Founding Committee Of The Democratic Party
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The Democratic Party ( sr, Демократска странка, Demokratska stranka; , DS) is a
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and
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political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
. The party was officially founded on 3 February 1990 by a group of Serbian intellectuals as a revival of the original Yugoslav
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
. It was one of the main opposition parties to the presidency of
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
during the 1990s. Democratic Party joined the Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition in 2000,Flags of the World
''Democratic Opposition of Serbia''
Tomislav Todorović, 22 November 2005
and became part of the new coalition government after the 2000 parliamentary election.
Zoran Đinđić Zoran Đinđić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Ђинђић, ; 1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the mayor of Belgrade in 1997. Đinđić ...
, then president of the Democratic Party, became the Prime Minister of Serbia in January 2001, but was
assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
in 2003, and the Party lost the power at the parliamentary election later that year. New president of the Democratic Party, Boris Tadić, won the 2004 presidential election, and the party returned to power after the
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and 2008 parliamentary elections. Tadić was reelected in 2008, but in 2012 he lost the 2012 presidential and the party lost the
parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, so it returned to opposition. Dragan Đilas, then- Mayor of Belgrade was elected as new party president after the loss of the 2012 elections. After more disappointing results in the 2014 election,
Bojan Pajtić Bojan Pajtić ( sr-cyr, Бојан Пајтић; born 2 May 1970) is a Serbian politician who served as the President of the Government of Vojvodina from 2004 to 2016. In May 2014 he became the leader of Serbia's Democratic Party. Pajtić holds ...
, then-
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of the
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, replaced Đilas as the party president. In 2016 he was succeeded by
Dragan Šutanovac Dragan Šutanovac ( sr-cyrl, Драган Шутановац, ; born 24 July 1968) is a Serbian politician, former leader of the Democratic Party and former Minister of Defence in the Government of Serbia. He supports the accession of Serbia to ...
. After Šutanovac resigned in 2018,
Zoran Lutovac Zoran Lutovac ( sr-cyr, Зоран Лутовац; born 7 August 1964) is Serbian politician and former diplomat who has been the president of the Democratic Party since 2018. A former ambassador of Serbia to Montenegro between 2008 and 2013, he h ...
was elected new president of the party. The Democratic Party is a full member of the Progressive Alliance (PA), and is an associate member of the Party of European Socialists (PES).


