The Social Democratic Party ( et, Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Erakond, SDE) is a
centre-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...
political party in Estonia. It is currently led by
Lauri Läänemets
Lauri Läänemets (born 31 January 1983 in Tallinn) is an Estonian politician. He is currently Minister of Interior Affairs and was a member of XIV Riigikogu
XIV Riigikogu is the fourteenth and current legislature of Estonian Parliament (Riig ...
.
The party was formerly known as the Moderate People's Party ( et, Rahvaerakond Mõõdukad).
The SDE has been a member of the
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party.
The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus Norway and the United Kingdom ...
since 16 May 2003 and was a member of the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...
from November 1990 to 2017. It is orientated towards the principles of
social-democracy
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...
,
and it supports Estonia's membership in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
History
During the
perestroika era, the Estonian Social Democratic Party (''Eesti Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Partei'', ESDP) was formed as Estonia's social-democratic movements merged in 1990. The movements were: the
Estonian Democratic Labour Party
Estonian Left Party (, EVP) was a leftist socialist political party in Estonia.
History
*1990: Registration of the independent Communist Party of Estonia, Estonian Communist Party (EKP).
*1992: Congress of EKP renamed Estonian Democratic Labour ...
, the
Estonian Social Democratic Independence Party
The Estonian Social Democratic Independence Party ( et, Eesti Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Iseseisvuspartei, ESDIP) was a social democratic political party in Estonia (then the Estonian SSR), which advocated Estonian independence. The party was founded ...
, the
Russian Social Democratic Party of Estonia
The Russian Social Democratic Party of Estonia ( et, Vene Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Partei Eestis) was a social democratic political party in Estonia (then the Estonian SSR). On September 8, 1989, the party merged into the Estonian Social Democratic P ...
and the Estonian Socialist Party's Foreign Association (successor of Estonian Socialist Workers Party in exile). The ESDP's first leader was
Marju Lauristin
Marju Lauristin (born 7 April 1940) is an Estonian politician, and former Member of the European Parliament and Minister of Social Affairs. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists. Lauristin is cu ...
. They restored their contacts with the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...
in 1990. ESDP formed an electoral alliance with the
agrarian Estonian Rural Centre Party
The Social Democratic Party ( et, Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Erakond, SDE) is a centre-left political party in Estonia. It is currently led by Lauri Läänemets.
The party was formerly known as the Moderate People's Party ( et, Rahvaerakond Mõõduk ...
(formed in 1990) for
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
and
1995 elections. In 1996, after electoral defeat these two parties finally merged and named themselves the Moderates (''Mõõdukad''). The Moderates were accepted as a full member of the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...
at its 20th congress in September 1999.
In 1999 the ''Moderates'' and the centre-right
People's Party, set up in May 1998 after a fusion of
Peasants' Party and
People's Party of Republicans and Conservatives
People's Party of Republicans and Conservatives (''Vabariiklaste ja Konservatiivide Rahvaerakond'') was an Estonian political party, which existed under this banner from 1994 to 1998.
History
It was founded in September 1994 after Pro Patria s ...
(a 1994 splinter group from the
Fatherland Alliance), formed the Moderate People's Party (''Rahvaerakond Mõõdukad''). The seemingly unlikely decision to fuse took place on 29 May 1999, with some foreign commentators drawing parallels with '
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
socialists'. In November the same year, the unification was formally approved by party's general assembly.
The Moderates' contacts with People's Party predecessors had started in 1998. The two parties had a joint list in
1999 parliamentary election and formed a governing coalition with Pro Patria Union and Reform Party. In 2003, the Moderate People's Party joined the
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party.
The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus Norway and the United Kingdom ...
. After disappointing election results in
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
, the party renamed itself the Social Democratic Party (SDE) on 7 February 2004.
It was the most successful party in the
2004 European Parliamentary Election, obtaining 36.8% of the national vote (most of which went to their leading candidate
Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016.
Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the ...
) and returning 3
MEPs
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
.
The SDE is committed to the
social market economy
The social market economy (SOME; german: soziale Marktwirtschaft), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system alon ...
model, in addition to conventional social-democratic values including equality,
social justice
Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
, solidarity, and the
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...
