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 three affiliated international organizations (International Young Democrat Union, International Women's Democracy Union and SME Global) 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).
| Abbreviation | IDU |
|---|---|
| Formation | 24 June 1983 |
| Purpose | World federation of right-of-centre/moderate-to-far-right 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 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 [of] 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:
| Person | Party | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Alois Mock | Austrian People's Party | Austria |
| Margaret Thatcher | Conservative Party | United Kingdom |
| Helmut Kohl | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | West Germany |
| Franz Josef Strauss | Christian Social Union in Bavaria | |
| Jacques Chirac | Rally for the Republic | France |
| Andrew Peacock | Liberal Party of Australia | Australia |
| Evangelos Averoff-Tossizza | New Democracy | Greece |
| Manuel Fraga | People's Alliance | Spain |
| Oscar Alzaga | People's Democratic Party | |
| Susanne Wood | New Zealand National Party | New Zealand |
| Glafcos Clerides | Democratic Rally | Cyprus |
| Ilkka Suominen | National Coalition Party | Finland |
| Lucas Pires | CDS – People's Party | Portugal |
| Tatsuo Tanaka | Liberal Democratic Party | Japan |
| Ulf Adelsohn | Moderate Party | Sweden |
| Erik Nielsen | Progressive Conservative Party of Canada | Canada |
| Poul Schlüter | Conservative People's Party | Denmark |
| Jo Benkow | Conservative Party | Norway |
| Frank Fahrenkopf | Republican Party | United States |
History and activities
According to a 1985 CIA memo, the Republican Party and the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan had provided half of all funding for the organization at the time. Several leaders of member parties had gained political power with help from Arthur J. Finkelstein, such as Viktor Orbán, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. The IDU shares resources with its members on "campaign technology, fund-raising techniques, opinion polling, advertising and campaign organization". The Conservative Party of Canada and the Republican Party had closely collaborated on resources and strategy during the 2000s and 2010s.
Member parties
Full members
| Country | Party | Abbreviation | Government | Lower Chamber | Upper Chamber |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | Democratic Party of Albania | PD | Opposition | 59 / 140 (42%) | |
| Republican Party of Albania | PR | Opposition | 2 / 140 (1%) | ||
| Argentina | Republican Proposal | PRO | Opposition | 37 / 257 (14%) | 6 / 72 (8%) |
| Australia | Liberal Party of Australia | LIB | Opposition | 28 / 150 (19%) | 25 / 76 (33%) |
| Austria | Austrian People's Party | ÖVP | Government | 51 / 183 (28%) | 22 / 60 (37%) |
| Azerbaijan | Azerbaijan National Independence Party | AMIP | Support | 1 / 125 (0.8%) | |
| Belarus | The BPF Party | BPF | Extraparliamentary opposition | 0 / 110 (0%) | |
| United Civic Party | UCP | Extraparliamentary opposition | 0 / 110 (0%) | ||
| Belgium | New Flemish Alliance | N-VA | Government | 24 / 150 (16%) | 9 / 60 (15%) |
| Bolivia | Social Democratic Movement | MDS | Government | 39 / 130 (30%) | 12 / 36 (33%) |
| 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 | Government | 66 / 240 (28%) | |
| Canada | Conservative Party of Canada | CPC / PCC | Opposition | 143 / 343 (42%) | 14 / 105 (13%) |
| Chile | Independent Democratic Union | UDI | Opposition | 23 / 155 (15%) | 9 / 50 (18%) |
| National Renewal | RN | Opposition | 22 / 155 (14%) | 11 / 50 (22%) | |
| Costa Rica | Social Christian Unity Party | PUSC | Opposition | 9 / 57 (16%) | |
| Colombia | Colombian Conservative Party | PCC | Opposition | 25 / 188 (13%) | 15 / 108 (14%) |
| Cyprus | Democratic Rally | DISY | Government | 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%) | |
| Croatia | Croatian Democratic Union | HDZ | Government | 55 / 151 (36%) | |
| Cuba | Christian Democratic Party of Cuba | PDC | Extraparliamentary opposition | 0 / 470 (0%) | |
| Assembly of the Cuban Resistance | ACR | Extraparliamentary opposition | 0 / 470 (0%) | ||
| 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 | Government | 164 / 630 (26%) | 22 / 69 (32%) |
| Christian Social Union in Bavaria | CSU | Government | 44 / 630 (7%) | 4 / 69 (6%) | |
