Social Democratic Party of Croatia facts for kids

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Abbreviation	SDP
President	Siniša Hajdaš Dončić
Vice Presidents	See list Biljana Borzan Mirela Ahmetović Mišel Jakšić Ranko Ostojić
Founder	Ivica Račan
Founded	3 November 1990; 34 years ago (1990-11-03)
Preceded by	League of Communists of Croatia (SKH)
Headquarters	Trg Drage Iblera 9, Zagreb
Youth wing	SDP Youth Forum
Membership (2020)	32,000
Ideology	Social democracy
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.")
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European Parliament	Lua error in Module:European_and_national_party_data/config at line 227: attempt to index field 'data' (a nil value).
County Prefects	3 / 21
Mayors	19 / 128
Municipalities	53 / 428
Party flag
Website
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The Social Democratic Party of Croatia (often called SDP) is a political party in Croatia. It believes in social democracy, which means it supports ideas like fairness, equality, and helping people in society. The SDP is also against fascism and strongly supports cooperation with other European countries.

The party started in 1990. It came from the League of Communists of Croatia, which was the ruling party in Croatia when it was part of Yugoslavia.

The SDP first won elections in 2000 and formed a government with other parties. Ivica Račan was the leader of this government. After losing the 2003 election, the party was in opposition for eight years. In 2011, the SDP won many seats in the Croatian Parliament and formed a new government with Zoran Milanović as Prime Minister.

After the 2015 election, the SDP returned to being an opposition party. Some important members of the SDP have held high positions. Ivo Josipović, a former SDP member, was the President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Another SDP member, Neven Mimica, worked as a European Commissioner.

The SDP is part of several international groups. These include the Party of European Socialists (PES) and the Socialist International (SI).

History of the SDP

Starting in the 1990s

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

The SDP was officially created on November 3, 1990. It was formed by a group from the old League of Communists of Croatia (SKH). This group wanted to create a new party based on social democratic ideas.

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 this time, Croatia was getting ready for its first multi-party elections. The SKH decided to hold elections in April and May 1990. In February 1990, the Croatian parliament changed the rules to allow many political parties. The SKH then 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 of Croatia," dropping the old SKH part of its name. In the August 1992 election, the SDP won 5.52% of the votes and 11 seats in parliament. In 1993, they shortened their name to just "Social Democratic Party."

Joining with Another Party

In 1990, another party called the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDSH) was also founded. This party later changed its name to the Social Democrats of Croatia (SDH). It was one of the few parties at the time that called itself "left-wing." Many smart people helped start this party.

In the 1990 election, the SDSH did not win many seats. However, they were strong enough to have ministers in the government from 1991 to 1992.

Before the 1992 elections, the SDSH and the SDP had disagreements about their names. The election showed that the SDP was much stronger. This led to the SDSH joining the 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.

The Račan Government (2000–2003)

In 1998, the leaders of the SDP and another party, HSLS, agreed to work together. They ran in the January 2000 parliamentary 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. This time was difficult because the parties in the government often disagreed.

In 2001, one party left the government. In 2002, the government broke apart when the HSLS refused to support an agreement about a power plant.

A new government was formed in July 2002 with the remaining parties and two smaller ones. This government stayed in power until the November 2003 elections. The SDP and its partners lost to the conservative HDZ party. The SDP then returned to being an opposition party.

The 2000 election win was a big moment for Croatia. It was the first time power changed hands peacefully in the country's young democracy. Račan's government was seen as very supportive of Western countries. During their time in power, Croatia took steps towards joining the European Union. However, the government struggled with economic problems and unemployment.

Being in Opposition (2003–2011)

Ivo Josipović, President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015

Former flag of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (2005–2008)

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

In 2007, the party faced a sad event when 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.

For the November 2007 parliamentary election, the SDP had an economic plan created by Ljubo Jurčić. He was also chosen as their candidate for Prime Minister. The SDP came in second place, very close behind the HDZ. They did not form a government and became the largest opposition party.

Zoran Milanović, who led the SDP from 2007 to 2016, was Prime Minister from 2011 to 2016, and became President of Croatia in 2020

In the June 2009 local elections, the SDP won important victories in several cities. They gained control in places like Dubrovnik and Vukovar, which were usually strongholds for the HDZ. They also kept control of major cities 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 and became the President of Croatia.