. On 10 May 2005 former social-liberals
Peeter Kreitzberg
Peeter Kreitzberg (14 December 1948 – 3 November 2011) was an Estonian politician, member of parliament and a member of the Social Democratic Party. Kreitzberg served as the Estonian Minister of Culture and Education from April to November 1995 ...
and
Sven Mikser joined them. On 28 November former social-liberal Mark Soosaar re-joined the SDE. The party was in opposition from 2002 on, but they participated talks for a common alternative presidential candidate to
Arnold Rüütel
Arnold Rüütel OIH () (born 10 May 1928) is an Estonian politician and agricultural scientist. He has served as the last chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR from 8 April 1983 to 29 March 1990, Chairman of the Su ...
, SDE's
Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016.
Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the ...
was elected on 23 September 2006 as the next president of Estonia (apart from the Social Democrats, he was supported by the
Reform Party of Estonia,
Pro Patria Union
The Pro Patria Union ( et, Isamaaliit, meaning literally Fatherland Union) was a national-conservative political party in Estonia. The party was founded on 2 December 1995 from a merger of the Estonian National Independence Party and the Pro Patr ...
and
Res Publica deputies).
After last elections to the local government councils on 16 October 2005, the party in most major cities is in opposition, but are a part of the governing coalition in Rakvere and Tapa. The party improved its position in most areas. In Tallinn, it formed a joint list with the agrarian
People's Union, which got 6 seats out of 63 seats with 11.1% share of votes. Comparing to 2003. elections to the local government council in Tallinn SDE and People's Union gained seats. In the 2003 election, SDE got a 4.9% share of votes and People's Union 3.4% share of votes, which were both below a 5% election threshold. In Estonia, SDE local lists won 6.43% share of votes. In 2003 they got only 4.39% share of votes nationally. SDE is today represented on 65 local councils out of 206 and is governing in 20 local councils. After the 2003 election the party was represented in 104 local councils out of 247.
SDE's aim in the
2007 Estonian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 4 March 2007. The newly elected 101 members of the 11th Riigikogu assembled at Toompea Castle in Tallinn within ten days of the election. It was the world's first nationwide vote where part of the ...
was to win at least 17 seats out of 101. Independent member of current
Riigikogu
The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Jus ...
Liina Tõnisson
Liina Tõnisson (born 24 May 1940 in Tallinn) is an Estonian politician. She has been a member of VII, VIII, IX, X and XI Riigikogu.
In 1964 she graduated from Tallinn Polytechnical Institute in engineering economics.
From 1995 to 2004, she wa ...
ran as a candidate in their list. All SDE's MEPs and their current MPs were candidates in the 2007 election. The party got 58,354 votes (10.6% of the total), a gain of +3.6%; it won 10 seats in the new Riigikogu, a gain of four.
In April 2007, the Social Democrats joined the coalition government led by the
Estonian Reform Party
The Estonian Reform Party ( et, Eesti Reformierakond) is a liberal political party in Estonia. The party has been led by Kaja Kallas since 2018. It is colloquially known as the "Squirrel Party" ( et, Oravapartei).
It was founded in 1994 by Si ...
.
In the
2011 parliamentary election on 6 March 2011, the SDE received 17.1% of the vote and 19 seats.
The small
Russian Party in Estonia
The Russian Party in Estonia ( et, Vene Erakond Eestis, VEE) was a minor political party in Estonia.
History
The party was originally established as the Russian National Union, a right-of-centre party, in 1920. It received 1% of the national vo ...
merged into the SDE in 2012.
Following the resignation of Prime Minister
Andrus Ansip
Andrus Ansip (; born 1 October 1956) is an Estonian politician, a member of the European Parliament, the former European Commissioner for Digital Single Market and Vice President of the European Commission, in office from 2014 until 2019. Previo ...
, a new
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
was sworn in on 26 March 2014, with
Taavi Rõivas
Taavi Rõivas (; born 26 September 1979) is a Estonian politician, former Prime Minister of Estonia from 2014 to 2016 and former leader of the Reform Party. Before his term as the Prime Minister, Rõivas was the Minister of Social Affairs fro ...
of the Reform Party serving as Prime Minister in coalition with the SDE.