History


Re-establishment

On 11 December 1989, a group of Serbian intellectuals held a press conference announcing the revival of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, which had existed in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
before it was banned by the communists following
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. They included anti-communist dissidents and liberal academics, well-known poets, writers and film and theatre directors, who all came together in December 1989 to begin the process of re-establishing the Democratic Party, which was to be the first opposition, non-communist political party in Serbia since 1945.British Library Catalogue Article "Remembering the beginnings of the (re-established) Democratic Party", SOUTH SLAV JOURNAL, 2006, VOL 27; NUMB 3/4, pages 62–71
/ref> Some were attracted to politics by what they perceived to be the unsatisfactory national position of ethnic
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
and Serbia as a
constituent republic Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
within the Yugoslav federation, while others felt that activity in a political party could help address the perceived deteriorating state of democracy and human rights in SFR Yugoslavia. Up to that point in time, the former primarily acted through the
Serbian Writers Association The Association of Writers of Serbia (Serbian: Удружење књижевника Србије, ''Udruženje književnika Srbije'') is Serbia's official writing association. Its current president is Milovan Vitezović. History The association ...
(Udruženje književnika Srbije) while the latter channeled their activities through the Social Sciences Institute (Institut društvenih nauka) and the Philosophy Club (Filozofsko društvo). Sprinkled throughout the newly assembled group were also some surviving members of the pre-World War II party. Though the grip of the
Communist League The Communist League (German: ''Bund der Kommunisten)'' was an international political party established on 1 June 1847 in London, England. The organisation was formed through the merger of the League of the Just, headed by Karl Schapper, and the ...
(SKJ), the only constitutionally allowed party in Yugoslavia's one-party political system, was not nearly as strong as it once was, DS members still feared the authorities' reaction to the party's creation.NIN 2010, p.16 The first public proclamation of the Founding Committee was made on 11 December 1989 at a press conference held in Belgrade where the members publicly declared their intention to re-establish the Democratic Party (DS) which had been banned by the communists in 1945. The Founding Committee called upon all democratically minded citizens to join them in this endeavour. There were thirteen signatories to the initial proclamation made by the members of the Founding Committee setting out their intention to initiate the re-establishment of the Democratic Party:
Kosta Čavoški Kosta Čavoški (Serbian Cyrillic: Коста Чавошки; born 26 October 1941) is a professor at the University of Belgrade's Law School. He is an outspoken critic of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Biography ...
,
Milovan Danojlić Milovan Danojlić ( sr-cyr, Милован Данојлић; 3 July 1937 – 23 November 2022) was a Serbian poet, essayist and literary critic best known for his children's poetry. Danojlić was a full member of the Serbian Academy of Science ...
,
Zoran Đinđić Zoran Đinđić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Ђинђић, ; 1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the mayor of Belgrade in 1997. Đinđić ...
,
Gojko Đogo Gojko Đogo (Serbian Cyrillic: Гојко Ђого; born 21 November 1940) is a Serb poet. A dissident, he was imprisoned in SFR Yugoslavia during the 1980s on the basis of verbal offence for "defaming the memory of Josip Broz Tito". In Decembe ...
,
Vladimir Gligorov Vladimir Gligorov ( Serbian and Macedonian: Владимир Глигоров; 24 September 1945 – 27 October 2022) was a Serbian economist of Macedonian descent. He was a founder of the Democratic Party in Serbia in December 1989. He was the ...
,
Slobodan Inić Slobodan Inić (born 1946 in Zrenjanin, Serbia, DF Yugoslavia - died June 22, 2000) was a political commentator and professor of sociology at the University of Belgrade. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in Serbia, Yugoslavia ...
, Marko Janković, Vojislav Koštunica,
Dragoljub Mićunović Dragoljub Mićunović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Мићуновић ; born 14 July 1930) is a Serbian politician and philosopher. As one of the founders of the Democratic Party, he served as its leader from 1990 to 1994, and as the president of ...
, Borislav Pekić,
Miodrag Perišić Miodrag Perišić ( sr-Cyrl, Миодраг Перишић; 31 July 1948 – 6 May 2003) was a Serbian writer, literary critic and politician. He was one of the founders and a vice-president of the Serbian modern-day Democratic Party, the first ...
,
Radoslav Stojanović Radoslav Stojanović, PhD (Радослав Стојановић) (1930, Obrenovac, Kingdom of Yugoslavia – 31 August 2011) was a Professor of Law at the University of Belgrade and was a member of the Founding Committee of the Democratic ...
, and
Dušan Vukajlović Dušan Vukajlović (Serbian Cyrillic: Душан Вукајловић; 20 January 1948 – 9 December 1994) was a Serbian poet, author and long-time secretary of the Association of Writers of Serbia. He was one of thirteen founding members of Se ...
. Over the following weeks nine other prominent intellectuals joined the thirteen initiators as members of the Founding Committee. They all worked together towards re-establishing the Democratic Party by drafting the first party political program and making preparations for the founding party conference. By the end of December 1989, the Founding Committee also included:
Vida Ognjenović Vida Ognjenović ( sr-cyr, Вида Огњеновић, ; born 14 August 1941) is a Serbian theater director, playwright, writer, drama professor and diplomat. Biography Ognjenović completed primary education in the town of Vrbas, before going ...
,
Ljubomir Tadić Ljubomir "Ljuba" Tadić ( sr-cyr, Љубомир "Љуба" Тадић; 14 May 1925 – 31 December 2013) was a Serbian academic and politician. He was born in Smriječno village near Plužine, then in the Kingdom Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. H ...
, Mirko Petrović,
Đurđe Ninković Djurdje Ninković (born 1942) is a lawyer, legal commentator and political activist who was a founding member of the Democratic Party (DS) in Serbia who joined the Founding Committee of the Democratic Party in December 1989. From late December th ...
, Nikola Milošević, Aleksandar-Saša Petrović, Aleksandar Ilić,
Vladan Vasilijević Vladan Vasilijević was one of the most prominent Yugoslav specialists in criminal law in the 1980s. Throughout the 1990s he was engaged as a human rights lawyer promoting a democratic civil society and the rule of law in Serbia. In December 1989 ...
, and
Zvezdana Popović Zvezdana Popović, a scientific researcher, was a member of the Founding Committee of the Democratic Party, the first non-communist opposition party in Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbi ...
. In the first two weeks of January the Founding Committee drafted the political program of the soon to be re-established Democratic Party which was published on 18 January 1990 as the "Pismo o namerama" (Letter of intent) to inform the public of the democratic principles and policies which the Democratic Party would pursue. The Letter of Intent was signed by all the 22 Members of the Founding Committee. Throughout January 1990 the Founding Committee worked on publicising the party's proposed political program and its democratic aims. It worked on gathering potential party members to ensure a successful founding conference. It finally organised the founding conference of the renewed Democratic Party on 3 February 1990 at which the party was formally re-established by several hundred founder members, including former members from the 1940s and a younger generation of new members. At the founding conference the founder members elected the party President, the Executive and General Committees tasked with running the party. Following the founding conference the party started establishing local committees and networks throughout Serbia. However, the Democratic Party was strictly an illegal organisation until late spring of 1990 when it was finally given permission to be formally registered as a political party by the Communist regime. At that time the party newspaper ''Demokratija'' (Democracy) was also established to inform the public of what the DS was trying to achieve, since the Communist controlled state media did not give any coverage to it. Even before the founding conference was held, differences over the
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
issue surfaced. The party presidency was contested between
Dragoljub Mićunović Dragoljub Mićunović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Мићуновић ; born 14 July 1930) is a Serbian politician and philosopher. As one of the founders of the Democratic Party, he served as its leader from 1990 to 1994, and as the president of ...
and
Kosta Čavoški Kosta Čavoški (Serbian Cyrillic: Коста Чавошки; born 26 October 1941) is a professor at the University of Belgrade's Law School. He is an outspoken critic of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Biography ...
, two of DS' most prominent members. At the DS founding conference on 3 February 1990, Mićunović was elected president while Čavoški became the Executive Board (Izvršni odbor) president. pDesimir Tošić and Vojislav Koštunica were named vice presidents.


