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Socialist International
Socialist International logo
Light red: Countries with a political party affiliated with the Socialist International Dark red: Countries with the ruling party affiliated with the Socialist International
Abbreviation	SI
Predecessor	Labour and Socialist International
Formation	3 June 1951; 74 years ago (1951-06-03)
Type	International non-governmental organization
Purpose	"Strengthen relations between the affiliated parties and to coordinate their political attitudes and activities"
Location	London, SW4 United Kingdom
Region served	Worldwide
Membership	119 political parties and 13 affiliated organizations
President	Pedro Sánchez
Secretary General	Chantal Kambiwa
Main organ	Congress of the Socialist International
Secessions	Progressive Alliance
Budget	£1.4 million (2014)
Website	socialistinternational.org

The Socialist International (SI) is a global group of political parties. These parties aim to create a society based on democratic socialism. This means they want a fair society where everyone has a say and important services are available to all. Most of its members are social-democratic parties and worker organizations.

The SI was formed in 1951. It followed an older group called the Labour and Socialist International. But its roots go back even further, to the late 1800s. Today, the SI has 132 member parties and organizations from over 100 countries. Many of its member parties have been in charge of governments, especially in Europe. In 2013, some parties left the SI to form a new group called the Progressive Alliance.

The current leader of the SI is Pedro Sánchez, who is also the prime minister of Spain. The Secretary General is Chantal Kambiwa from Ghana. Both were chosen at the SI Congress in Madrid in November 2022.

A Look Back: Early Worker Groups

The First and Second Internationals (1864–1916)

The very first international group for workers was called the International Workingmen's Association. People also called it the First International. It started in London in 1864. This group brought together different socialist, communist, and anarchist groups, along with trade unions. They all wanted to improve life for working people. However, disagreements between different groups led to its end in 1876.

Later, the Second International was formed in Paris in 1889. This was a group of socialist parties. But when World War I started, members had different ideas about the war. These differences caused the Second International to break up in 1916.

The Labour and Socialist International (1919–1940)

After World War I, some parties wanted to restart the Second International. They formed the International Socialist Commission (ISC) in 1919. At the same time, Communist parties created their own group, the Communist International (Comintern).

Some parties didn't want to join either of these groups. So, they formed the International Working Union of Socialist Parties (IWUSP) in 1921. Eventually, the ISC and the IWUSP decided to join forces. They created the Labour and Socialist International (LSI) in 1923. This group lasted until 1940. The rise of groups like the Nazis and the start of World War II led to its end.

The Socialist International (1951–Present)

The Socialist International was officially formed in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1951. It was created to continue the work of the LSI.

After World War II, the SI helped social democratic parties. These parties were trying to rebuild their countries after dictatorships. For example, it helped in Portugal (1974) and Spain (1975). Before 1976, most SI members were from Europe. But then it started to include more parties from Latin America.

In the 1980s, many SI parties supported the Nicaraguan Sandinistas. This was a left-wing government in Nicaragua. The United States tried to overthrow it, which led to the Iran–Contra affair.

Willy Brandt with outgoing secretary general Bernt Carlsson (left) and new secretary general Pentti Väänänen (right) at the Socialist International Congress in 1983

During the Cold War, the SI talked a lot with the United States and the Soviet Union. They discussed how to improve relations and control weapons. The SI supported agreements that aimed for peace and disarmament. Leaders like Kalevi Sorsa, the Prime Minister of Finland, led these talks. They met with US Presidents and Soviet leaders.

Since then, the SI has welcomed many more parties from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

In 2011, the SI removed some ruling parties from its membership. These parties were from countries like Tunisia, Egypt, and Ivory Coast. They were removed because they were long-term ruling parties in one-party states. These governments were overthrown during the Arab Spring protests.

A New Group: The Progressive Alliance (2013)

In 2013, a new group called the Progressive Alliance was formed. It was started by the Social Democratic Party of Germany and other parties. They felt that the SI was not democratic enough or was old-fashioned. They also didn't like that the SI still included some undemocratic political groups.

After 2012, many large European parties either left the SI or became "observer" members. These parties now work more closely with the Progressive Alliance. The SI now focuses more on countries in the "global south" (Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia).

The SI and Latin America

For a long time, the Socialist International didn't pay much attention to Latin America. They saw it as an area mainly influenced by the United States. For example, they didn't speak out against the overthrow of Guatemala's socialist president in 1954.

