 | |
| Abbreviation | IDU |
|---|---|
| Formation | 24 June 1983; 41 years ago (1983-06-24) |
| Purpose | World federation of right-of-centre/moderate-to-conservative political parties |
| Headquarters | Munich, Bavaria, Germany |
| Region served | Worldwide |
| Membership | 84 political parties and 8 organisations |
| Official language | English |
| Chairman | Stephen Harper (Conservative Party of Canada) |
| Deputy Chairman | Brian Loughnane (Liberal Party of Australia) |
| Website | idu |
| Formerly called | International Democrat Union (until 2023) |
The International Democracy Union (IDU; known as the International Democrat Union until September 2023) is an international alliance of centre-right to right wing political parties. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, the IDU consists of 84 full and associate members from 65 countries. It is chaired by Stephen Harper, former prime minister of Canada. It has two affiliated international organizations (International Young Democrat Union and International Women's Democracy Union) and six affiliated regional organizations (Union of Latin American Parties, Asia Pacific Democrat Union, Caribbean Democrat Union, Democrat Union of Africa, European People's Party and European Conservatives and Reformists Party).
The IDU allows "centre-right" conservative political parties 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 centre-right policies around the globe". The IDU has some overlap of member parties with the Centrist Democrat International (CDI), but the CDI is more centrist, Christian democrat and communitarian than the IDU.
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 and U.S. Vice President George H. W. Bush, the organisation was founded at a joint meeting of the EDU and APDU in London, United Kingdom.
Founding
The IDU was founded in London on 24 June 1983. According to Richard V. Allen, to be admitted as a member, a party must qualify as a "mainstream conservative" party influenced by classical liberalism.
The founding declaration was signed by 19 persons:
Member parties
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Full members
| Country | Party | Abbreviation | Government | Lower Chamber | Upper Chamber |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Albania
|
Democratic Party of Albania | PD | Opposition | 59 / 140 (42%) | |
 Argentina
|
Republican Proposal | PRO | Government | 37 / 257 (14%) | 6 / 72 (8%) |
 Australia
|
Liberal Party of Australia | LIB | Opposition | 40 / 151 (26%) | 25 / 76 (33%) |
 Austria
|
Austrian People's Party | ÖVP | Government | 71 / 183 (39%) | 25 / 61 (41%) |
 Azerbaijan
|
Azerbaijan National Independence Party | AMIP | Support | 1 / 125 (0.8%) | |
 Belgium
|
New Flemish Alliance | N-VA | Opposition | 24 / 150 (16%) | 9 / 60 (15%) |
 Bolivia
|
Social Democratic Movement | MDS | Extraparliamentary opposition | 0 / 130 (0%) | 0 / 36 (0%) |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
Party of Democratic Progress | PDP | Opposition | 2 / 42 (5%) | 1 / 15 (7%) |
| Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina | HDZ | Government | 4 / 42 (10%) | 3 / 15 (20%) | |
 Brazil
|
Brazil Union | UNIÃO | Independent | 59 / 513 (12%) | 7 / 81 (9%) |
 Bulgaria
|
GERB | GERB | Independent | 66 / 240 (28%) | |
| Union of Democratic Forces | SDS | Independent | 2 / 240 (0.8%) | ||
 Canada
|
Conservative Party of Canada | CPC / PCC | Opposition | 120 / 338 (36%) | 12 / 105 (11%) |
 Chile
|
Independent Democratic Union | UDI | Opposition | 23 / 155 (15%) | 9 / 50 (18%) |
| National Renewal | RN | Opposition | 22 / 155 (14%) | 11 / 50 (22%) | |
 Colombia
|
Colombian Conservative Party | PCC | Independent | 28 / 187 (15%) | 15 / 108 (14%) |
 Costa Rica
|
Social Christian Unity Party | PUSC | Opposition | 9 / 57 (16%) | |
 Croatia
|
Croatian Democratic Union | HDZ | Government | 55 / 151 (36%) | |
 Cyprus
|
Democratic Rally | DISY | Opposition | 17 / 56 (30%) | |
 Czech Republic
|
Civic Democratic Party | ODS | Government | 34 / 200 (17%) | 21 / 81 (26%) |
| TOP 09 | TOP 09 | Government | 14 / 200 (7%) | 4 / 81 (5%) | |
 Denmark
|
Conservative People's Party | DKF | Opposition | 10 / 179 (6%) | |
 Dominican Republic
|
National Progressive Force | FNP | Extraparliamentary opposition | 0 / 190 (0%) | 0 / 32 (0%) |