1990–1994: First Period

Under Mićunović, DS did not have strong leadership, as the longtime university professor preferred a relaxed intellectual approach to a rigid party structure. DS members participated in the first anti-government protests in 1990. Čavoški resigned his post as the party's executive board president on 29 September 1990;
Zoran Đinđić Zoran Đinđić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Ђинђић, ; 1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the mayor of Belgrade in 1997. Đinđić ...
got named to the post. At the parliamentary elections on 9 December 1990, the party was on the ballot in 176 of 250 electoral districts, getting 374,887 votes that translated into 7 assembly seats. Only several days prior to the elections, Čavoški left DS thinking that the conditions for a free and fair elections were not yet present in Serbia. Other DS members like Nikola Milošević,
Vladan Vasilijević Vladan Vasilijević was one of the most prominent Yugoslav specialists in criminal law in the 1980s. Throughout the 1990s he was engaged as a human rights lawyer promoting a democratic civil society and the rule of law in Serbia. In December 1989 ...
, and film director Saša Petrović accompanied him. By January 1991 they formed the
Serbian Liberal Party The Serbian Liberal Party ( sr-cyr, Српска либерална странка, Srpska liberalna stranka; abbr. СЛС or SLS) was a classical-liberal, nationalist and monarchist political party in Serbia. Background The Democratic Party (D ...
(SLS), a
conservative liberal Conservative liberalism or right-liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with Conservatism, conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement.Michael Gallagher (academic), M ...
party that favoured a monarchy instead of a republic and pushed for the rehabilitation of the politically persecuted Serbs that were sentenced, exiled, or executed by the post-World War II communist Yugoslav authorities. SLS also wanted the Serbian government to set up an office whose job would be to comprehensively work on collecting, marking, and commemorating the Serbian victims of the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
,
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Čavoški's lasting legacy in the party was that its party program stated until 1997 that "DS is working towards the re-unification of Serbian lands". On the other hand, DS had a very liberal economic program courtesy of economists
Vladimir Gligorov Vladimir Gligorov ( Serbian and Macedonian: Владимир Глигоров; 24 September 1945 – 27 October 2022) was a Serbian economist of Macedonian descent. He was a founder of the Democratic Party in Serbia in December 1989. He was the ...
and
Slobodan Inić Slobodan Inić (born 1946 in Zrenjanin, Serbia, DF Yugoslavia - died June 22, 2000) was a political commentator and professor of sociology at the University of Belgrade. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in Serbia, Yugoslavia ...
who were able to push it through as party policy, despite being in minority, because most other members were not really concerned with economic matters.NIN 2010, p.17 Both Giligorov and Inić left DS when the party decided to throw its support behind Prince Tomislav Karađorđević at the FR Yugoslavia 1992 presidential elections. In July 1992, a much more serious fragmentation of the Democratic Party occurred when a large group led by Vojislav Koštunica left to establish the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS). Overnight, DS lost 40% of its membership, including such prominent members as Mirko Petrović,
Đurđe Ninković Djurdje Ninković (born 1942) is a lawyer, legal commentator and political activist who was a founding member of the Democratic Party (DS) in Serbia who joined the Founding Committee of the Democratic Party in December 1989. From late December th ...
,
Vladeta Janković Vladeta Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Владета Јанковић; born 1 September 1940) is a Serbian politician. A former member of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), Janković previously served as the Yugoslav ambassador to the United Kingdom f ...
,
Draško Petrović Draško Petrović, Master's degree in Europe, MSc ( sr-cyr, Драшко Петровић; born 1965 in Belgrade) is a Serbian politician and businessman. He graduated from the University of Belgrade's University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, Law S ...
and
Vladan Batić Vladan Batić ( sr, Владан Батић; 27 July 1949 – 29 December 2010) was a Serbian lawyer and politician. He served as the Minister of Justice in the Government of Serbia from 2001 until 2004. Education and career He graduated from th ...
. The immediate issue behind the split was their dissatisfaction over the DS decision not to enter the
DEPOS The Democratic Movement of Serbia ( sr, Demokratski pokret Srbije) or DEPOS (''DE'' - from Serbian "Demokratija" - Democracy, ''PO -'' from Serbian "Pokret" - Movement and ''S'' derived from "Serbia"), was a big tent political coalition founded in ...
coalition. A deeper cause was differences over the handling of the so-called ''national question'' that had been brewing within DS for quite some time. Later that year at the 1992 parliamentary elections on 20 December (scheduled early following a
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
, among other things due to disintegration of
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
and formation of the new state entity
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
), DS fared poorly with 196,347 votes, down by almost two hundred thousand, giving the party only 6 assembly seats. This is when the energetic 40-year-old DS founding member
Zoran Đinđić Zoran Đinđić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Ђинђић, ; 1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the mayor of Belgrade in 1997. Đinđić ...
began to assert himself at a time when DS was burdened by dwindling membership, only 6 MPs in the assembly and unclear political positions. Though Mićunović was still formally president, Đinđić increasingly became the face of DS. By summer 1993 Đinđić aggressively set about implementing his vision. His primary concern became establishing strong party infrastructure on the ground through a network of municipal branches that answered to party central in Belgrade. Zoran Živković, future short-time Serbian Prime Minister, who was at the time a DS member in the local
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
branch put it as follows: Đinđić got his first chance to gauge the results of his approach before he formally became its president. In October 1993, Serbian president
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
dissolved the parliament, scheduling a parliamentary elections for 19 December 1993. As a result, DS main board met twice that month, on 16 and 30 October, deciding that Đinđić rather than party president Mićunović will lead the election campaign. Supported by a carefully crafted media and marketing campaign featuring memorable "Pošteno" slogan, DS recorded its best result to date with 497,582 votes, giving them 29 assembly seats. However, despite improvement over previous elections, the party was still well behind Milošević's SPS, DEPOS coalition (headed by Vuk Drašković's SPO), and Vojislav Šešelj's SRS. Ahead of the December 1993 parliamentary elections DS was in advanced negotiations with SPS about forming a coalition between the two parties. Following the summer 1993 disintegration of SPS' coalition with SRS, Milošević turned to DS. Opposed by party leader Mićunović, the idea of a coalition with Milošević found a more receptive audience among some other DS members, including Đinđić. The issue of the DS' coalition negotiations with Milošević is still controversial with certain DS members such as Zoran Živković denying that they ever took place. Others like Mićunović and high-ranking member Goran Vesić claimed they had indeed taken place.


