Social Democratic Party of Croatia

Croatian political party

Social Democratic Party of Croatia

Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske

Abbreviation| SDP
President| Siniša Hajdaš Dončić
Vice Presidents|

See list

* Biljana Borzan
* Mirela Ahmetović
* Mišel Jakšić
* Ranko Ostojić

Founder| Ivica Račan
Founded| 3 November 1990; 34 years ago (1990-11-03)[1]
Preceded by| League of Communists of Croatia
Headquarters| Trg Drage Iblera 9, Zagreb
Youth wing| SDP Youth Forum
LGBT Wing| SDP Queer Forum[2]
Membership (2020)| 32,000[3]
Ideology| Social democracy
Political position| Centre-left
National affiliation| Rivers of Justice
(since 2010)
European affiliation| Party of European Socialists
European Parliament group| Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
International affiliation|

* Progressive Alliance
* Socialist International

Colors|  Red
Slogan| "Sloboda. Jednakost. Solidarnost."[4] ("Freedom. Equality. Solidarity.")
Sabor[5]|

37 / 151

European Parliament|

4 / 12

County Prefects|

2 / 21

Mayors|

22 / 128

Municipalities|

53 / 428

Party flag
Website
sdp.hr

* Politics of Croatia
* Political parties
* Elections

The Social Democratic Party of Croatia (Croatian: Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske, abbr. SDP) is a social democratic[6][7] political party in Croatia. The SDP is anti-fascist, progressive,[8] and strongly pro-European.[6][9] The SDP was formed in 1990 as the successor of the League of Communists of Croatia, the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, which had governed Croatia within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia since World War II.[10]

The party first won the elections in 2000 and formed a coalition government headed by Ivica Račan. After losing the 2003 general election, the party remained in opposition for eight years. In the 2011 parliamentary election, SDP won 61[a] out of 151 seats in the Croatian Parliament, and managed to form the 12th Croatian Government under Zoran Milanović with its partners from the Kukuriku coalition. After SDP and its coalition partners failed to achieve an agreement on forming a new government following the 2015 general election, the party returned to the opposition. Former[b] SDP member and presidential candidate Ivo Josipović served as the third President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Another SDP member, Neven Mimica was the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development at the Juncker Commission.

The SDP is a member of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Progressive Alliance (PA),[11] and the Socialist International (SI).

## History

[edit]

### Early 1990s

[edit]

Ivica Račan, founder of SDP and Croatia's Prime Minister from January 2000 to December 2003

The SDP was established on 3 November 1990 by the social democratic faction of the former League of Communists of Croatia (SKH), the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ).[1]

If SDP is claimed successor of Austria-Hungary's Social Democratic Party of Croatia and Slavonia founded on 8 and 9 September 1894, it was the oldest social democratic party in Yugoslavia, before become Communist Party of Croatia as part of League of Communists of Yugoslavia, founded date of modern day social-democratic party is taken on 3 November 1990.

SKH delegation led by Ivica Račan, along with their Slovenian counterparts, had abandoned the 14th congress of SKJ in January 1990 following a dispute with the Serbian delegation led by Slobodan Milošević over how SFR Yugoslavia should be reorganized.

At the same time, Croatia was preparing for its first multi-party election following the decision made by SKH in December 1989 which envisioned elections in April and May 1990. In February 1990 the SR Croatia parliament adopted amendments to the constitution which enabled a multi-party system. That same month SKH had rebranded themselves as the "Party of Democratic Reform" (Stranka demokratskih promjena or SDP) and went on to run in the 1990 election as SKH-SDP, coming in second behind the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) with 26 percent of votes and a total of 107 seats in all three houses of parliament which had 351 seat.

On 3 November 1990, the party was officially established in its current form,[1] by dropping the initialism SKH from its name. In the August 1992 election, the first election held according to the new Constitution of Croatia which had been adopted on 22 December 1990, SDP won 5.52% of the popular vote and a total of 11 seats in the 138-seat parliament. In 1993 the party re-branded themselves again and changed their name to the "Social Democratic Party" (Socijaldemokratska partija), the name they kept to this day.

### Merger with SDH

[edit]

In 1990, a parallel Social Democratic Party of Croatia (Croatian: Socijaldemokratska stranka Hrvatske, SDSH) was founded. It was later renamed to the Social Democrats of Croatia (Socijaldemokrati Hrvatske, SDH). Like most parties created at the time, it was opposed to the communist government and wanted Croatia to secede from Yugoslavia, yet it had the distinction of being one of the few to present itself as left-wing. The party founders included many prominent intellectuals, including Antun Vujić and Miroslav Tuđman.[12] This party claimed that it was continuing tradition of the historical Social Democratic Party of Croatia, created in 1894 and merged in 1919 into the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.

In the first 1990 Croatian parliamentary election, SDSH joined the centrist Coalition of People's Accord and fared badly, winning only 21 out of 351 seats. However, its position was strong enough to warrant ministerial posts in the national unity government of Franjo Gregurić which was in power from July 1991 to August 1992. However, its two ministers Bosiljko Mišetić and Zvonimir Baletić defected to the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) soon after their appointment.