 Ecuador
|
Creating Opportunities | CREO | Extraparliamentary opposition | 0 / 137 (0%) | |
 El Salvador
|
Nationalist Republican Alliance | ARENA | Opposition | 2 / 60 (3%) | |
 Estonia
|
Isamaa | Opposition | 10 / 101 (10%) | ||
 Finland
|
National Coalition Party | Kok | Government | 48 / 200 (24%) | |
 Georgia
|
United National Movement | UNM | Opposition | 15 / 150 (10%) | |
 Germany
|
Christian Democratic Union of Germany | CDU | Opposition | 152 / 735 (21%) | 22 / 69 (32%) |
| Christian Social Union in Bavaria | CSU | Opposition | 45 / 735 (6%) | 4 / 69 (6%) | |
 Ghana
|
New Patriotic Party | NPP | Government | 137 / 275 (50%) | |
 Greece
|
New Democracy | ND | Government | 158 / 300 (53%) | |
 Grenada
|
New National Party | NNP | Opposition | 5 / 15 (33%) | 3 / 13 (23%) |
 Guatemala
|
Unionist Party | PU | Opposition | 2 / 160 (1%) | |
 Iceland
|
Independence Party | Government | 17 / 63 (27%) | ||
 Israel
|
Likud | Likud | Government | 32 / 120 (27%) | |
 Italy
|
Forza Italia | FI | Government | 46 / 400 (12%) | 20 / 200 (10%) |
| Brothers of Italy | FdI | Government | 117 / 400 (29%) | 66 / 200 (33%) | |
 Kenya
|
Democratic Party of Kenya | DP | Government | 1 / 349 (0.3%) | 0 / 67 (0%) |
 Lebanon
|
Kataeb Party | Opposition | 4 / 128 (3%) | ||
 Lithuania
|
Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats | TS–LKD | Government | 49 / 141 (35%) | |
 Maldives
|
Maldivian Democratic Party | MDP | Opposition | 12 / 80 (15%) | |
 Malta
|
Nationalist Party | PN | Opposition | 35 / 79 (44%) | |
 Moldova
|
Party of Action and Solidarity | PAS | Government | 62 / 101 (61%) | |
 Mongolia
|
Democratic Party | DP | Government | 42 / 126 (33%) | |
 Montenegro
|
Movement for Changes | PzP | Extraparliamentary opposition | 0 / 81 (0%) | |
 Morocco
|
Istiqlal Party | Government | 81 / 395 (21%) | 17 / 120 (14%) | |
 Nepal
|
Rastriya Prajatantra Party | RPP | Opposition | 14 / 275 (5%) | 0 / 59 (0%) |
 New Zealand
|
National Party | NAT | Government | 49 / 123 (40%) | |
 North Macedonia
|
VMRO-DPMNE | Government | 58 / 120 (48%) | ||
 Norway
|
Conservative Party | H | Opposition | 36 / 169 (21%) | |
 Panama
|
Democratic Change | CD | Government | 18 / 71 (25%) | |
 Paraguay
|
Partido Colorado | ANR-PC | Government | 48 / 80 (60%) | 23 / 45 (51%) |
 Peru
|
Christian People's Party | PPC | Extraparliamentary opposition | 0 / 130 (0%) | |
 Portugal
|
CDS – People's Party | CDS–PP | Government | 2 / 230 (0.9%) | |
 Romania
|
National Liberal Party | PNL | Government | 79 / 330 (24%) | 36 / 136 (26%) |
 Saint Lucia
|
United Workers Party | UWP | Opposition | 2 / 17 (12%) | 3 / 11 (27%) |
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
|
New Democratic Party | NDP | Opposition | 6 / 15 (40%) | |
 Serbia
|
Serbian Progressive Party | SNS | Government | 104 / 250 (42%) | |
 Slovenia
|
Slovenian Democratic Party | SDS | Opposition | 27 / 90 (30%) | |
 South Korea
|
People Power Party | PPP | Government | 108 / 300 (36%) | |
 Spain
|
People's Party | PP | Opposition | 137 / 350 (39%) | 143 / 264 (54%) |
 Sri Lanka
|
United National Party | UNP | Extraparliamentary opposition | 0 / 225 (0%) | |
 South Africa
|
Inkatha Freedom Party | IFP | Government | 17 / 400 (4%) | |
 Sweden
|
Moderate Party | M | Government | 68 / 349 (19%) | |
 Taiwan
|
Kuomintang | KMT | Opposition | 52 / 113 (46%) | |
 Tanzania
|
Party for Democracy and Progress | CHADEMA | Opposition | 20 / 393 (5%) | |
 Turks and Caicos Islands
|
People's Democratic Movement | PDM | Opposition | 1 / 15 (7%) | |
 Uganda
|
Forum for Democratic Change | FDC | Opposition | 32 / 529 (6%) | |
 Ukraine
|
European Solidarity | YeS | Opposition | 27 / 450 (6%) | |
 United Kingdom
|
Conservative and Unionist Party | CON | Opposition | 121 / 650 (19%) | 274 / 783 (35%) |
 United States
|
Republican Party | R / GOP | Government | 219 / 435 (50%) | 53 / 100 (53%) |
 Venezuela
|
Project Venezuela | PV | Extraparliamentary opposition | 0 / 277 (0%) | |
Former members
- Argentina – Justicialist Party
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – Party of Democratic Action
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – Croatian Democratic Union 1990
- Brazil – Democrats
- Canada – Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
- Dominican Republic – Social Christian Reformist Party