1994–2003: Second Period

The new balance of power within DS led to an early party conference. At the party conference on 5 January 1994 in Belgrade, Đinđić became president, pushing out personal political mentor Mićunović who was forced into resigning as the local party branches turned against him. The (in)famous quip uttered at the conference by 41-year-old Đinđić about 63-year-old Mićunović was: "Mićunović's time has passed.... He's no
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
who sings better now than when she was thirty". In his embittered speech at the conference during which he resigned his post, Mićunović characterized the manner of Đinđić's takeover of DS as the "combination of Machiavellianism and revolutionary technique". In this internal party showdown with Mićunović, Đinđić also benefited from some discreet support in the Milošević-controlled state-run media. Though many DS members didn't like the way this transfer of power was executed, symbolically referring to it as "oceubistvo" ( patricide), many others such as founding member
Gojko Đogo Gojko Đogo (Serbian Cyrillic: Гојко Ђого; born 21 November 1940) is a Serb poet. A dissident, he was imprisoned in SFR Yugoslavia during the 1980s on the basis of verbal offence for "defaming the memory of Josip Broz Tito". In Decembe ...
found benefits in Đinđić's agile approach: Following Mićunović's resignation, party vice-president Vida Ognjenović also resigned. Getting in alongside new party president Đinđić were new party vice-presidents, Miroljub Labus and
Miodrag Perišić Miodrag Perišić ( sr-Cyrl, Миодраг Перишић; 31 July 1948 – 6 May 2003) was a Serbian writer, literary critic and politician. He was one of the founders and a vice-president of the Serbian modern-day Democratic Party, the first ...
, while Ivan Vujačić became the new overseeing board president. Ljiljana Lučić became new executive board president and Srđa Popović became the president of the party's youth wing. Đinđić managed to quickly move DS away from what he occasionally referred to in derisive terms as the "debate club" towards a modern and efficient organizational structure that functioned according to a business management model. On 12 May 1994, the party's main board met to discuss the decision by the two DS members, Slobodan Radulović and Radoje Đukić, to enter the SPS government of Mirko Marjanović. Both were expelled from DS, while the party's political council president
Slobodan Vučković Slobodan Vučković ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Вучковић; born 30 September 1941) is a lawyer and former politician in Serbia. He was a prominent opponent of Slobodan Milošević's government in the 1990s and served for three terms in the N ...
resigned. Another early party conference was called and held on 25 June 1994 in
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
; this time the party elected its all new political council with Radomir Šaper as the new council president. The following year, on 15 April 1995, regular party conference was held and Đinđić got re-elected as party president. Labus and Perišić stayed vice-presidents while
Slobodan Gavrilović Slobodan Gavrilović ( sr-cyr, Слободан Гавриловић; born 23 November 1951) is a Serbian politician, academic, author, and publisher. He has been a federal and republican parliamentarian and was the director of Serbia's Official Gaz ...
and Zoran Živković became vice-presidents as well. Disappointed and marginalized ever since his resignation from the position of the party president 14 months earlier, Mićunović left DS after this conference, founding non-governmental organization Centre for Democracy that eventually transformed into Democratic Centre (DC). Others that followed him to DC were Desimir Tošić,
Vida Ognjenović Vida Ognjenović ( sr-cyr, Вида Огњеновић, ; born 14 August 1941) is a Serbian theater director, playwright, writer, drama professor and diplomat. Biography Ognjenović completed primary education in the town of Vrbas, before going ...
,
Bora Kuzmanović Dr. Bora Kuzmanovic is a Professor of Social Psychology at Belgrade University. He was also a Member of Serbian Parliament (MP) twice as well as a Member of Parliament of The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (MP) and later Parliament of Serbia and Mo ...
, as well as many other prominent, though mostly older, DS party members. Mićunović offered the following as his view of the events of the period: Though a much better organized party under Đinđić, DS still experienced trouble formulating a clear stance on the national question. Đinđić's own actions perhaps made a good illustration of this seemingly confused standing on both sides of the issue. Đinđić basically refused to acknowledge the national question as a real issue, making not a single mention of the Serbs living in other parts of the former Yugoslavia in his book ''Yugoslavia as an Unfinished State''. At the same time he maintained close links with Bosnian Serb war leader Radovan Karadžić, visiting him at
Pale Pale may refer to: Jurisdictions * Medieval areas of English conquest: ** Pale of Calais, in France (1360–1558) ** The Pale, or the English Pale, in Ireland *Pale of Settlement, area of permitted Jewish settlement, western Russian Empire (179 ...
in February 1994 while American forces threatened to bombard Bosnian Serb positions. This seeming flip-flopping on the national issue was effectively used by DS' political opponents and Đinđić's critics across the political spectrum. As the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
ended with the signing of the
Dayton Peace Accord The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords (Croatian language, Croatian: ''Daytonski sporazum'', Serbian language, Serbian and Bosnian language, Bosnian: ''Dejto ...
in November 1995, in addition to his grip on power domestically, Milošević enjoyed stable support from the international community that recognized him as the "peace and stability factor in the Balkans". The next chance to dent his armour came at the November 1996 municipal elections, which the DS entered as part of an opposition coalition called Zajedno featuring SPO, DSS, and GSS. Democratic Party (at the time with a total of only 7,000 members across Serbia) joined Zajedno against Đinđić's personal wishes as he got outvoted on three separate occasions when the decision was discussed internally.NIN 2010, p.18 Following opposition victories in key Serbian cities such as
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
,
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
and
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
, Milošević refused to recognize the results, sparking three months of peaceful protest marches by hundreds of thousands of citizens. Under pressure, Milošević acknowledged the results and on 21 February 1997 Đinđić got inaugurated as the mayor of Belgrade. Later that year Đinđić made a bold decision to boycott the parliamentary elections on 21 December 1997, thus breaking up the Zajedno coalition. In 1998, most of the student leaders of 1996–97 street protests (gathered around an organization called Studentski politički klub (SPK)) joined DS. This included leaders such as Čedomir Jovanović,
Čedomir Antić Čedomir Antić ( sr-Cyrl, Чедомир Антић, ; born 9 October 1974) is a Serbian historian and political activist. Student activism During the 1996–1997 protests in Serbia, Antić was the long-standing chairman of the protest's Main ...
, and Igor Žeželj joined the party. Milošević's fall in October 2000 occurred after further street protests. The Democratic Party was the largest party of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia block that won 64.7% of the votes in the December 2000 elections, getting 176 of 250 seats in the Parliamentary Assembly. In 2001 Đinđić was appointed Prime Minister of Serbia at the head of the first post-Milošević government on 25 January 2001. On 12 March 2003, Đinđić was assassinated by a sniper's bullet while entering the Serbian government building. Boris Tadić was elected new president of Democratic Party in 2004.