Before the 1992 parliamentary and presidential elections, SDSH was involved in bitter dispute with the SDP over its rebranding into the Social Democratic Party of Croatia. SDSH claimed that its name was stolen. The election showed SDP to be much stronger party than SDSH, which failed to win parliament seats. At the same time, SDSH leader Antun Vujić finished last in the 1992 presidential race, winning a meagre 0.7 percent of the vote. This ultimately led to SDSH and SDP patching their differences and former being incorporated into the latter in April 1994.

In the following 1995 election, SDP won 8.93 percent of the popular vote and a total of 10 seats in the parliament, coming in fourth behind the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) and the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS).

### Račan government (2000–2003)

[edit]

Politics of Croatia

Constitution

* Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia

Executive

* President (list)
* Zoran Milanović
* Cabinet (list)
* Prime Minister: Andrej Plenković

Legislative

* Sabor (parliament)
* Speaker: Gordan Jandroković
* Current members
* Opposition
* Leader: Peđa Grbin

Judiciary

* Supreme Court
* Constitutional Court
* State's Attorney Office
* National Judicial Council

Political parties in Sabor

* Centre (CENTAR)
* Civic Liberal Alliance (GLAS)
* Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)
* Croatian Demochristian Party (HDS)
* Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS-LD)
* Croatian Party of Pensioners (HSU)
* Croatian Peasant Party (HSS)
* Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS)
* Croatian Sovereignists (HS)
* Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia (DZMH)
* Focus (FOKUS)
* Homeland Movement (DP)
* Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS)
* Independent Platform of the North (NPS)
* Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS)
* Law and Justice (PiP)
* Social Democratic Party (SDP)
* The Bridge (MOST)
* We can! (Možemo)

Elections and referendums

Recent elections

*     * Presidential: 2014–15
* 2019–20
* 2024

*     * Parliamentary:
* 2020
* 2024

*     * Local: 2017
* 2021

*     * European: 2014
* 2019
* 2024

Recent referendums

* 1991 (independence)
* 2012 (EU membership)
* 2013 (constitution)

Administrative divisions

* Counties (Županije)
* Towns (Gradovi)
* Municipalities (Općine)

Foreign relations

* Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs

Minister: Gordan Grlić-Radman
Diplomatic missions of / in Croatia
Passport

Visa requirements

* * *

* Politics of the European Union

* Croatia portal

* Other countries

* v
* t
* e

In August 1998, SDP and HSLS leaders Ivica Račan and Dražen Budiša signed a coalition agreement and proceeded to run together in the January 2000 parliamentary elections.[13] The SDP-HSLS coalition won the election with 38.7% of the vote and 71 out of 151 seats.[14] SDP and HSLS then formed a six-way centre-left coalition government along with the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), the Liberal Party (LS), Croatian People's Party (HNS), and the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS). Račan, as the leader of the strongest party, became prime minister in the first Račan cabinet. This period was marred with constant disagreements among coalition members on various issues. The constitution was changed several times.[15][16][17][18]

Račan had initially offered the post of Speaker of Parliament to Budiša, but Budiša declined hoping to win the upcoming 2000 presidential election. Following Budiša's defeat to Stjepan Mesić in February 2000, Budiša continued to serve as member of Croatian parliament. In July 2001, he opposed Račan government's decision to extradite Croatian army generals which were wanted because of, later in 2013 dismissed, charges for committing war crimes during Croatian War of Independence to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) which caused considerable turmoil within HSLS.

In June 2001, the Istrian regionalist party Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) withdrew from the coalition government and its chairman Ivan Jakovčić resigned his post as Minister of European Integration, citing criticism of the way they governed Istria on the regional level which had been coming from other parties within the ruling coalition.[19] The uneasy coalition broke apart in early July 2002 when Račan formally handed in his resignation following HSLS refusal to support the agreement made with Slovenia concerning the two countries' joint control of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant.[20]

In late July 2002, the second Račan cabinet was formed, with members of the remaining four parties of the original coalition (following the departure of IDS and HSLS) plus two minor liberal parties which had splintered from HSLS, the Party of Liberal Democrats (Libra) and the Liberal Party (LS). This cabinet remained in power until the next elections in November 2003. SDP then ran in the 2003 election as part of a coalition with IDS, Libra and LS, but was defeated by the conservative HDZ. The SDP thus returned to opposition with the coalition winning 43 out of 151 seats in the parliament (34 of which held by SDP).[21]

The January 2000 election win and the defeat of the ruling HDZ was seen as a turning point as it marked the first transition of power in Croatia's young democracy and upon coming into power Račan's government was seen as the country's first staunchly pro-Western government following a decade of the "authoritarian and nationalist rule" of late President Franjo Tuđman.[22] During its term, the country signed a pre-membership agreement with the European Union, which paved the way for the formal opening of membership negotiations in October 2006.[22] Although the six-party coalition government made a clear break from the former regime, it nevertheless failed to handle the growing social problems, unemployment and economic difficulties. Račan struggled to contain factional disputes within the coalition and appeared indecisive in dealing with Western demands to hand over war crimes suspects to the ICTY, as well as with extremists at home who vehemently opposed such extraditions.