| Ghana | New Patriotic Party | NPP | Opposition | 88 / 275 (32%) | |
| 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 | Opposition | 14 / 63 (22%) | ||
| 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%) | |
| Ivory Coast | Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally | PDCI-RDA | Opposition | 73 / 255 (29%) | 6 / 99 (6%) |
| Kenya | Democratic Party of Kenya | DP | Government | 1 / 349 (0.3%) | 0 / 67 (0%) |
| Kenya African National Union | KANU | Opposition | 5 / 349 (1%) | 0 / 67 (0%) | |
| Latvia | National Alliance | NA | Opposition | 13 / 100 (13%) | |
| Lebanon | Kataeb Party | Government | 4 / 128 (3%) | ||
| Lithuania | Lithuanian Christian Democrats | LKD | Opposition | 28 / 141 (20%) | |
| Maldives | Maldivian Democratic Party | MDP | Opposition | 12 / 93 (13%) | |
| Moldova | Party of Action and Solidarity | PAS | Government | 62 / 101 (61%) | |
| Mongolia | Democratic Party | DP | Opposition | 42 / 126 (33%) | |
| 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%) | |
| Nigeria | Peoples Democratic Party | PDP | Opposition | 118 / 360 (33%) | 36 / 109 (33%) |
| North Macedonia | VMRO-DPMNE | Government | 58 / 120 (48%) | ||
| Norway | Conservative Party | H | Opposition | 36 / 169 (21%) | |
| Panama | Democratic Change | CD | Support | 8 / 71 (11%) | |
| 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 | 49 / 330 (15%) | 22 / 136 (16%) |
| Saint Lucia | United Workers Party | UWP | Opposition | 2 / 17 (12%) | 3 / 11 (27%) |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | New Democratic Party | NDP | Government | 14 / 15 (93%) | |
| Serbia | Serbian Progressive Party | SNS | Government | 104 / 250 (42%) | |
| Slovenia | Slovenian Democratic Party | SDS | Opposition | 27 / 90 (30%) | |
| South Korea | People Power Party | PPP | Opposition | 107 / 300 (36%) | |
| Spain | People's Party | PP | Opposition | 137 / 350 (39%) | 143 / 264 (54%) |
| Sri Lanka | United National Party | UNP | Opposition | 2 / 225 (0.9%) | |
| South Africa | Inkatha Freedom Party | IFP | Government | 17 / 400 (4%) | |
| Sweden | Moderate Party | M | Government | 68 / 349 (19%) | |
| Christian Democrats | KD | Government | 19 / 349 (5%) | ||
| Taiwan | Kuomintang | KMT | Opposition | 52 / 113 (46%) | |
| Tanzania | Party for Democracy and Progress | CHADEMA | Opposition | 20 / 393 (5%) | |
| Uganda | Forum for Democratic Change | FDC | Opposition | 32 / 529 (6%) | |
| Ukraine | European Solidarity | Opposition | 27 / 450 (6%) | ||
| All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" | Opposition | 24 / 450 (5%) | |||
| United Kingdom | Conservative and Unionist Party | CON | Opposition | 121 / 650 (19%) | 274 / 783 (35%) |
| United States | Republican Party | R / GOP | Government | 220 / 435 (51%) | 53 / 100 (53%) |
| Venezuela | Encuentro Ciudadano | EC | Opposition | 0 / 277 (0%) | |
| Project Venezuela | PV | Opposition | 2 / 277 (0.7%) | ||
Former members
- Argentina – Justicialist Party
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – Party of Democratic Action
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – Croatian Democratic Union 1990
- Bolivia – Nationalist Democratic Action
- Brazil – Democrats
- Bulgaria – Union of Democratic Forces
- 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
- Lebanon – Lebanese Forces
- Lithuania – Homeland Union
- Moldova – Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova
- Montenegro – Movement for Changes
- Nicaragua – Conservative Party
- Portugal – Social Democratic Party
- Russia – Union of Right Forces
- Serbia – Democratic Party of Serbia
- Serbia – United Regions of Serbia
- South Korea – Liberty Korea Party
- 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 | Alois Mock (1934–2017) | 24 June 1983 | 1987 | Austrian People's Party | ||
| 2 | Kåre Willoch (1928–2021) | 1987 | 1989 | Conservative Party of Norway | ||
| 3 | William Hague (born 1961) | 19 June 1997 | 10 June 2002 | 4 years, 356 days | Conservative Party of UK | |
| 4 | John Howard (born 1939) | 10 June 2002 | 21 November 2014 | 12 years, 164 days | Liberal Party of Australia | |
| 5 | Sir John Key (born 1961) | 21 November 2014 | 21 February 2018 | 3 years, 92 days | New Zealand National Party | |
| 6 | Stephen Harper (born 1959) | 21 February 2018 | Incumbent | 7 years, 298 days | Conservative Party of Canada | |
Since 1997, all Chairmen have been part of the Anglosphere (United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada).