2004–2012: Third Period

At the party conference on 23 February 2004 in Belgrade, Boris Tadić became president, defeating deputy president Zoran Živković (who succeeded Đinđić as Prime Minister) by a landslide. Getting in alongside new party president Tadić were new party vice-presidents,
Nenad Bogdanović Nenad Bogdanović ( sr-cyr, Ненад Богдановић, ; 12 May 1954 – 27 September 2007) was a Serbian politician who served as the mayor of Belgrade from 2004 to 2007. Education and career Bogdanović was born on 12 May 1954. He complet ...
,
Bojan Pajtić Bojan Pajtić ( sr-cyr, Бојан Пајтић; born 2 May 1970) is a Serbian politician who served as the President of the Government of Vojvodina from 2004 to 2016. In May 2014 he became the leader of Serbia's Democratic Party. Pajtić holds ...
, Dušan Petrović, and
Slobodan Gavrilović Slobodan Gavrilović ( sr-cyr, Слободан Гавриловић; born 23 November 1951) is a Serbian politician, academic, author, and publisher. He has been a federal and republican parliamentarian and was the director of Serbia's Official Gaz ...
. Tadić contended in the
2004 Serbian presidential election Presidential elections were held in the Republic of Serbia on Sunday, 13 June 2004. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on Sunday, 27 June. Boris Tadić, the pro-western Democratic Party's candidate, was the ev ...
in the same year, and won it while Democratic party was still in opposition in parliament. In the 2007 parliamentary election, the coalition surrounding the Democratic Party received 915,854 popular votes or 22.71%, and thus won 64 out of 250 seats in parliament. Three of its seats went to the
Sanjak Democratic Party This article lists political parties in Serbia, including former parties that existed in the Kingdom of Serbia between the early 1860s and 1918. The Kingdom of Serbia operated under the multi-party system until 1918 when it became Kingdom of Ser ...
, which formed a club with DS under Dušan Petrović as president and
Milan Marković Milan Marković ( sr-cyr, Милан Марковић, born 7 September 1970) is a Serbian lawyer, professor and politician. He served as the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government from 2007 to 2011 and as the Minister of H ...
as vice-president. DS became a part of new
parliamentary majority A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
, its members took 11 out of 25 ministerial position, as well as financial minister
Mirko Cvetković Mirko Cvetković ( sr-Cyr, Мирко Цветковић, ; born 16 August 1950) is a Serbian economist and former politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2008 to 2012 and as finance minister from 2007 to 2008, and again from ...
, who was proposed to that position by this party, although not a member. Tadić was re-elected at the
2008 Serbian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Serbia on January 20 and February 3, 2008. Incumbent President Boris Tadić was re-elected as president in the second round with 51% of the vote, defeating challenger Tomislav Nikolić. The elections for presid ...
. In the 2008 parliamentary election, the pro-European bloc led by DS received 38.5% of the popular vote, translating into 102 seats in the
Serbian National Assembly The National Assembly ( sr-cyr, Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, ) is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are proportionally elected to four-year terms by secret ballot. The as ...
, making it the largest party bloc in parliament, as well as the leading party in the new
majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-WebsterCommunity Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija The Assembly of the Community of Municipalities of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija ( sr, / ), was the assembly of the association of local governments created by the municipal authorities in Kosovo elected in the May 11, 2008 muni ...
, but refused to sit until the situation in Kosovo stabilized. In the 2012 parliamentary election, the Choice for a Better Life coalition gathered around the Democratic Party received 22.11% of the popular vote, but does not participate in current
parliamentary majority A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
. During the same
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
, Tadić lost his reelection bid. As a consequence of this, an extraordinary party assembly session was held on 25 November 2012 and Tadić was replaced as party leader by his main opponent Dragan Đilas, mayor of Belgrade. Tadić was, in turn, elected to be the party's honorary president.