### Opposition (2003–2011)

[edit]

Ivo Josipović, President of Croatia (2010–2015) Former flag of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (2005–2008)

In the 2005 presidential race, SDP opted to support independent incumbent Stjepan Mesić, who succeeded in winning his second term by an overwhelming majority of 65.9% of the vote in the run-off in front of HDZ candidate and runner-up Jadranka Kosor with 34.1%.[23]

In 2007, the party was dealt a blow due to the death of their long-time leader and founder Ivica Račan, who died on 30 April 2007 due to complications from his previously treated kidney cancer, after he stepped down from his chairman post earlier that month.[22] In an extraordinary party convention, former party spokesman Zoran Milanović was elected as their new leader, beating acting chairwoman and former defence minister Željka Antunović in the party election run-off.[24] Other prominent candidates for the post were Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić and former foreign minister Tonino Picula.[25]

For the November 2007 parliamentary election, SDP ran on an economic program with Third Way elements[26] devised by the previously non-partisan economist Ljubo Jurčić, who was also picked to be the party's candidate for the post of prime minister in case of their election victory at a party meeting in July 2007.[27] In the election of 25 November SDP finished a close second behind HDZ, with 56 out of 153 seats. It might have won the domestic election, but as SDP does not participate in diaspora constituency, it lost in the overall tally. Five days after the election, amid speculations that SDP might assemble a governing coalition in spite of them failing to win outright majority, he was replaced in that role by Zoran Milanović.[28] Nevertheless, SDP failed to assemble a governing coalition, and positioned itself as the largest opposition party instead.

Zoran Milanović, 2nd chairman of the SDP (2007–2016), 10th Prime Minister of Croatia (2011–2016) and 5th President of Croatia (2020–present)

In the subsequent June 2009 local elections, the party failed to make significant gains on the county level, but still managed to achieve some major wins in important cities, due to the adoption of a new election system where mayors and county heads were for the first time elected directly, as opposed to the previous system which employed party lists. SDP recorded mayoral victories in a number of traditionally centre-right leaning coastal cities such as Dubrovnik, Šibenik and Trogir and also managed to win in Vukovar, a city that had been almost destroyed in the Croatian War of Independence and was regarded as HDZ stronghold ever since. They also manage to retain control of the economically most powerful parts of the country, including the capital Zagreb, the northern Adriatic city of Rijeka and also won in Istria (in coalition with IDS).

In the run up to the 2009–10 presidential race, SDP held a primary election for the very first time, in which party nominees Ljubo Jurčić and Ivo Josipović ran. Josipović won the primary by some two-thirds of the vote.[29] Josipović later won the 2009–10 election with 60% of the vote in the second round in front of former SDP member and populist Mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandić (who was expelled that year for running in the elections) and was officially inaugurated on 18 February 2010.[30][31]

### Milanović government (2011–15)

[edit]

Milanović with other members of the Croatia is Growing coalition, 8 September 2015

In 2010, SDP formed a political alliance known as the Kukuriku coalition with three other centre-left parties – the Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS), Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) and the Croatian Party of Pensioners (HSU) – to run in the December 2011 parliamentary election. The coalition unveiled their 21-point campaign program on 15 September 2011 in Zagreb.[32]

The coalition won the election, winning 81 out of 151 seats in the parliament, after which SDP formed a government with two of its junior coalition (HNS and IDS). Party president, Zoran Milanović, took office as the new Prime Minister and leader of his cabinet on 23 December 2011.

The Milanović administration started its mandate by introducing several liberal reforms. During 2012, a Law on medically assisted fertilization was enacted, health education was introduced in all elementary and high schools, and Milanović announced further expansion of rights for same-sex couples.[33][34] On 1 December 2013, a constitutional referendum was held in Croatia, organized by the citizen initiative For the family, creating a constitutional prohibition against same-sex marriage. SDP was one of the leading forces campaigning against the proposal. The referendum passed with 65% votes in favour. Milanović announced the Life Partnership Act which passed on 15 July 2014.[35][36][37][38][39]

The government's mandate was marked by several crises the cabinet had to deal with, including a six-year economic recession, the 2013 anti-Cyrillic protests, war veterans protests, the 2015 Croatia–Slovenia border disputes arbitration scandal and the European migrant crisis.

A new fiscalization law and the government's pursuit of dealing with the swiss francs crisis are regarded as some of SDP's biggest successes in power.[40][41] In January 2015, the government decided to freeze exchange rates for Swiss francs for a year, after a rise in the franc that caused increasingly expensive loans for borrowers in that currency.[42] In August 2015, Milanović announced that Swiss franc loans will be converted into euro-denominated ones.[43]

The administration adopted a number of reforms in taxation in order to cope with the difficult economic situation amid the Great Recession. It also cut social insurance contributions and public-sector wages.[44][45] The government succeeded in reducing the budget deficit to 5.3% in 2012,[46] but GDP contracted by 2.2% and public debt reached 69.2%.[47][48] Milanović's time in office has been marked by several cuts to Croatia's credit rating. The unemployment rate peaked in February 2014 at 22.7%.[49]