But after the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, things changed. The SI started to support left-wing groups in Latin America. They backed the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. They also supported movements in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. These groups were fighting against dictatorships that the US supported.

In the 1990s, some non-socialist parties joined the SI. They saw the economic power of European countries led by SI partners. They hoped to gain benefits from these connections. However, some critics said the SI became too focused on connections rather than its original goals. Many left-wing parties that came to power in Latin America in the 2000s chose to stay separate from the SI.

The SI Logo

The logo of the Socialist International is the fist and rose. This design is based on a logo created in 1977 for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. Many parties that are members of the SI use similar versions of this emblem.

Leaders of the Socialist International

Presidents

As of 2023, there have been nine presidents of the Socialist International.

#	Name	Country		Presidency start date	Presidency end date	Time in office
1	Morgan Phillips (1902–1963)	United Kingdom	Labour Party	1951	1957	6 years
2	Alsing Andersen (1893–1962)	Denmark	Social Democratic Party of Denmark	1957	1962	5 years
3	Erich Ollenhauer (1901–1963)	West Germany	Social Democratic Party of Germany	1963
4	Bruno Pittermann (1905–1983)	Austria	Social Democratic Party of Austria	1964	1976	12 years
5	Willy Brandt (1913–1992)	West Germany	Social Democratic Party of Germany	1976	1992	16 years
6	Pierre Mauroy (1928–2013)	France	Socialist Party of France	17 September 1992	10 November 1999	7 years, 54 days
7	António Guterres (born 1949)	Portugal	Socialist Party of Portugal	10 November 1999	15 June 2005	5 years, 217 days
8	George Papandreou (born 1952)	Greece	PASOK / KIDISO	30 January 2006	25 November 2022	16 years, 300 days
9	Pedro Sánchez (born 1972)	Spain	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	25 November 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 246 days

Honorary Presidents

These are people who have been given the title of honorary president.

Mustapha Ben Jafar, Tunisia
Leonel Brizola, Brazil
Rubén Berríos, Puerto Rico
Philippe Busquin, Belgium
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Mexico
Mohamed El Yazghi, Morocco
Alan García, Peru
Anita Gradin, Sweden
Elazar Granot, Israel
Tarja Halonen, Finland
Mahamadou Issoufou, Niger
Anker Jørgensen, Denmark
Lionel Jospin, France
Neil Kinnock, United Kingdom
Horacio Serpa, Colombia
Enrique Silva Cimma, Chile
Mário Soares, Portugal
Hans-Jochen Vogel, Germany

Secretaries General

The Secretary General manages the daily work of the SI.

Julius Braunthal, Austria (1951–1956)
Bjarne Braatoy, Norway (1956–1957)
Albert Carthy, United Kingdom (1957–1969)
Hans Janitschek, Austria (1969–1976)
Bernt Carlsson, Sweden (1976–1983)
Pentti Väänänen, Finland (1983–1989)
Luis Ayala, Chile (1989–2022)
Benedicta Lasi, Ghana (2022–2024)
Chantal Kambiwa, Ghana (2024– )

SI Meetings Around the World

The Socialist International holds regular meetings called Summits or Congresses. Here are some of the places they have met:

1951 (1st): Frankfurt, West Germany
1952 (2nd): Milan, Italy
1953 (3rd): Stockholm, Sweden
1955 (4th): London, United Kingdom
1957 (5th): Vienna, Austria
1959 (6th): Hamburg, West Germany
1961 (7th): Rome, Italy
1963 (8th): Amsterdam, Netherlands
1964 (9th): Brussels, Belgium
1966 (10th): Stockholm, Sweden
1969 (11th): Eastbourne, United Kingdom
1972 (12th): Vienna, Austria (2nd time)
1976 (13th): Geneva, Switzerland
1978 (14th): Vancouver, Canada
1980 (15th): Madrid, Spain
1983 (16th): Albufeira, Portugal
1986 (17th): Lima, Peru
1989 (18th): Stockholm, Sweden (2nd time)
1992 (19th): Berlin, Germany
1996 (20th): New York City, United States
1999 (21st): Paris, France
2003 (22nd): São Paulo, Brazil
2008 (23rd): Athens, Greece
2012 (24th): Cape Town, South Africa
2017 (25th): Cartagena, Colombia
2022 (26th): Madrid, Spain (2nd time)

Who Are the Members?