2012–2018: Fourth Period

At the party conference on 25 November 2012 in Belgrade, then- Mayor of Belgrade and deputy president of the party Dragan Đilas was elected president. For the first time in the party's history, the number of vice-presidents was increased from 5 to 7, and the function of honorary president was established. The new vice-presidents were
Miodrag Rakić Miodrag "Miki" Rakić ( sr, Миодраг "Мики" Ракић; 31 January 1975 – 13 May 2014) was a Serbian politician, former chief of staff of President Boris Tadić and Vice President of the Democratic Party (DS), and an important politica ...
,
Nataša Vučković Nataša Vučković ( sr-Cyrl, Наташа Вучковић; born 11 January 1967) is a Serbian politician. She served in the National Assembly of Serbia from 2007 to 2020 as a member of the Democratic Party (Serbia), Democratic Party (''Demokrat ...
,
Dejan Nikolić Dejan Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Николић; born July 1, 1979) is a politician in Serbia. He has served in the National Assembly of Serbia since 2008 as a member of the Democratic Party. Early life and career Nikolić was born in Sokoban ...
, Vesna Martinović, Jovan Marković and
Goran Ćirić Goran Ćirić ( sr-cyr, Горан Ћирић; born July 25, 1960) is a politician in Serbia. He has served in the National Assembly of Serbia since 2014 as a member of the Democratic Party and has led the party's parliamentary group since 2016. ...
, while
Bojan Pajtić Bojan Pajtić ( sr-cyr, Бојан Пајтић; born 2 May 1970) is a Serbian politician who served as the President of the Government of Vojvodina from 2004 to 2016. In May 2014 he became the leader of Serbia's Democratic Party. Pajtić holds ...
was re-elected as vice-president. Boris Tadić was appointed by acclamation to the new post of honorary president, and
Dragoljub Mićunović Dragoljub Mićunović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Мићуновић ; born 14 July 1930) is a Serbian politician and philosopher. As one of the founders of the Democratic Party, he served as its leader from 1990 to 1994, and as the president of ...
was re-elected president of the political council. On 27 December 2012, the party's main board decided that all the ministers who served in the former government should resign as MPs. Most of the former ministers agreed to resign as MPs. Unlike other former ministers Goran Bogdanović,
Božidar Đelić Božidar Đelić ( sr-cyr, Божидар Ђелић, ; born 1 April 1965) is a Serbian economist and former politician. A longtime member of the Democratic Party, he was highly positioned in politics of Serbia after the overthrow of Slobodan ...
and
Dragan Šutanovac Dragan Šutanovac ( sr-cyrl, Драган Шутановац, ; born 24 July 1968) is a Serbian politician, former leader of the Democratic Party and former Minister of Defence in the Government of Serbia. He supports the accession of Serbia to ...
were allowed to stay MPs under the claim that the party needs them in parliament.
Milan Marković Milan Marković ( sr-cyr, Милан Марковић, born 7 September 1970) is a Serbian lawyer, professor and politician. He served as the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government from 2007 to 2011 and as the Minister of H ...
left the party after resigning as MP. Dušan Petrović and Vuk Jeremić refused to give up their parliamentary seats. Due to their opposition, the party's executive board decided to expel Petrović on 31 January 2013, and Jeremić on 14 February 2013. After the decision to expel him, Jeremić filed suit at the Constitutional Court, claiming that the party's decision is unconstitutional. After the rejection of the appeal by the Constitutional Court, Jeremić complied with the decision and left the party but kept his parliamentary seat. During this period, the party leadership considered that the party should support the current government in resolving the Kosovo issue. On 30 January 2014, the honorary president of the Democratic Party, former party leader and former President of Serbia Boris Tadić left the party. He was a member of the party since its re-founding in 1990. Others that followed him were Jelena Trivan,
Snežana Malović Snežana Malović ( sr-cyr, Снежана Маловић, , born 10 September 1976) is a Serbian politician and former Minister of Justice in the Government of Serbia, and a former member of the Democratic Party. She served as Deputy Secretary t ...
and vice-president
Miodrag Rakić Miodrag "Miki" Rakić ( sr, Миодраг "Мики" Ракић; 31 January 1975 – 13 May 2014) was a Serbian politician, former chief of staff of President Boris Tadić and Vice President of the Democratic Party (DS), and an important politica ...
, as well as a number of MPs and former ministers. They founded a new party called the
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...
. In the 2014 parliamentary election, the Democratic Party made a coalition with the New Party,
Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina The Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina ( hr, Demokratski savez Hrvata u Vojvodini, DSHV; sr-cyrl, Демократски савез Хрвата у Војводини; ДСХВ) is a political party in Serbia representing the Croat eth ...
, Rich Serbia and United Trade Unions of Serbia "Unity" under the name of "With the Democratic Party for Democratic Serbia". This coalition won 6.03% of the popular vote and 19 MPs, out of which DS received 17. After the end of the parliamentary election, Dragan Đilas announced an extraordinary party assembly session and ran for re-election as the president of the party. His opponent was deputy president
Bojan Pajtić Bojan Pajtić ( sr-cyr, Бојан Пајтић; born 2 May 1970) is a Serbian politician who served as the President of the Government of Vojvodina from 2004 to 2016. In May 2014 he became the leader of Serbia's Democratic Party. Pajtić holds ...
. At the party conference on 31 May 2014 in Belgrade, then-
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the
Government of Vojvodina The Provincial Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina ( sr, Покрајинска влада Аутономне покрајине Војводине / Pokrajinska vlada Autonomne pokrajine Vojvodine) is the executive organ of the Aut ...
and deputy president of the party
Bojan Pajtić Bojan Pajtić ( sr-cyr, Бојан Пајтић; born 2 May 1970) is a Serbian politician who served as the President of the Government of Vojvodina from 2004 to 2016. In May 2014 he became the leader of Serbia's Democratic Party. Pajtić holds ...
was elected president. Borislav Stefanović,
Nataša Vučković Nataša Vučković ( sr-Cyrl, Наташа Вучковић; born 11 January 1967) is a Serbian politician. She served in the National Assembly of Serbia from 2007 to 2020 as a member of the Democratic Party (Serbia), Democratic Party (''Demokrat ...
,
Goran Ješić Goran Ješić ( sr-Cyrl, Горан Јешић; born 3 August 1974 in Sremska Mitrovica, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Vice President in the Democratic Party in Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( ...
,
Maja Videnović Maja Videnović ( sr-Cyrl, Маја Виденовић; born 30 April 1979) is a politician in Serbia. She has served in the National Assembly of Serbia for most of the period since 2008 as a member of the Democratic Party (''Demokratska stranka'' ...
and
Gordana Čomić Gordana Čomić ( sr-Cyrl, Гордана Чомић; born 16 June 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as minister for human and minority rights and social dialogue from 2020 to 2022. A long-time member of the Democratic Party (DS), she was ...
were elected vice-presidents, while
Dragoljub Mićunović Dragoljub Mićunović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Мићуновић ; born 14 July 1930) is a Serbian politician and philosopher. As one of the founders of the Democratic Party, he served as its leader from 1990 to 1994, and as the president of ...
was re-elected president of the political council. After 2016 parliamentary election, Pajtić was replaced, due to the poor results, since DS obtained fewer number of seats, albeit with a larger number of votes. Party membership voted for
Dragan Šutanovac Dragan Šutanovac ( sr-cyrl, Драган Шутановац, ; born 24 July 1968) is a Serbian politician, former leader of the Democratic Party and former Minister of Defence in the Government of Serbia. He supports the accession of Serbia to ...
as Pajtić's replacement. Goran Salak, Branislav Lečić, Nada Kolundžija, Tamara Tripić and Jovan Marković were elected vice-presidents. In the 2017 presidential election, DS opted not to have its own candidate, rather it supported
Saša Janković Saša Janković ( sr-cyr, Саша Јанковић, ; born 27 April 1970) is a Serbian lawyer, journalist, human rights activist and politician who served as the National Ombudsman of the Republic of Serbia between 2007 and 2017. He resigned his ...
, helping him obtain regulatory required number of signatures, campaigned for him, and enabled him to form a rather united opposition front against
Vučić Vučić ( sr-Cyrl, Вучић, () is a South Slavic surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aleksandar Vučić (born 1970), Serbian politician, President of Serbia * Borka Vučić (1926–2009), Serbian politician, was acting Presid ...
, as government's candidate. Janković finished second with more than 16% of the vote. After the election, Janković refused to join the Democratic Party, and formed his own political organization. This shattered any ideas of a strong opposition, and left the opposition even more fragmented.