A bad economic situation weakened the originally strong public support for the Milanović government, which was demonstrated in the 2013 local elections.[50] In the first European Parliament elections in Croatia in 2013, SDP won 32% of the votes and five MEPs, one less than HDZ, the largest opposition party. The following year SDP's coalition won 29.9% in the 2014 European Parliament elections and four MEPs.[51] The party supported Ivo Josipović in the presidential elections, which were won by Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović from the HDZ. Josipović later formed his own party, Forward Croatia-Progressive Alliance, instead of returning to the SDP. He eventually rejoined the party in 2019.[52][53]

### Opposition (2015–present)

[edit]

SDP's 13th General Convention, 2016

In the 2015 parliamentary elections, SDP and its coalition partners won the majority in 5 out of 10 electoral districts, and eventually gained 56 out of 151 seats in the Parliament, or 59 since Istrian Democratic Assembly participated in the post-election negotiations on forming new government as de facto member of the coalition. After more than 70 days of negotiations with the Bridge of Independent Lists (MOST) and numerous twists and turns mainly due to MOST frequently changing terms, SDP's coalition failed to achieve agreement with MOST on forming new government, which was formed by the independent Tihomir Orešković who was supported by the center-right Patriotic Coalition.

On 2 April 2016, elections were held for the party's leadership. Zlatko Komadina, the prefect of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, who advocated for a "much more social democratic" SDP, ran against Milanović.[54] Milanović was again re-elected president of SDP for the next four years.[55]

A vote of no confidence in Orešković in June 2016 resulted in an early parliamentary election in November which the SDP contested as the largest party in the People's Coalition. Despite being perceived as the favorite to win the election, due to a significant lead in a large number of opinion polls, the People's Coalition won only 54 seats while the Croatian Democratic Union won 58 (61 with coalition partners) in an upset. As a result, Zoran Milanović declared that he would not contest the upcoming leadership election in the SDP and that he would retire from politics once a successor is elected. The first round of the leadership election on 19 November 2016 failed to produce an outright winner, as none of the seven candidates gained the necessary majority of 50% + 1 of cast votes. Davor Bernardić received the most votes (46%) and progressed to the second round, where he faced the runner-up, Ranko Ostojić, who received 22.8% of cast votes. The second round took place on 26 November 2016 and Davor Bernardić was elected the 3rd chairman of the SDP with 64% of cast votes.

In the 2020 parliamentary elections, the SDP achieved its worst result in parliamentary elections since the 1990s, resulting to the resignation of Davor Bernardić the day after the election. Zlatko Komadina took over the temporary duty of party leader until the next internal party elections. Five candidates ran in the party's leader elections, for which voting took place on September 26 and October 3. Peđa Grbin was chosen as the new leader, who defeated Željko Kolar in the second round. The elections were also marked by allowing only members who had paid their membership fees to vote, which meant that 12,000 out of 32,000 of all members had the right to vote.[56][57][58]

In July 2021, intra-party clashes broke out between supporters of Grbin and Bernardić, followed by the expulsion of four MPs on charges of doing damage to party or refusing to actively participate in the May local elections.[59] The same MPs then refused to leave the SDP parliamentary club, and for that they received the support of 14 of their colleagues who refused to vote for their expulsion.[60] The crisis was resolved at a session of the party's presidency when a decision was made to punish 14 supporters of ousted MPs. According to the decision, seven deputies were expelled, including Davor Bernardić, while the remaining seven were warned.[61] In the end, the expelled MPs and those who supported them founded a new parliamentary club called the Social Democrats Club, which had 18 deputies, while the SDP club was left with the remaining 14 deputies, which put them in third place in terms of the number of deputies in the Sabor. On 9 July 2022, they founded a new party named the Social Democrats.[62]

## Organization

[edit]

The party's first and longest-serving president was Ivica Račan. The current party president is Siniša Hajdaš Dončić, who was elected in a leadership election on 21 September 2024 following Peđa Grbin's resignation. Apart from the president and four vice-presidents (Biljana Borzan, Mirela Ahmetović, Ranko Ostojić, Mišel Jakšić), the main governing bodies of the party include the party presidency (Predsjedništvo, consisting of 18 elected members), the head committee (Glavni odbor) and the supervisory committee (Nadzorni odbor).

Like all other parties, the SDP runs local chapters at municipal, city and county levels. It also runs four topical groups – the Youth Forum (Forum mladih), Women's Forum (Socijaldemokratski forum žena), Seniors' Forum (Socijaldemokratski forum seniora) and the SDP Queer Forum.[63][64]

The SDP has been a member of the Socialist International since November 1999,[65] and a full member of the Party of European Socialists since February 2012.[66] SDP is also a full member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament as of the accession of Croatia to the EU in 2013.

