Social Democratic Union of Macedonia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Social Democratic Union of Macedonia Социјалдемократски сојуз на Македонија Lidhja Socialdemokrate e Maqedonisë
Abbreviation	SDSM (Macedonian) LSDM (Albanian)
Leader	Venko Filipče
Secretary-General	Aleksandar Sasa Dimitrijevikj
Deputy Leader	Fani Karanfilovska Panovska
Founded	20 April 1991 (1991-04-20)
Preceded by	LCM
Headquarters	Bihaḱka 8, Skopje
Youth wing	Social Democratic Youth of Macedonia
Ideology	Social democracy Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre-left
National affiliation	For a European Future
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists (associate)
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance
Colours	Red      White
Assembly	15 / 120
Mayors	18 / 80
Local councils	396 / 1,333
Skopje city council	12 / 45
Party flag

The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (often called SDSM) is a major political party in North Macedonia. It is known as a social democratic party, which means it believes in fairness and helping everyone in society. It is the main centre-left party in the country. The SDSM also strongly supports North Macedonia joining the European Union.

The party was started on April 20, 1991. It grew out of an older party called the League of Communists of Macedonia. SDSM is part of international groups like the Progressive Alliance and the Party of European Socialists. The party played a big role in solving the long-standing issue about North Macedonia's name with Greece, which led to the Prespa Agreement.

How the Party Started

The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia was officially formed on April 20, 1991. Its history goes back to 1943. That's when the Communist Party of Macedonia (CPM) was created during World War II. The CPM later became the League of Communists of Macedonia (LCM) in 1952. This party was the main ruling party in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia.

When SDSM was formed, Branko Crvenkovski became its first president. The new party kept the resources and organization of the older party. Unlike some other parties, SDSM often had support from people living in cities, middle-class families, and former leaders from the Yugoslav era.

Important Moments in History

The SDSM formed the first government in North Macedonia in 1992. In 1994, SDSM worked with other parties, like the Socialist Party and the Liberal Party, to create the Alliance of Macedonia. They also formed a government with the Party for Democratic Prosperity, which represented ethnic Albanians.

Branko Crvenkovski, the party's president, was the Prime Minister of Macedonia from 1992 to 1998. During this time, the government faced challenges like high unemployment. The party lost the elections in 1998.

In 2001, SDSM was part of a special government of national unity. This government included other major parties during a time of conflict in Macedonia. After the 2002 elections, SDSM became the largest party in the Assembly of North Macedonia. They won 60 out of 120 seats as part of the "Together for Macedonia" alliance. This alliance then formed a government with the Democratic Union for Integration.

Leadership Changes and Challenges

SDSM sees itself as a social democratic party. It is a member of the Progressive Alliance and is connected to the Party of European Socialists. In 2004, Branko Crvenkovski won the presidential elections. He became the President of North Macedonia and served until May 2009.

Vlado Bučkovski then became the party's president and Prime Minister until 2006. In 2005, a well-known member, Tito Petkovski, left the party to start a new one. SDSM lost the 2006 elections. This was partly due to high unemployment and other issues.

After 2006, Radmila Šekerinska led the SDSM. In the 2008 elections, their coalition lost, getting 27 out of 120 seats. After this defeat, Šekerinska resigned. Zoran Zaev, who was the mayor of Strumica, took over as leader. In May 2009, after his term as President ended, Branko Crvenkovski returned and was re-elected as the party leader. He made many changes to the party. However, he resigned again after the party lost the local elections in 2013. In June 2013, Zoran Zaev was elected as the leader once more.

Recent Years and Achievements

The party lost the 2014 general elections. However, the opposition parties did not accept the results and boycotted the Parliament. From 2015, Zoran Zaev shared information that led to large protests in Skopje. Many people gathered to demand changes. The political situation was resolved with the Pržino Agreement in July 2015. This agreement led to early elections and SDSM's involvement in the government.

In the elections on December 11, 2016, SDSM had one of its best results ever. They won almost 440,000 votes and 49 Members of Parliament. In April 2017, SDSM formed a government with Albanian parties. They won 57 municipalities in the local elections that October. During their time in government, North Macedonia joined NATO. Important agreements were also signed with Bulgaria and Greece. The agreement with Greece finally resolved the long-standing name dispute.

Before the 2020 parliamentary elections, the party updated its look. They changed their logo to be similar to other social democratic parties in Europe and made red their main color. In these elections, they campaigned to continue working towards joining the EU. They formed a government in August 2020 after winning 46 seats.

After losing many municipalities in the 2021 local elections, Zoran Zaev stepped down as party president. On December 12, 2021, the party held internal elections. Dimitar Kovačevski, a former deputy Finance Minister, was elected as the new party president. He became the Prime Minister in January 2022. In the 2024 parliamentary election, the party had its lowest result, winning only 18 seats. This led to the resignation of the party's leadership. On June 30, 2024, Venko Filipče, who was a former health minister, became the new president of the party.

Party Leaders

The old logo of SDSM

Old party flag

• Branko Crvenkovski (1991–2004)
• Vlado Bučkovski (2004–2006)
• Radmila Šekerinska (2006–2008)
• Zoran Zaev (2008–2009)
• Branko Crvenkovski (2009–2013)
• Zoran Zaev (2013–2021)
• Dimitar Kovačevski (2021–2024)
• Venko Filipče (2024–present)

Election Results

Presidential Elections

Election	Party candidate	Votes	%	Votes	%	Result
		First Round		Second Round
1994	Kiro Gligorov	715,087	78.4%	-	-	Elected Y
1999	Tito Petkovski	343,606	33.1%	513,614	46.8%	Lost
2004	Branko Crvenkovski	385,347	42.5%	550,317	62.6%	Elected Y
2009	Ljubomir Frčkoski	202,691	20.54%	264,828	36.86%	Lost
2014	Stevo Pendarovski	326,164	38.56%	398,077	42.67%	Lost
2019		322,581	44.75%	436,212	53.59%	Elected Y
2024		180,499	20.49%	251,899	30.99%	Lost

Assembly Elections

Election	Party leader	In coalition with	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
			(Coalition totals)		(Coalition totals)
1990	Petar Goshev	None	220,748	27.70%	31 / 120	31	2nd	Government
1994	Branko Crvenkovski	LPM-SPM	329,700	53.50%	95 / 120	64	1st	Government
1998		None	279,799	25.14%	30 / 120	60	2nd	Opposition
2002		LDP-DPT-DLB-USR-DPD	494,744	41.58%	60 / 120	33	1st	Government
2006	Vlado Bučkovski	LDP-DPT-DLB-USR-DPD	218,164	23.31%	32 / 120	30	2nd	Opposition
2008	Radmila Šekerinska	NSDP-LDP- LPM	233,284	23.64%	27 / 120	5	2nd	Opposition
2011	Branko Crvenkovski	NSDP-NSDP-SEB-LPM-SPS-PPER-UTLS-SSD	368,496	32.78%	42 / 120	15	2nd	Opposition
2014	Zoran Zaev	NSDP-LDP-UM-SPER	283,955	26.22%	34 / 120	8	2nd	Opposition
2016		NSDP-LDP-DOM-SPER	436,981	37.87%	49 / 120	15	2nd	Government
2020		"We Can" BESA-NSDP-LDP-VMRO–NP-DOM-DS-TDP-THP-POPGM	327,408	35.89%	46 / 120	3	1st	Government
2024	Dimitar Kovačevski	"For a European Future" NSDP-LDP-VMRO–NP-DOM-POPGM	153,250	15.36%	18 / 120	28	2nd	Opposition

See also

In Spanish: Unión Socialdemócrata de Macedonia para niños