2018–present: Fifth Period

For the Belgrade City Assembly elections, due in March 2018, DS agreed to form a coalition with SDS, a party of DS' former president, Boris Tadić, who then called for restoration of the Democratic party. However, the party was heavily defeated in the election, and leaders of Belgrade party branch were the first to resign. Soon, Šutanovac and the whole leadership also resigned. On 2 June 2018,
Zoran Lutovac Zoran Lutovac ( sr-cyr, Зоран Лутовац; born 7 August 1964) is Serbian politician and former diplomat who has been the president of the Democratic Party since 2018. A former ambassador of Serbia to Montenegro between 2008 and 2013, he h ...
was elected new president of the Party. On 2 September 2018 DS formed a coalition called
Alliance for Serbia The Alliance for Serbia ( sr, Савез за Србију, Savez za Srbiju) was a major extra-parliamentary catch-all opposition alliance of political parties in Serbia that was founded in September 2018. The alliance boycotted the 2020 parlia ...
along with other opposition parties. In May 2019 DS formed a United Democratic Party together with
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 ...
led by Boris Tadić and
Together for Serbia Together for Serbia ( sr-cyrl, Заједно за Србију, Zajedno za Srbiju, ZZS) was a Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. It was formed by Dušan Petrović in 2012, and he l ...
led by
Nebojša Zelenović Nebojša Zelenović ( sr-cyr, Небојша Зеленовић; born 15 July 1975) is a Serbian politician who served as mayor of Šabac from 2014 to 2020. A former member of the Democratic Party, he presided over the Together for Serbia party ...
. In late 2019 DS declared boycott of next parliamentary election. At the same time, some former party officials started to openly criticize party leadership. This fraction includes now former MPs Balša Božović,
Aleksandra Jerkov Aleksandra Jerkov ( sr-Cyrl, Александра Јерков; born September 22, 1982) is a politician in Serbia. She has served in the National Assembly of Serbia on an almost uninterrupted basis since 2007, originally as a member of the Leagu ...
, Radoslav Milojičić,
Goran Ćirić Goran Ćirić ( sr-cyr, Горан Ћирић; born July 25, 1960) is a politician in Serbia. He has served in the National Assembly of Serbia since 2014 as a member of the Democratic Party and has led the party's parliamentary group since 2016. ...
,
Nataša Vučković Nataša Vučković ( sr-Cyrl, Наташа Вучковић; born 11 January 1967) is a Serbian politician. She served in the National Assembly of Serbia from 2007 to 2020 as a member of the Democratic Party (Serbia), Democratic Party (''Demokrat ...
as well as former ministers
Slobodan Milosavljević Slobodan St. Milosavljević ( sr-cyr, Слободан Ст. Милосављевић, born 19 November 1965) is a Serbian economist and politician. Early life He graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics in 1990, where he al ...
, Branislav Lečić, Dragoslav Šumarac and the first president of DS
Dragoljub Mićunović Dragoljub Mićunović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Мићуновић ; born 14 July 1930) is a Serbian politician and philosopher. As one of the founders of the Democratic Party, he served as its leader from 1990 to 1994, and as the president of ...
. In December 2019 this group failed in attempt to bring down the quorum during party main board, and therefore call for a new election. They are often mark as close to former president Boris Tadić. There are speculations that Tadić is willing to take back the party leadership. Vice President and mayor of
Paraćin Paraćin ( sr-Cyrl, Параћин, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. It is located in the valley of the Velika Morava river, north of Kruševac and southeast of Kragujevac. In 2011 the town had a p ...
Saša Paunović left the party, since he decided to run in local election.
Gordana Čomić Gordana Čomić ( sr-Cyrl, Гордана Чомић; born 16 June 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as minister for human and minority rights and social dialogue from 2020 to 2022. A long-time member of the Democratic Party (DS), she was ...
also left the party and joined newly formed
Serbia 21 Serbia 21 ( sr-cyrl, Србија 21, Srbija 21, S21) is a political organization in Serbia. It was founded in early 2020 by former members of the Social Democratic Party (SDS) and Democratic Party (DS). History Marko Đurišić and Nenad Kon ...
. However, her party failed to pass election threshold and won only 0.95%. After the 2020 Serbian parliamentary election DS joined the successor of Alliance for Serbia,
United Opposition of Serbia The United Opposition of Serbia ( sr, Удружена опозиција Србије, Udružena opozicija Srbije, UOPS) was a political coalition in Serbia. It was formed in August 2020 as the direct successor of Alliance for Serbia (SzS). ...
. Next party main board was scheduled to happen in March 2020, but was postponed due to
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Finally, main board was held on the election day, 21 June, in
Madlenianum Opera and Theatre Madlenianum Opera and Theatre is an opera house and theatre located in Zemun, Belgrade, Serbia. It is the first privately owned opera and theater company both in Serbia and in Southeast Europe. It is located in Belgrade, Serbia, and was founded o ...
. The session of the Main Board of the Democratic Party was interrupted by the same group that tried to bring down the quorum in December 2019. The report of the party president, Zoran Lutovac, was previously adopted. After leaving the hall, a part of the DS members called the election assembly in the hall of Madlenianum, where they stated that today's report by Zoran Lutovac was not adopted, and they also announced the elections for the new president of the DS. They formed a new organizing committee headed by Professor Vida Ognjenović. This committee plans to hold new party election in late September. However, the party leadership does not recognize them. On 28 June two parallel main boards were held: one led by Lutovac in
Šabac Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...
, and second led by dissatisfied group in Belgrade with presence of Boris Tadić. On 19 August this group announced that their candidate for DS President is actor and former minister of culture Branislav Lečić. In the meantime Zoran Lutovac and
Nebojša Zelenović Nebojša Zelenović ( sr-cyr, Небојша Зеленовић; born 15 July 1975) is a Serbian politician who served as mayor of Šabac from 2014 to 2020. A former member of the Democratic Party, he presided over the Together for Serbia party ...
said that Together for Serbia will merge with Democrats as soon as the measures against coronavirus are relaxed. On 31 August Lečić, Balša Božović, Radoslav Milojičić Kena and
Slobodan Milosavljević Slobodan St. Milosavljević ( sr-cyr, Слободан Ст. Милосављевић, born 19 November 1965) is a Serbian economist and politician. Early life He graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics in 1990, where he al ...
were expelled form the party. On 26 September, this group organized party elections and proclaimed Branislav Lečić new party president. But so far no one has recognized him.
Zoran Lutovac Zoran Lutovac ( sr-cyr, Зоран Лутовац; born 7 August 1964) is Serbian politician and former diplomat who has been the president of the Democratic Party since 2018. A former ambassador of Serbia to Montenegro between 2008 and 2013, he h ...
received support from
United Opposition of Serbia The United Opposition of Serbia ( sr, Удружена опозиција Србије, Udružena opozicija Srbije, UOPS) was a political coalition in Serbia. It was formed in August 2020 as the direct successor of Alliance for Serbia (SzS). ...
,
Nebojša Zelenović Nebojša Zelenović ( sr-cyr, Небојша Зеленовић; born 15 July 1975) is a Serbian politician who served as mayor of Šabac from 2014 to 2020. A former member of the Democratic Party, he presided over the Together for Serbia party ...
and Party of European Socialists. On 22 February,
Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government The Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government of the Government of Serbia ( sr, Министарство државне управе и локалне самоуправе, Ministarstvo državne uprave i lokalne samouprave) is ...
refused to register Lečić as the party's legal representative and president. After being rejected as DS President by the Ministry, Lečić and his associates formed the new movement called ''The Democrats of Serbia''. This is first party split during Zoran Lutovac's term as DS leader.