## Election results

[edit]

Social Democratic Party results by constituency,
2020 parliamentary election[67] | Constituency | Votes
(%)  | Avg. result
+/− (pp)

|
|

VIII. | 44.53  | +8.77
V. | 19.22  | -6.00
X. | 20.46  | -6.87
IX. | 17.19  | -6.87
IV. | 20.48  | -9.11
VI. | 24.23  | -10.32
II. | 25.58  | -10.64
VII. | 24.52  | -10.96
III. | 37.67  | -14.89
I. | 22.27  | -17.09
Croatia (total)  | 24.87  | -8.95

The following is a summary of SDP's results in legislative elections for the Croatian parliament. The "Votes won" and "Percentage" columns include sums of votes won by coalitions SDP had been part of. After preferential votes were added to the electoral system, the votes column also includes the statistic of the total number of such votes received by candidates of SDP on coalition lists. The "Total seats won" column includes sums of seats won only by SDP in election. Column "Change" shows how many seats SDP has gained or lost.

### Legislative (Sabor)

[edit]

Election  | In coalition with  | Votes  | %  | Seats  | +/–  | Government

|
|
|
|
|
|

Coalition | SDP
1990 | SSH | 1,001,967  | 35.0 (#2)  |

107 / 351

|  107  | Opposition
1992 | None | 145,419  | 5.5 (#3)  |

11 / 138

|  96  | Opposition
1995 | None | 215,839  | 8.9 (#4)  |

10 / 127

|  1  | Opposition
2000 | HSLS-PGS-SBHS | 1,138,318  | 38.7 (#1)  |

43 / 151

|  33  | Government
2003 | LIBRA–IDS-LS | 560,593  | 22.6 (#2)  |

34 / 151

|  9  | Opposition
2007 | None | 775,690  | 31.2 (#2)  |

56 / 151

|  22  | Opposition
2011 | HNS–IDS–HSU | 958,312  | 40.4 (#1)  |

61 / 151

|  5  | Government
2015 | HNS-HSU-HL-AHSS-ZS | 744,507  | 32.31 (#2)  |

42 / 151

|  19  | Opposition
2016 | HNS-HSU-HSS | 636,602  | 33.82 (#2)  |

38 / 151

|  4  | Opposition
2020 | HSS-GLAS-IDS-HSU-PGS-NLDB | 414,615  | 24.87 (#2)  |

34 / 151

|  4  | Opposition
2024 | CENTAR-HSS-GLAS-DO i SIP-NS-R | 538,748  | 25.40 (#2)  |

37 / 151

|  3  | Opposition

### European Parliament

[edit]

Election  | List leader  | Coalition  | Votes  | %  | Seats  | +/–  | EP Group

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Coalition | SDP
2013 | Tonino Picula | HNS–HSU | 237,778  | 32,07 (#2)  |

5 / 12

| New  | S&D
2014[c] | Neven Mimica | HNS–HSU-IDS- SDSS | 275,904  | 29,93 (#2)  |

2 / 11

|  3
2019 | Tonino Picula | None | 200,976  | 18,71 (#2)  |

4 / 12

|  2
2024 | Biljana Borzan | DO i SIP–CENTAR–HSS–GLAS | 192,859  | 25,62 (#2)  |

4 / 12

|  0

### Presidential

[edit]

Election year(s)  | Candidate  | 1st round  | 2nd round  | Result

|
|
|
|

Votes  | %  | Votes  | %
1992 | Silvije Degen | 108,979  | 4.1 (#5)  |  | Lost
1997 | Zdravko Tomac | 458,172  | 21.03 (#2)  |  | Lost
2000 | Dražen Budiša | 741,837  | 27.8 (#2)  | 1,125,969  | 43.99 (#2)  | Lost
2005 | Stjepan Mesić | 1,089,398  | 48.92 (#1)  | 1,454,451  | 65.93 (#1)  | Won
2009–10 | Ivo Josipović | 640,594  | 32.42 (#1)  | 1,339,385  | 60.26 (#1)  | Won
2014–15 | Ivo Josipović | 687,678  | 38.46 (#1)  | 1,082,436  | 49.26 (#2)  | Lost
2019–20 | Zoran Milanović | 562,783  | 29.55 (#1)  | 1,034,170  | 52.66 (#1)  | Won
2024–25 | Zoran Milanović | 797,938  | 49.68 (#1)  |  |  | TBA

## Party presidents since 1990

[edit]

No. | Leader  | Age  | Term start  | Term end  | Duration

|
|
|
|
|

1 |  | Ivica Račan | 1944–2007  | 3 November 1990  | 11 April 2007  | 16 years, 159 days
— |  | Željka Antunović
(acting president) | b. 1955  | 11 April 2007  | 2 June 2007  | 52 days
2 |  | Zoran Milanović | b. 1966  | 2 June 2007  | 26 November 2016  | 9 years, 177 days
3 |  | Davor Bernardić | b. 1980  | 26 November 2016  | 6 July 2020  | 3 years, 223 days
— |  | Zlatko Komadina
(acting president) | b. 1958  | 6 July 2020  | 3 October 2020  | 89 days
4 |  | Peđa Grbin | b. 1979  | 3 October 2020  | 21 September 2024  | 3 years, 354 days
5 |  | Siniša Hajdaš Dončić | b. 1974  | 21 September 2024  | present  | 106 days

## See also

[edit]

