Democratic Party (Yugoslavia)

{{distinguish|Democratic Party (Serbia)}} {{Infobox political party | logo = | colorcode = {{party color|Democratic Party (Serbia)}} | chairman = [[Milan Grol]] {{small|(last)}} | founder = [[Ljubomir Davidović]] | foundation = 15 February 1919 | ideology = [[Liberalism]] [[Yugoslavism]] [[Protectionism]]<ref>Rothschild, Joseph (1990). East Central Europe Between the Two World Wars. University of Washington Press. pp. 438.</ref> | headquarters = [[Belgrade]] | merger = [[Serbian Progressive Party (Kingdom of Serbia)|Serbian Progressive Party]] [[People's Party (Kingdom of Croatia)|People's Party]] [[National Progressive Party (Carniola)|National Progressive Party]] [[Croat-Serb Coalition]] | successor = [[Democratic Party (Serbia)]] ''(1990, self-proclaimed)'' | country = Yugoslavia | name = Democratic Party | native_name = Демократска странка Demokratska stranka | banned = 1946 | position = [[Centrism|Centre]] }}

The '''Yugoslav Democratic Party''', the '''State Party of Serbian, Croatian and Slovene Democrats''', and the '''Democratic Party''', also known as the '''Democratic Union''' were the names of [[Liberalism|liberal]] [[political parties]] that existed in a series in succession in the [[State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs]] and the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]] (later the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]).<ref>{{cite book|author=Dragan Subotić|title=Srpske političke stranke i pokreti u 19. i 20. veku: Političke stranke i pokreti u političkom životu međuratne Srbije (i Jugoslavije) (1918.-1941.). Primeri iz političke istorije, kulture i sociologije političkih partija|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nKgVAQAAIAAJ|year=1998|publisher=In-t za političke studije|isbn=9788674190289 }}</ref>

==History== ===Yugoslav Democratic Party=== The '''Yugoslav Democratic Party''' ({{langx|sl|Jugoslovenska demokratska stranka}}) was a [[Slovenia]]n [[Liberalism|liberal]] political party, founded in June 1918 from the merge of all three [[Slovenes|Slovene]] [[national liberal]] parties that had been formed since the 1890s in the [[Slovene language|Slovene-speaking]] parts of [[Austria-Hungary]]: the [[National Progressive Party (Slovenia)|National Progressive Party]] in [[Carniola]], the National Party in Styria, and the National Progressive Party in [[Gorizia and Gradisca]]. Prominent members included [[Ivan Tavčar]], [[Ivan Hribar]], Albert Kramar, [[Gregor Žerjav]], and [[Milko Brezigar]].

===State Party of Serbian, Croatian and Slovene Democrats=== In the Spring of 1919, in [[Sarajevo]], the '''State Party of Serbian, Croatian and Slovene Democrats''' ({{langx|sr|Државотворна странка демократа Срба, Хрвата и Словенаца}}, Državnotvorna stranka demokrata Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca) is created by a merger of the Yugoslav Democratic Party with Serbian and Croatian liberal parties, namely the [[:sr:Самостална радикална странка|Independent Radical Party]] led by [[Ljubomir Davidović]], the fractions of [[Serbian Progressive Party (historical)|Serbian Progressive Party]], the [[People's Party (Kingdom of Croatia)|People's Party of Croatia]] and the [[Svetozar Pribićević]]'s [[Croat-Serb Coalition]], as well as fractions of Montenegrin [[People's Party (Montenegro, 1906)|People's Party]] led by [[Andrija Radović]].

The elected president of the party was [[Ljubomir Davidović]], also a president of the Assembly and a mayor of [[Belgrade]].

