The International Democrat Union (IDU) is an international alliance of

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

political parties 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 ...

. Headquartered in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, the IDU consists of 84 full and associate members from 65 countries. It is chaired by

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

, former

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

, two affiliated international organizations (

International Young Democrat Union The International Young Democrat Union (IYDU) is a global alliance of centre-right political youth organisations and the youth wing of the International Democrat Union. The IYDU in its current form was founded in March 1991 in Washington, D.C ...

and International Women's Democrat Union) and six affiliated regional organizations (

Union of Latin American Parties The Union of Latin American Parties ( es, Unión de Partidos Latinoamericanos, pt, União de Partidos Latino-Americanos) is an alliance of centre-right and right-wing political parties in Latin America and Canada. It is affiliated with the globa ...

, Asia Pacific Democrat Union, Caribbean Democrat Union, Democrat Union of Africa,

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily ...

and European Conservatives and Reformists Party). The IDU allows centre-right conservative

around the world to establish contacts and discuss different views on public policy and related matters. Their stated goal is the promotion of "democracy and fcentre-right policies around the globe". The IDU has some overlap of member parties with the

Centrist Democrat International The Centrist Democrat International ( es, Internacional Demócrata de Centro) is a Christian-democratic political international. Until 2001, it was known as the Christian Democrat International (CDI); before 1999, it was known as the Christian D ...

(CDI), but the CDI is more

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 ...

and

communitarian Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. Its overriding philosophy is based upon the belief that a person's social identity and personality are largely molded by community relati ...

than the IDU. Though the IDU was founded to be politically on the

, a number of its member parties have been increasingly seen as further

right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...

on the political spectrum. The group was founded in 1983 as the umbrella organisation for the European Democrat Union (EDU), Caribbean Democrat Union (CDU), and the Asia Pacific Democrat Union (APDU). Created at the instigation of the

Konrad Adenauer Foundation The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (german: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, KAS) is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's headquarters are located in Sank ...

and

U.S. Vice President The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...

George H. W. Bush, the organisation was founded at a joint meeting of the EDU and APDU in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The IDU has several regional affiliates: the Democrat Union of Africa, the

, the Asia Pacific Democrat Union, the Caribbean Democrat Union, the

, and the European Conservatives and Reformists Party. It also has an affiliated youth wing in the

, and an affiliated women's wing in the International Women's Democrat Union.

Founding

The IDU was founded in

on 24 June 1983. According to

Richard V. Allen Richard Vincent Allen (born January 1, 1936) was the United States National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1982, having been Reagan's chief foreign policy advisor from 1977. He has been a fellow of the Hoover Institutio ...

, to be admitted as a member, a party must qualify as a "mainstream conservative" party influenced by

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, e ...

. The founding declaration was signed by 19 persons:

Member parties

Full members

The IDU has 84 member parties.

Chairpersons

References

External links