* Elections in the Social Democratic Party of Croatia
* Cabinet of Ivica Račan I
* Cabinet of Ivica Račan II
* Cabinet of Zoran Milanović
* Left-wing politics in Croatia

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The Kukuriku coalition, in which SDP was a senior partner, won 81 seats all together.
2. ^ According to constitutional amendments introduced in 2000, the President is obliged to freeze his political party membership during his term in office.
3. ^ Neven Mimica has been elected as SDP MEP but appointed to be one of the commissioners in the European commission, so although SDP won 3 seats on general elections it de facto had 2 MEPs while SDP gave Mimica's seat to Ivan Jakovčić from IDS as a result of the coalition agreement.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske" (PDF) (in Croatian). HIDRA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
2. ^ "SDP osnovao Queer forum: Doznajemo koji će im biti prvi potez". Dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 January 2025.
3. ^ "Tko će naslijediti Davora Bernardića: SDP bira svojeg četvrtog predsjednika". Dnevnik.hr. 26 September 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
4. ^ "Predsjednik splitskog SDP-a: Društvu nedostaje empatije, u borbu za prava žena moraju se uključiti muškarci, a za prava seksualnih manjina i oni koji su u tom aspektu većina". www.slobodnadalmacija.hr. Slobodna Dalmacija. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
5. ^ "Deputy Club of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia". www.sabor.hr. Hrvatski sabor. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
6. ^ a b Šedo, Jakub (2010). "The party system of Croatia". In Stojarová, Vera; Emerson, Peter (eds.). Party Politics in the Western Balkans. Routledge. p. 76\. ISBN 978-1-135-23585-7.
7. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Croatia". Parties and Elections in Europe.
8. ^ Gladoic, Andrea (14 June 2018). "Croatia's Largest Political Parties". Expat in Croatia. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
9. ^ Stojarová, Vera; Emerson, Peter (2 October 2013). Party Politics in the Western Balkans. Routledge. ISBN 9781135235857.
10. ^

* Biondich, Mark (2005). Frucht, Richard (ed.). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Land, and Culture. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 442. ISBN 1-57607-800-0.
* Boduszynski, Mieczyslaw (2010). Regime Change in the Yugoslav Successor States. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 96\. ISBN 978-0-8018-9429-9.
* Leutloff-Grandits, Carolin (2006). Claiming Ownership in Postwar Croatia. Berlin: Lit Verlag. p. 311\. ISBN 978-3-8258-8049-1.
* Terry, Chris (13 February 2014). "Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) & Allies". Demsoc Europe. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
* "Five facts about Croatia's ex-PM Racan". Reuters. 29 April 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
* Bozoki, Andras; Ishiyama, John T., eds. (2002). "A Typology of Communist Successor Parties". The Communist Successor Parties of Central and Eastern Europe. New York, NY: M. E. Sharpe, Inc. p. 281\. ISBN 0-7656-0986-X.
* Stallaerts, Robert (2010). Historical Dictionary of Croatia (3rd ed.). Plymouth, United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press. p. 296\. ISBN 978-0-8108-6750-5.
* Križan, Mojmir (2003). Watkins, Clem S. (ed.). The Balkans. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers. p. 56\. ISBN 1-59033-525-2.
* Slomp, Hans (2011). Europe, a Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 579\. ISBN 978-0-313-39181-1.