The Socialist International has different types of members: full members, consultative parties, and observer parties.

Full Members

There are 92 full member parties. These parties are deeply involved in the SI's work.

Country	Name	Government Status	Notes
Albania	Socialist Party of Albania	in government	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Algeria	Socialist Forces Front	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 1996.
Andorra	Social Democratic Party	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Angola	Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola	in government	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Argentina	Radical Civic Union	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 1999.
Armenia	Armenian Revolutionary Federation	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Belarus	Belarusian Social Democratic Party	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2015.
Belgium	Socialist Party	junior party in coalition
Bolivia	National Unity Front	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2017.
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina	in government	Joined as a full member in 1999.
Brazil	Democratic Labour Party	in government	Joined as a full member in 1989.
Bulgaria	Party of Bulgarian Social Democrats	extra-parliamentary
Bulgaria	Bulgarian Socialist Party	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Burkina Faso	People's Movement for Progress	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2016.
Cameroon	Social Democratic Front	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 1999.
Cape Verde	African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 1996.
Central African Republic	Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People	MLPC	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2018.
Chad	National Union for Democracy and Renewal	UNDR	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2017.
Chile	Party for Democracy	junior party in coalition	Joined as a full member in 1996.
	Radical Party of Chile	junior party in coalition
	Socialist Party of Chile	junior party in coalition	Joined as a full member in 1996.
Colombia	Colombian Liberal Party	junior party in coalition	Joined as a full member in 1999.
Costa Rica	National Liberation Party	in opposition	Full member since 1987.
Croatia	Social Democratic Party of Croatia	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 1999.
Cyprus	EDEK Socialist Party	in opposition	Full member since 1987.
Cyprus (North)	Republican Turkish Party	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2014.
Cyprus (North)	Communal Democracy Party	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2017.
Czech Republic	Social Democracy	in opposition
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Union for Democracy and Social Progress	UDPS	in government	Joined as an observer member in 2003.
Dominican Republic	Dominican Revolutionary Party	in opposition	Full member since 1987.
Equatorial Guinea	Convergence for Social Democracy	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 1999.
Finland	Social Democratic Party of Finland	in opposition
France	Socialist Party	in opposition
Ghana	National Democratic Congress	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2008.
Greece	PASOK – Movement for Change	in opposition	Full member since 1990.
Guatemala	National Unity of Hope	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2008.
Guinea	Rally of the Guinean People	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Haiti	Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats	extra-parliamentary	Full member since 1989.
Haiti	Social Democratic Assembly for the Progress of Haiti (RSD)	RSD	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2018.
Hungary	Hungarian Socialist Party	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 1996.
India	Indian National Congress	in opposition	Rejoined as a full member in 2014.
Iraq	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan	junior party in coalition	Joined as a full member in 2008.
Israel	Meretz	extra-parliamentary
Italy	Italian Socialist Party	extra-parliamentary
Jamaica	People's National Party	in opposition	Full member since 1952.
Japan	Social Democratic Party	in opposition	Full member since 1951.
Kazakhstan	Nationwide Social Democratic Party	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2015.
Kyrgyzstan	Social Democrats (Kyrgyzstan)	in opposition	Successor to a previous member party.
Lebanon	Progressive Socialist Party	in opposition	Full member since 1980.
Lithuania	Social Democratic Party of Lithuania	in opposition	Full member since the 1990s.
Luxembourg	Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party	style="background: #FFD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="partial table-partial"\|in opposition	Full member since 1951.
Mali	Alliance for Democracy in Mali	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 1999.
Mali	Rally for Mali	in opposition	Joined as a consultative member in 2003.
Mauritania	Rally of Democratic Forces	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2008.
Mauritius	Labour Party	in opposition	Full member since 1969.
Mauritius	Mauritian Militant Movement	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Mexico	Institutional Revolutionary Party	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Moldova	European Social Democratic Party	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2012.
Mongolia	Mongolian People's Party	in government	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Montenegro	Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2008.
Montenegro	Social Democratic Party of Montenegro	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Morocco	Socialist Union of Popular Forces	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 1992.
Mozambique	Frelimo Party	in government	Joined as a full member in 1999.
Namibia	South West Africa People's Organisation	in government	Joined as a full member in 2008.
Nepal	Nepali Congress	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 1999.
Niger	Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Pakistan	Pakistan Peoples Party	junior party in coalition	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Palestine	Fatah	in government	Joined as a full member in 2012.
Panama	Democratic Revolutionary Party	in government	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Paraguay	Progressive Democratic Party	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2015.
Peru	Peruvian Aprista Party	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 1999.
Philippines	Philippine Democratic Socialist Party	PDSP	extra-parliamentary	Reinstated in 2019.
Portugal	Socialist Party	in government
Puerto Rico	Puerto Rican Independence Party	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 1992.
Romania	Social Democratic Party	in government	Joined as a full member in 1999.
San Marino	Party of Socialists and Democrats	junior partner in coalition	Full member since 1980.
Senegal	Socialist Party of Senegal	junior partner in coalition	Full member since the 1970s.
Slovakia	Direction – Social Democracy	in government	Full member.
South Africa	African National Congress	in government	Joined as a full member in 1999.
Spain	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	in government	Full member since 1951.
Tunisia	Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties	N/A	Joined as a full member in 2012.
Turkey	Republican People's Party	in opposition	Took another party's place in 1995.
Uruguay	New Space	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2003.
Venezuela	A New Era	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2015.
	Democratic Action	in opposition	Full member since the mid-1980s.
	Popular Will	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a full member in 2014.
Yemen	Yemeni Socialist Party	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 2012.