In the
2014 European elections
Fourteen or 14 may refer to:
* 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15
* one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014
Music
* 14th (band), a British electronic music duo
* ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013
*''14'', an unrel ...
held on 25 May 2014, the SDE won 13.6% of the national vote, electing a single
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
.
In the
2015 parliamentary election on 1 March 2015, the SDE received 15.2% of the vote and 15 seats in the Riigikogu. After the coalition formation with Reform and
IRL
IRL may refer to:
Places
* Republic of Ireland (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code)
* Irlam railway station (National Rail station code IRL), England
Organizations
* International Rugby League, the governing body for the sport of rugby league
* I ...
, MP
Jevgeni Ossinovski
Jevgeni Ossinovski (born 15 March 1986) is an Estonian politician, former leader of the Social Democratic Party (Estonia), Estonian Social Democratic Party.
Early life and education
He is the son of Oleg Ossinovski (:et:Oleg Ossinovski, et), ...
announced that he would challenge Sven Mikser in the party congress on 30 May 2015. Mikser however stepped down before the election at the congress and Ossinovski was chosen as the new party leader.
On 7 November 2016, the Social Democratic Party and IRL announced that they were asking Prime Minister
Taavi Rõivas
Taavi Rõivas (; born 26 September 1979) is a Estonian politician, former Prime Minister of Estonia from 2014 to 2016 and former leader of the Reform Party. Before his term as the Prime Minister, Rõivas was the Minister of Social Affairs fro ...
to resign and were planning on negotiating a new majority government. In the following vote of confidence on 9 November, the majority of Riigikogu voted in favor of removing the prime minister's government.
On 23 November 2016, a new coalition government consisting of the Estonian Centre Party, SDE and IRL was sworn in.
Leaders of the Party
![Toomas Hendrik Ilves](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Toomas_Hendrik_Ilves.jpg)
*
Marju Lauristin
Marju Lauristin (born 7 April 1940) is an Estonian politician, and former Member of the European Parliament and Minister of Social Affairs. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists. Lauristin is cu ...
(1990–1995)
*
Eiki Nestor
Eiki Nestor (born 5 September 1953 in Tallinn) is an Estonian politician, member of the Social Democratic Party. He was the leader of the party from 1994 to 1996. Nestor has been a member of the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Parliament of Es ...
(1995–1996)
*
Andres Tarand
Andres Tarand (born 11 January 1940) is an Estonian geographer, climatologist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1994 to 1995. He was also a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Social Democratic Party, pa ...
(1996–2001)
*
Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016.
Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the ...
(2001–2002)
*
Ivari Padar (2002–2009)
*
Jüri Pihl (2009–2010)
*
Sven Mikser (2010–2015)
*
Jevgeni Ossinovski
Jevgeni Ossinovski (born 15 March 1986) is an Estonian politician, former leader of the Social Democratic Party (Estonia), Estonian Social Democratic Party.
Early life and education
He is the son of Oleg Ossinovski (:et:Oleg Ossinovski, et), ...
(2015–2019)
*
Indrek Saar
Indrek Saar (born February 20, 1973) is an Estonian actor and politician, leader of the Social Democratic Party, and former Minister of Culture.
Saar attended secondary school in Kuressaare and graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Hig ...
(2019–2022)
*
Lauri Läänemets
Lauri Läänemets (born 31 January 1983 in Tallinn) is an Estonian politician. He is currently Minister of Interior Affairs and was a member of XIV Riigikogu
XIV Riigikogu is the fourteenth and current legislature of Estonian Parliament (Riig ...
(2022–present)
Electoral results
Parliamentary elections
European Parliament elections
Periods in government
The party was in government in the following periods: 1992–1994 (
Mart Laar
Mart Laar (born 22 April 1960) is an Estonian politician and historian. He served as the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1992 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2002. Laar is credited with having helped bring about Estonia's Economy_of_Estonia#Restoration_o ...
's first government), 1994–1995 (
Andres Tarand
Andres Tarand (born 11 January 1940) is an Estonian geographer, climatologist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1994 to 1995. He was also a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Social Democratic Party, pa ...