11. ^ "Participants". Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
12. ^ Marinko Čulić (30 March 2009). "Osoba tjedna: Miroslav Tuđman – Sin koji je od oca naslijedio sve mane i nijednu vrlinu" (in Croatian). Index.hr. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
13. ^ Vlašić, Boris; Vurušić, Vlado (2 January 2010). "'Budiša i Tomčić od Račana su napravili Don Quijotea 'revolucije'". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 12 October 2011.
14. ^ "Republic of Croatia legislative elections of 3 January 2000". Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
15. ^ "124 11.12.2000 Ustav Republike Hrvatske (pročišćeni tekst)". Narodne-novine.nn.hr. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
16. ^ "28 2.4.2001 Promjena Ustava Republike Hrvatske". Narodne-novine.nn.hr. 4 February 2001. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
17. ^ "883". Narodne-novine.nn.hr. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
18. ^ "113 16.11.2000 Promjena Ustava Republike Hrvatske". Narodne-novine.nn.hr. 16 November 2000. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
19. ^ Urošević, Mirko (4 June 2001). "IDS postaje oporba, a Jakovčić saborski zastupnik". Vjesnik (in Croatian). Internet Monitor. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
20. ^ Pulić, Marija (4 July 2002). "Krško prošlo, raskol u HSLS-u, Račan daje ostavku i sastavlja novu vladu". Vjesnik (in Croatian). Internet Monitor. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
21. ^ "Republic of Croatia legislative elections of 23 November 2003". Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
22. ^ a b c Brcic, Eugene (30 April 2007). "Croatian former prime minister Ivica Racan dies at 63". The Independent. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
23. ^ "Republic of Croatia president elections of January 2005". Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
24. ^ "Milanović novi predsjednik SDP-a". Deutsche Welle (in Croatian). 3 June 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
25. ^ "U utrci za predsjednika SDP-a: Antunović, Bandić, Picula i Milanović". Index.hr (in Croatian). 19 May 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
26. ^ Stojić, Marko (2017). Party Responses to the EU in the Western Balkans: Transformation, Opposition or Defiance?. Springer. p. 70\. ISBN 9783319595634.
27. ^ "Ljubo Jurčić SDP-ov kandidat za predsjednika Vlade RH". SDP. 10 July 2007. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
28. ^ "Milanović zamijenio Jurčića kao premijerski kandidat" (in Croatian). Internet Monitor. 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
29. ^ "SDP izabrao Josipovića, Jurčić dalje ide sam?". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). 12 July 2007. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
30. ^ "Republic of Croatia president elections of 2009/2010". Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 13 October 2011.[permanent dead link‍]
31. ^ "Novi hrvatski predsjednik prisegnuo na Markovu trgu". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). 18 February 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
32. ^ "Kukuriku koalicija: Ukinut ćemo povlaštene mirovine zastupnicima!". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). 15 September 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
33. ^ "Milanović: Gay parovima trebamo dati prava kao u Španjolskoj, zbog toga nitko neće ništa izgubiti". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
34. ^ Rukavina Kovačević, Ksenija (27 July 2013). "Građanski Odgoj I Obrazovanje U Školi – Potreba Ili Uvjet?". Riječki Teološki Časopis. 41 (1). Hrcak.srce.hr: 101–136. Retrieved 23 January 2016.101-136&rft.date=2013-07-27&rft.aulast=Rukavina+Kovačević&rft.aufirst=Ksenija&rft_id=http://hrcak.srce.hr/118852&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Social+Democratic+Party+of+Croatia" class="Z3988">
35. ^ Gayevi će se vjenčavati, samo se njihova veza neće moći zvati brakom [Gays will be able to get married, but their relationship can not be called marriage], archived from the original on 12 April 2016, retrieved 27 October 2015
36. ^ Croatia to hold referendum on same-sex marriage ban BBC News, 8 November 2013
37. ^ "VIDEO SDP pozvao građane da glasuju PROTIV". dnevnik.hr. Nova TV. 27 July 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
38. ^ "SDP zbog referenduma o braku želi mijenjati Ustav". net.hr. RTL. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
39. ^ "SDP objavio spot PROTIV referenduma o braku". www.tportal.hr. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
40. ^ Špoljar, Marko (4 October 2015). "Inventura 4 Milanovićeve godine: Spavanje, knock-down pa u zadnjoj godini buđenje". vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Večernji list. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
41. ^ Korda, Zoran (6 November 2015). "Pet najvećih ekonomskih uspjeha i promašaja Milanovićeve vlade". tportal.hr (in Croatian). Tportal. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
42. ^ "Croatia Freezes Swiss Franc Exchange Rate". balkaninsight.com. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
43. ^ "Croatia to convert Swiss franc loans into euros". reuters.com. 25 August 2015. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
44. ^ "Croatia in 2012". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
45. ^ Sustainable Governance Indicators – 2014 Croatia Report, p. 7
46. ^ "Eurostat – Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
47. ^ "Eurostat – Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
48. ^ "Eurostat – Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
49. ^ "ALARMANTNE BROJKE Stopa nezaposlenosti u veljači najviša u posljednjih 12 godina, a Mrsić je zadovoljan". Jutarnji list. 21 March 2014.
50. ^ Sustainable Governance Indicators – 2015 Croatia Report, p. 4
51. ^ "Results of the 2014 European elections – Results by country – Croatia – European Parliament". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
52. ^ "VIDEO: IVO JOSIPOVIĆ SE VRATIO U SDP Bernardić nije odgovorio hoće li biti kandidat stranke na predsjedničkim izborima: 'Još nismo odlučili'". Jutarnji list. 11 April 2019.
53. ^ "Josipovic to Form New Left Party in Croatia". balkaninsight.com. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
54. ^ "Komadina: It's time for a democratic and modern SDP". EBL News. 16 January 2016. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
55. ^ "Milanovic re-elected SDP leader". EBL News. 2 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
56. ^ Maretić Žonja, Petra (6 July 2020). "Tko će na čelo stranke? Pet kandidata za novog šefa SDP-a" [Who will head the party? Five candidates for the new head of the SDP]. Večernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 12 October 2021.
57. ^ V., M. (26 September 2020). "Tko će naslijediti Davora Bernardića: SDP bira svojeg četvrtog predsjednika" [Who will succeed Davor Bernardic: SDP elects its fourth president]. Dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 12 October 2021.
58. ^ "Peđa Grbin novi je šef SDP-a: 'Neću raspuštati organizacije. Ako ću griješiti – upozorite me'" [Peđa Grbin is the new head of the SDP: ‘I will not dissolve organizations. If I make a mistake – warn me]. Jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 3 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
59. ^ "N1 doznaje: Isključeno nekoliko članova SDP-a, oglasio se Gordan Maras" [N1 finds out: Several SDP members have been expelled, Gordan Maras spoke up]. N1 (in Croatian). 27 July 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
60. ^ "Klub SDP nije izbacio četvorku, ali problemi i dalje ostaju neriješeni" [The SDP club did not expelled out the four, but the problems still remain unresolved]. Glas Istre (in Croatian). 21 September 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
61. ^ Petković, Antonija; Boban Valenčić, Iva (7 October 2021). "Predsjedništvo SDP-a izbacilo Bernardića i još šestero zastupnika" [The SDP presidency expelled Bernardic and six other deputies]. Večernji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 12 October 2021.
62. ^ "Izbačeni SDP-ovci osnovali Klub socijaldemokrata, javio se Grbin" [The expelled SDP members founded the Club of Social Democrats, Grbin replied]. Novi List (in Croatian). 8 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
63. ^ "SDP – Forumi" (in Croatian). Social Democratic Party of Croatia. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
64. ^ "Osnovan SDP queer forum". sdp.hr. SDP. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
65. ^ "Socialist International – Progressive Politics for a Fairer World". Retrieved 3 July 2015.
66. ^ "SDP Croatia become full members of the Party of European Socialists". Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
67. ^ "Izbori za zastupnike u Hrvatski sabor (5.7.2020)". Državno izborno povjerenstvo. Retrieved 16 December 2021.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Social Democratic Party of Croatia.