Ideology

During the period of its foundation, the Democratic Party sought to present itself as a
civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...
and
centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...
party aimed at affirmation of political pluralism, democratic values, mixed economy with a strong role of a
market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
including Serbia's integration into the
European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
, which in 1993 was transformed into 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 ...
. The Democratic Party supported the federalization of Yugoslavia until the
breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
, and in its early beginning was characterized as a "
catch-all party A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a term used in reference to a political party's policy of permitting or encouraging a broad spectrum of views among its members. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined i ...
" since it contained multiple factions that ranged from the left-leaning
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
faction that were represented by Mićunović and Đinđić to the stronger
anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
faction led by Čavoški and Koštunica, including a minor irredentist faction led by Đogo. The liberal faction remained in the party while conservative factions formed their parties respectively during Mićunović's leadership. Since then, the party has been described as either centrist or
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 ...
, social-liberal and social-democratic. It supports accession of Serbia to the European Union.


Presidents of the Democratic Party (1990–present)


Provisional leadership after the assassination of Đinđić (2003–2004)

Ref:


Electoral performance


Parliamentary elections

ImageSize = width:950 height:70 PlotArea = width:850 height:50 left:20 bottom:20 DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1990 till:31/12/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1990 Legend = columns:2 left:40 top:75 columnwidth:90 # there is no automatic collision detection, # so shift texts up or down manually to avoid overlap Colors= id:Government value:green legend:Government id:Opposition value:red legend:Opposition Define $dx = 25 # shift text to right side of bar Define $dy = -1 # adjust height PlotData= bar:Govern. color:blue width:25 mark:(line,black) align:center fontsize:8 from:03/02/1990 till:24/10/2000 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Opposition from:24/10/2000 till:03/03/2004 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Government from:03/03/2004 till:15/05/2007 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Opposition from:15/05/2007 till:27/07/2012 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Government from:27/07/2012 till:end shift:($dx,$dy) color:Opposition


Presidential elections


Positions held

Major positions held by Democratic Party members: * Non-partisan but DS nominated


References


Notes


External links


About Democratic PartyOfficial websiteDemocratic Party (DS) history in Serbian 20 Years since the founding of DS article
{{Party of European Socialists 1990 establishments in Serbia Full member parties of the Socialist International Liberal parties in Serbia Political parties established in 1990 Parties related to the Party of European Socialists Political parties in Yugoslavia Pro-European political parties in Serbia Progressive Alliance Social democratic parties in Serbia Radical parties