Consultative Parties

There are 19 consultative parties. These parties are working towards full membership.

Country	Name	Government Status	Notes
Botswana	Botswana Democratic Party	in government	Joined as a consultative member in 2014.
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Unified Lumumbist Party	PALU	in opposition	Joined as a consultative member in 2019.
Djibouti	Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development	MRD	N/A	Joined as consultative members in 2019.
Eswatini	People's United Democratic Movement	PUDEMO	N/A	Joined as a consultative member in 2013. Political parties are not allowed in Eswatini.
Gabon	Gabonese Progress Party	PGP	N/A	Joined as a consultative member in 1996.
Gambia	United Democratic Party	UDP	in opposition	Joined as a consultative member in 2012.
Georgia	Social Democrats for the Development of Georgia	SDD	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a consultative member in 2013.
Ghana	Convention People's Party	CPP	extra-parliamentary	Joined as a consultative member in 2018.
Guinea-Bissau	African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde	PAIGC	in opposition	Joined as a consultative member in 2008.
Iran	Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan	PDKI	N/A	Joined as a consultative member in 2008. This party is banned in Iran.
Iran	Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan	KPIK	N/A	Joined as a consultative member in 2018. This party is banned in Iran.
Palestine	Palestinian National Initiative	PNI	in opposition	Joined as a consultative member in 2012.
Palestine	Palestinian Popular Struggle Front	PPSF	junior partner in coalition	Joined as a consultative member in 2018.
Sahrawi Republic	Polisario Front	POLISARIO	in government	Joined as a consultative member in 2017.
São Tomé and Príncipe	Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe/Social Democratic Party	MLSTP/PSD	in opposition	Joined as a consultative member in 2013.
Syria	Democratic Union Party	PYD	extra-parliamentary opposition	Joined as a consultative member in 2015.
Togo	Democratic Convention of African Peoples	CDPA	extra-parliamentary opposition	Joined as a consultative member in 1999.
Ukraine	Social Democratic Party of Ukraine	SDPU	extra-parliamentary opposition	Joined as a consultative member in 2003.

Observer Parties

There are eight observer parties. These parties are new to the SI or have a less active role.

Country	Name	Government Status	Notes
Eswatini	Swazi Democratic Party	SWADEPA	N/A	Joined as an observer member in 2014.
Ireland	Labour Party		in opposition
Kenya	Labour Party of Kenya			Joined as an observer member in 2012.
Kosovo	Vetëvendosje	VV	in government	Joined as an observer member in 2018.
Lesotho	Lesotho Congress for Democracy	LCD	junior party in coalition	Joined as an observer member in 2014.
Serbia	Social Democratic Party of Serbia	SDPS	junior party in coalition	Joined as an observer member in 2018.
Somaliland	Justice and Welfare Party	JWP	in opposition	Joined as an observer member in 2013.
United Kingdom	Labour Party		in opposition	A member since 1951. Changed to observer status in 2013 due to ethical concerns and to explore new ways of working with other groups.
United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)	Social Democratic and Labour Party	SDLP	in opposition	Joined as a full member in 1974.