The Milanović Government (2011–2015)

Milanović with other members of the Croatia is Growing coalition, 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 parliamentary 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. The party president, Zoran Milanović, became the new Prime Minister on December 23, 2011.

The Milanović government started by making several new laws. They passed a law about medically assisted fertilization and introduced health education in schools. They also announced plans to expand rights for same-sex couples. In 2013, a public vote was held to add a rule to the constitution against same-sex marriage. The SDP was against this rule, but it passed. Milanović's government then passed the Life Partnership Act in 2014, which gave rights to same-sex couples.

The government faced several challenges during its time. These included a long period of economic difficulty, protests, and the European migrant crisis.

The government made a new law about taxes and helped people who had loans in Swiss francs. In 2015, they decided to change Swiss franc loans into euro loans to help borrowers.

The government also made changes to taxes to deal with the tough economic situation. They cut some social payments and public worker salaries. However, the economy still struggled, and unemployment was high.

The difficult economy made people less supportive of the Milanović government. In the 2013 European Parliament elections, the SDP won five representatives, one less than the main opposition party. In the 2014 European Parliament elections, they won four. The party supported Ivo Josipović in the 2014–15 presidential elections, but he lost to Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović from the HDZ.

Being in Opposition (2015–Present)

SDP's 13th General Convention in 2016

In the 2015 parliamentary elections, the SDP and its partners won 56 out of 151 seats. They tried to form a new government with another party, but they could not agree. An independent person, Tihomir Orešković, then formed a government with the support of the Patriotic Coalition.

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

In June 2016, the government lost a vote of no confidence, which led to an early election in November. The SDP ran as the largest party in the People's Coalition. Even though many thought they would win, the People's Coalition won only 54 seats, while the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won more. After this, Zoran Milanović announced he would not run for party leader again and would leave politics.

In the next leadership election, Davor Bernardić was chosen as the third chairman of the SDP in November 2016.

In the 2020 parliamentary elections, the SDP had its worst result since the 1990s. Davor Bernardić resigned as leader the day after the election. Peđa Grbin was then chosen as the new leader in October 2020.

In July 2021, some disagreements happened within the party. Several members were expelled. These expelled members and their supporters then formed a new group in parliament called the Social Democrats Club. They later started a new party called the Social Democrats in July 2022. This left the SDP with fewer representatives in parliament.

How the SDP is Organized

The first and longest-serving president of the SDP was Ivica Račan. The current president of the party is Siniša Hajdaš Dončić. He was chosen in a leadership election on September 21, 2024, after Peđa Grbin resigned.

Besides the president, the party has four vice-presidents: Biljana Borzan, Mirela Ahmetović, Ranko Ostojić, and Mišel Jakšić. The main groups that run the party are the party presidency, the head committee, and the supervisory committee.

Like other parties, the SDP has local groups in different towns, cities, and counties. It also has 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. It 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

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

Parliamentary Elections (Sabor)

The Sabor is the Croatian Parliament, where laws are made.

Election	In coalition with	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
		Coalition		SDP
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)	33 / 151	4	Opposition
2024	CENTAR-HSS-GLAS-DO i SIP-NS-R	538,748	25.40 (#2)	37 / 151	3	Opposition

European Parliament Elections

The European Parliament is where representatives from countries in the European Union work together.

Election	List leader	Coalition	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	EP Group
			Coalition		SDP
2013	Tonino Picula	HNS–HSU	237,778	32,07 (#2)	5 / 12	New	S&D
2014	Neven Mimica	HNS–HSU-IDS- SDSS	275,904	29,93 (#2)	2 / 11	3
2019	Tonino Picula	None	200,976	18,71 (#2)	4 / 12	2
2024	Biljana Borzan	DO i SIP–CENTAR–HSS–GLAS	192,859	25,62 (#2)	4 / 12	0

Presidential Elections

The President of Croatia is the head of state.

Party Presidents 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	21 September 2024	3 years, 354 days
5		Siniša Hajdaš Dončić	b. 1974	21 September 2024	present	342 days

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