's government, often called to ''Christmas Peace government''
'jõulurahu valitsus'', 1999–2002 (Mart Laar's second government, often called the ''Triple Alliance''
'kolmikliit'', and 2007–2009, some of which included participating in three centre-right governments with the
Fatherland Union and
Reform Party. The party will return to government in
Kaja Kallas' second cabinet
The second cabinet of Kaja Kallas is the incumbent cabinet of Estonia.
Background
On 3 June 2022, Kaja Kallas dismissed Centre Party ministers from her first cabinet after several weeks of disputes between the two parties and Centre party vot ...
on 18 July 2022 in a coalition with
Reform
Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...
and
Isamaa
Isamaa is a Christian-democratic and national-conservative political party in Estonia.
It was founded on 4 June 2006 under the name of "Pro Patria and Res Publica Union", by the merger of two conservative parties, Pro Patria Union and Res Publica ...
.
Members of the Riigikogu
![SDE Jevgeni Ossinovski](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/SDE_Jevgeni_Ossinovski.jpg)
The following are MPs representing the party in the legislature, along with their electoral district
*
Jevgeni Ossinovski
Jevgeni Ossinovski (born 15 March 1986) is an Estonian politician, former leader of the Social Democratic Party (Estonia), Estonian Social Democratic Party.
Early life and education
He is the son of Oleg Ossinovski (:et:Oleg Ossinovski, et), ...
, Keslinn, Lasnamäe and Pirita, chairman of fraction
*
Riina Sikkut
Riina Sikkut (born 12 January 1983) is an Estonian politician. She serves as Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. She also served as Minister of Health and Labour in Jüri Ratas' ...
, Haabersti, Põhja-Tallinna and Kristiine, vice-chairman of fraction
*
Lauri Läänemets
Lauri Läänemets (born 31 January 1983 in Tallinn) is an Estonian politician. He is currently Minister of Interior Affairs and was a member of XIV Riigikogu
XIV Riigikogu is the fourteenth and current legislature of Estonian Parliament (Riig ...
, Harju- and Raplamaa
*
Kalvi Kõva
Kalvi Kõva (born on 16 November 1974 Rõuge Parish, Võru County) is Estonian politician. He is member of XIV Riigikogu. Since 2001 he belongs to Social Democratic Party.
1999-2007 he was elder of Rõuge Parish ( et, Rõuge vallavanem).
He has ...
, Võru-, Valga- and Põlvamaa
*
Helmen Kütt
Helmen Kütt (born 28 July 1961) is an Estonian Social Democratic Party politician. She was the Minister of Social Protection in Taavi Rõivas´cabinet between 26 March 2014 and 30 March 2015. In the parliament Kütt represents the electoral dis ...
, Järva- and Viljandimaa
*
Jaak Juske, Haabersti, Põhja-Tallinna and Kristiine
*
Ivari Padar, Võru-, Valga- and Põlvamaa
*
Heljo Pikhof, Tartu city
*
Eduard Odinets, Ida-Virumaa
*
Indrek Saar
Indrek Saar (born February 20, 1973) is an Estonian actor and politician, leader of the Social Democratic Party, and former Minister of Culture.
Saar attended secondary school in Kuressaare and graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Hig ...
, Lääne-Virumaa
Members of the European Parliament
Since
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
the SDE has 2
MEPs
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
:
*
Marina Kaljurand
Marina Kaljurand (née Rajevskaja; born 6 September 1962) is an Estonian politician and Member of the European Parliament. Kaljurand served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in Taavi Rõivas' second cabinet as an independent. Earlier, she served as t ...
*
Sven Mikser
Symbols
Mõõdukad.png, logo of the Moderate People's Party
Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Erakond Teillogo.svg, logo until 2016
Estonian Social Democratic Party logo.png, logo 2016–
See also
*
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
*
Estonian Social Democratic Workers Party (historical)
References
External links
*http://www.sotsdem.ee Official website
*https://web.archive.org/web/20061129214423/http://www.noorsots.ee/ Social Democratic Youth in Estonia
{{Authority control
Social democratic parties in Europe
Party of European Socialists member parties
1990 establishments in Estonia
Centre-left parties in Europe
Political parties established in 1990
Socialist parties in Estonia
Socialist International
Social democratic parties
Political parties in Estonia
Pro-independence parties in the Soviet Union
Social democratic parties in the Soviet Union