, Sabina Glasovac, Ranko Ostojić, and Siniša Hajdaš Dončić. The main groups that run the party are the party presidency (with 18 members), the head committee, and the supervisory committee.

Like other parties, the SDP has local groups in different cities and counties. They also have special groups for young people (Youth Forum), women (Women's Forum), seniors (Seniors' Forum), and the SDP Queer Forum.

The SDP has been a member of the Socialist International since 1999. They became a full member of the Party of European Socialists in 2012. The SDP is also a full member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament since Croatia joined the EU in 2013.

Election Results: How the SDP Has Performed

This section shows how the SDP has done in elections for the Croatian Parliament. The "Votes won" and "Percentage" columns include all votes won by the groups the SDP was part of. The "Total seats won" column only counts seats won by the SDP itself.

Parliament (Sabor) Election Results

Election	In coalition with	Votes won	Percentage	Seats won	Change	Government
		(Coalition totals)		(SDP only)
1990	SSH	1,001,967	35.0 (#2)	107 / 351	107	Opposition
1992	None	145,419	5.5 (#3)	11 / 138	96	Opposition
1995	None	215,839	8.9 (#4)	10 / 127	1	Opposition
2000	HSLS-PGS-SBHS	1,138,318	38.7 (#1)	43 / 151	33	Government
2003	LIBRA–IDS-LS	560,593	22.6 (#2)	34 / 151	9	Opposition
2007	None	775,690	31.2 (#2)	56 / 151	22	Opposition
2011	HNS–IDS–HSU	958,312	40.4 (#1)	61 / 151	5	Government
2015	HNS-HSU-HL-AHSS-ZS	744,507	32.31 (#2)	42 / 151	19	Opposition
2016	HNS-HSU-HSS	636,602	33.82 (#2)	38 / 151	4	Opposition
2020	HSS-GLAS-IDS-HSU-PGS-NLDB	414,615	24.87 (#2)	34 / 151	4	Opposition
2024	CENTAR-HSS-GLAS-DO i SIP-NS-R	538,748	25.40 (#2)	37 / 151	3	Opposition

European Parliament Election Results

Election	In coalition with	Votes won	Percentage	Seats won	Change
		(Coalition totals)		(SDP only)
2013	HNS–HSU	237,778	32,07 (#2)	5 / 12
2014	HNS–HSU-IDS- SDSS	275,904	29,93 (#2)	2 / 11	3
2019	None	200,976	18,71 (#2)	4 / 12	2
2024	DO i SIP–CENTAR–HSS–GLAS	192,859	25,62 (#2)	4 / 12

Croatian Presidential Election Results

Leaders of the SDP Since 1990

No.	Leader		Age	Term start	Term end	Duration
1		Ivica Račan	1944–2007	3 November 1990	11 April 2007	16 years, 159 days
—		Željka Antunović (acting president)	b. 1955	11 April 2007	2 June 2007	52 days
2		Zoran Milanović	b. 1966	2 June 2007	26 November 2016	9 years, 177 days
3		Davor Bernardić	b. 1980	26 November 2016	6 July 2020	3 years, 223 days
—		Zlatko Komadina (acting president)	b. 1958	6 July 2020	3 October 2020	89 days
4		Peđa Grbin	b. 1979	3 October 2020	present	4 years, 309 days

Images for kids

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  Zoran Milanović, the second chairman of the SDP (2007–2016), the 10th Prime Minister of Croatia (2011–2016), and the fifth President of Croatia (2020–present).

See also

• Elections in the Social Democratic Party of Croatia
• Cabinet of Ivica Račan I
• Cabinet of Ivica Račan II
• Cabinet of Zoran Milanović
• Left-wing politics in Croatia