* Official website (in Croatian)

* v
* t
* e

Political parties in Croatia

Sabor|

| Government support (76)|

* Croatian Democratic Union (55)
* Homeland Movement (8)
* Independents (6)
* Croatian Social Liberal Party (2)
* Croatian Demochristian Party (1)
* Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (1)
* Croatian Party of Pensioners (1)
* Bošnjaci zajedno! (1)
* Democratic Union of Hungarians (1)

|

Opposition (75)|

* Social Democratic Party of Croatia (37)
* We Can! – Political Platform (10)
* The Bridge (7)
* Independents (4)
* Independent Democratic Serb Party (3)
* Home and National Rally (3)
* Centre (2)
* Istrian Democratic Assembly (2)
* Independent Platform of the North (2)
* Croatian Sovereignists (1)
* Croatian Peasant Party (1)
* Civic Liberal Alliance (1)
* Dalija Orešković and People with a First and Last Name (1)
* Vacant (1)

European Parliament|

* Croatian Democratic Union (6)
* Social Democratic Party (4)
* Home and National Rally (1)
* We Can! – Political Platform (1)

* Politics of Croatia
* List of political parties by country
* Politics portal

* v
* t
* e

Party of European Socialists

European Parliament group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

Parties|

| Member states|

* SPÖ
* PS
* V
* BSP/БСП
* SDP
* EDEK/ΕΔΕΚ
* SOCDEM
* A
* SDE
* SDP
* PS
* SPD
* PA.SO.K./ΠΑ.ΣΟ.Κ.
* DK
* MSZP
* Lab
* PD
* PSI
* Saskaņa
* LSDP
* LSAP
* PL
* PvdA
* NL
* PS
* PSD
* SMER-SD
* SD
* PSOE
* SAP

|

Member parties (non-EU)|

* AP
* Lab
* SDLP

Associated parties (EU)|

* PBSD/БСДП
* Hlas-SD

Associated parties (non-EU)|

* PS
* SDP BiH
* S
* VV
* DPS
* SDP
* SDSM/СДСМ
* DS
* SP/PS
* CHP
* HDP

Observer parties (EU)|

* LSDSP

Observer parties (non-EU)|

* PS
* ARF
* ESDP/الديمقراطي
* GD
* Dem
* PDM
* USPT
* CTP
* Fatah/فتح
* PSD
* SSP
* FDTL

Presidents|

* Wilhelm Dröscher
* Robert Pontillon
* Joop den Uyl
* Vítor Constâncio
* Guy Spitaels
* Willy Claes
* Rudolf Scharping
* Robin Cook
* Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
* Sergey Stanishev
* Stefan Löfven

Leaders in the
European Parliament|

* Guy Mollet
* Hendrik Fayat
* Pierre Lapie
* Willi Birkelbach
* Käte Strobel
* Francis Vals
* Georges Spénale
* Ludwig Spénale
* Ernest Glinne
* Rudi Arndt
* Jean-Pierre Cot
* Pauline Green
* Enrique Barón
* Martin Schulz
* Hannes Swoboda
* Gianni Pittella
* Udo Bullmann
* Iratxe García

* * *

European Commissioners (2024–2029)|

* Glenn Micallef (Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture, and Sport)
* Dan Jørgensen (Energy and Housing)
* Roxana Mînzatu (Executive VP for Skills, Education and Culture, Quality Jobs, and Social Rights)
* Teresa Ribera (Executive VP for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition)
* Maroš Šefčovič (Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations, and Transparency)
* see Von der Leyen Commission II

Heads of government|

* Olaf Scholz (Germany)
* Mette Frederiksen (Denmark)
* Robert Abela (Malta)
* Pedro Sánchez (Spain)
* Keir Starmer (United Kingdom)

Heads of state|

* Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Germany)
* George Vella (Malta)
* Michael D. Higgins (Ireland)
* Zoran Milanović (Croatia)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Czech Republic
* 2
* 3

*[abbr.]: abbreviated
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[No.]: Number