France – Rally for the Republic- France – Union for a Popular Movement
- Guatemala – National Advancement Party
Honduras – National Party of Honduras
Hungary – Fidesz
India – Bharatiya Janata Party
Japan – Liberal Democratic Party moved to Asia Pacific Democracy Union- Lebanon – Lebanese Forces
- Moldova – Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova
Nicaragua – Conservative Party- Portugal – Social Democratic Party
Russia – Union of Right Forces- Serbia – Democratic Party of Serbia
- Serbia – United Regions of Serbia
- Spain – People's Alliance
- Spain – People's Democratic Party
Chairmen
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth) |
Term of office | Political party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 | .jpg)
|
William Hague (born 1961) |
19 June 1997 | 10 June 2002 | 4 years, 356 days | Conservative Party of UK |
| 2 | 
|
John Howard (born 1939) |
10 June 2002 | 21 November 2014 | 12 years, 164 days | Liberal Party of Australia |
| 3 | 
|
Sir John Key (born 1961) |
21 November 2014 | 21 February 2018 | 3 years, 92 days | New Zealand National Party |
| 4 | 
|
Stephen Harper (born 1959) |
21 February 2018 | Incumbent | 6 years, 319 days | Conservative Party of Canada |
See also
- European Conservatives and Reformists Party
- Asia Pacific Democracy Union
- Caribbean Democrat Union
- Centrist Democrat International
- Democracy Union of Africa
- European People's Party
- European Conservatives and Reformists Group
- International Women's Democracy Union
- International Young Democrat Union
- Union of Latin American Parties
- Political internationals: such as the Liberal International and the Socialist International
References
- "Declaration of Principles, London 1983". idu.org. February 2018.
- Hunter, Marjorie; Weaver, Warren Jr. (24 July 1985). "Briefing; A Parties' Party". The New York Times.
- @internationaldemocracyunion (4 September 2023). "As part of celebrating 40 years of championing #democracy and #freedom, the IDU Executive approved the re-launch of our organization as the 'International Democracy Union'. While our values remain constant, this small adjustment clarifies our cause as we work to expand our network in support of democracy worldwide. Welcome to the International Democracy Union! #idu40". Retrieved 16 October 2023 – via Instagram.
- Weisman, Steven R. (23 September 1989). "Conservative Figures See 'Bright' Future". The New York Times. New York City. ISSN 1553-8095. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
- Sanger, David E. (11 June 2002). "Bush in Terrorist Warning". The New York Times. New York City. ISSN 1553-8095. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
President Bush warned an international group of conservative and moderate politicians at the White House tonight that terrorists could attain 'catastrophic power' with weapons of mass destruction and would readily use that power to attack the United States or other nations. The president made his remarks to about 100 members of the International Democrat Union, a group of international centre and centre-right political parties that met today and Sunday for a conference in Washington.
- Burnell, Peter J. (2006). Globalizing Democracy: Party Politics in Emerging Democracies. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-415-40184-5.
- International Democrat Union. "IDU Members". idu.org. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- IDU — History. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- Mohr, Alexander (2010). The German Political Foundations as Actors in Democracy Assistance. Boca Raton: Universal-Publishers. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-59942-331-9.
- Goldman, Ralph Morris (2002). The Future Catches Up: Transnational Parties and Democracy. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 418. ISBN 978-0-595-22888-1.
- "The Founding Meeting Of The Union" (PDF). International Democrat Union. 24 June 1983. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 December 2022.
- "By Any Other Name, Conservative". The New York Times. 27 July 1985. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
- "International Democrat Union, minutes of founding meeting, 1993" (PDF).
External links
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