Regional Unions
In addition to being members of the UDI, political parties can also be members of one of its regional unions:
- Unión de Partidos Latinoamericanos (UPLA): Union of Latin American Parties;
- Asia Pacific Democrat Union (APDU or UDAP): Democratic Union of Asia and the Pacific
- Caribbean Democrat Union (CDU or UDC): Caribbean Democratic Union
- Democrat Union of Africa (DUA or UDA): Democratic Union of Africa
- European Democrat Union (EDU or EDU): European Democratic Union
Leadership
- President: Stephen Harper (Conservative Party of Canada, 22nd Prime Minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015)
- Vice-President: Brian Loughnane (Liberal Party of Australia)
- Honorary President: Lord Michael Ashcroft (Conservative Party of the United Kingdom)
- Executive Vice Presidents:
- Hon. Antonio Giordano MP (Fratelli d'Italia)
- Hon. Tundu Lissu (CHADEMA)
- Hon. Scott Morrison (Liberal Party of Australia)
- Rt. Hon. Dame Priti Patel MP (Conservative Party of the United Kingdom)
- Diego Schalper MP (Renovación Nacional, Chile)
- David McAllister MEP (Christian Democratic Union of Germany)
- Vice-presidents:
- Marwan Abdallah (Kataeb Party)
- Louisa Atta-Agyemang (New Patriotic Party)
- Governor Haley Barbour (Republican Party)
- Hon. Deborah Bergamini MP (Forza Italia)
- Deputy Minister Tasos Chatzivasileiou MP (New Democracy)
- Rt.Hon. Allen Chastanet MP (United Workers Party)
- Hon. Judith Collins KC, MP (New Zealand National Party)
- Dr. Rahhal El Makkaoui (Istiqlal Party)
- Carlo Fidanza MEP (ECR)
- Minister of State Florian Hahn MP (Christian Social Union of Bavaria)
- Lord Daniel Hannan (Conservative Party of the United Kingdom)
- Gabriel Mato MEP (Partido Popular)
- Julian Obiglio (PRO)
- Marco Solares (Unionist Party)
- Majority Leader Jens Spahn MP (Christian Democratic Union of Germany)
- Commissioner Dubravka Šuica (Croatian Democratic Union)
- HE Elbegdorj Tsakhiagiin (Ардчилсан нам , Democratic Party)
- Political advisor: Eva Gustavsson (Moderate Coalition Party, Sweden)
- Secretary General: Tina Mercep, Croatian Democratic Union
See also
- Asia Pacific Democracy Union
- Caribbean Democrat Union
- Centrist Democrat International
- Conservative Establishment
- Democracy Union of Africa
- European Conservatives and Reformists Group
- European Conservatives and Reformists Party
- European People's Party
- International Women's Democracy Union
- International Young Democrat Union
- Political internationals: such as the Liberal International and the Socialist International
- Union of Latin American Parties
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