The party won the largest number of deputies in the [[1920 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Constitutional Assembly election|first elections held in 1920]]: they could occupy 92 of the 419 seats in the [[Parliament of Yugoslavia|constituent assembly]].<ref>{{Citation |first=Wayne S. |last=Vucinich |title=Interwar Yugoslavia |work=Contemporary Yugoslavia: Twenty Years of Socialist Experiment |publisher=University of California Press |year=1969 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a--6hauBIb4C&q=democratic+party&pg=PA15}}</ref> From 1 January 1922 on, they participated in the government of Prime Minister [[Nikola Pašić]] of the [[People's Radical Party]]. Together with the People's Radical Party, the Democrats were the main supporters of the constitution passed on 28 June 1921.<ref name="Vucinich8">{{Citation |first=Wayne S. |last=Vucinich |title=Interwar Yugoslavia |work=Contemporary Yugoslavia: Twenty Years of Socialist Experiment |publisher=University of California Press |year=1969 |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a--6hauBIb4C&q=democratic+party&pg=PA15}}</ref> Members of the Democratic Party were significantly involved in the foundation of the ''Organization of Yugoslav Nationalists'' ([[ORJUNA]]) in 1921.<ref>{{Citation |first=Wayne S. |last=Vucinich |title=Interwar Yugoslavia |work=Contemporary Yugoslavia: Twenty Years of Socialist Experiment |publisher=University of California Press |year=1969 |page=14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a--6hauBIb4C&q=%22democratic+party%22&pg=PA15}}</ref> In the [[1923 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes parliamentary election|1923 elections]], the party's number of deputies in the [[Parliament of Yugoslavia|National Assembly]] dropped to 51.<ref>{{Citation |first=Wayne S. |last=Vucinich |title=Interwar Yugoslavia |work=Contemporary Yugoslavia: Twenty Years of Socialist Experiment |publisher=University of California Press |year=1969 |page=355 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a--6hauBIb4C&q=%22democratic+party%22&pg=PA15}}</ref> In May 1924, the Democrats joined the Oppositional Bloc against the Pašić government, appealing for a democratic Yugoslavia and calling for a fair share in the government for Croatians and Slovenes.<ref name="Vucinich15">{{Citation |first=Wayne S. |last=Vucinich |title=Interwar Yugoslavia |work=Contemporary Yugoslavia: Twenty Years of Socialist Experiment |publisher=University of California Press |year=1969 |page=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a--6hauBIb4C&q=%22democratic+party%22&pg=PA15}}</ref>

===Democratic Party=== In early 1924, Prime Minister Pašić succeeded in winning the support of some Democratic deputies around [[Svetozar Pribićević]], to reject especially the Croatian demands for more influence. Therefore, the conflict between Pribićević and party leader [[Ljubomir Davidović]] heated. While Pribićević intransigently persisted on the principle of the unitary Yugoslavia, Davidović favoured moderation and concessions considering the Croatian demands. Hence, Pribićević and fourteen fellow lawmakers left the Democratic Party and founded the [[Independent Democratic Party (Yugoslavia)|Independent Democratic Party]], which readily joined a "National Bloc" coalition with the Radical Party of Prime Minister Pašić.<ref name="Vucinich15"/>

The Slovenian, Croatian, [[Croatian Serb]] and [[Bosnia]]n sections, led by [[Svetozar Pribićević]], moved to the latter. The Democratic Party thus shrunk mostly to [[Serbia]], [[Macedonia (country)|Macedonia]], and [[Montenegro]], while in the former [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] areas of the state, the Independent Democratic Party prevailed.

The Democratic Party was in and out of government, either independently or as part of a coalition, until 1929 when [[Alexander I of Yugoslavia|King Alexander]] abolished the [[Vidovdan Constitution]] and created [[6 January Dictatorship|a personal dictatorship]], changing the name of the country to Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The Democratic Party remained in opposition until [[World War II]].

After Davidović's death in 1940, [[Milan Grol]] took over the presidency of the party.

During the [[invasion of Yugoslavia]] by [[Nazi Germany]] in 1941, Grol and most of the party leadership fled to the [[United Kingdom]]. After the war, the Democratic Party called for a [[Election boycott|boycott]] of communist-organized [[1945 Yugoslavian parliamentary election|elections in 1945]]. The [[Communist Party of Yugoslavia|Communist Party]] (KPJ) led by [[Josip Broz Tito]] banned the Democratic Party in 1946.

== Electoral performances == {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" !Year !Leader !Popular vote !% of popular vote !Position !# of seats !Seat change !Position !Coalition |- ![[1920 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Constitutional Assembly election|1920]] | rowspan="7" align="center" |[[Ljubomir Davidović]] |319,448 |19.9% |{{increase}} 1st |{{Composition bar|92|419|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (Serbia)}}}} |{{increase}} 92 |{{increase}} 1st | – |- ![[1923 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes parliamentary election|1923]] |400,342 |18.4% |{{decrease}} 3rd |{{Composition bar|51|312|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (Serbia)}}}} |{{decrease}} 41 |{{decrease}} 3rd | – |- ![[1925 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes parliamentary election|1925]] |279,686 |11.8% |{{steady}} 3rd |{{Composition bar|36|315|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (Serbia)}}}} |{{Decrease}} 15 |{{steady}} 3rd | – |- ![[1927 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes parliamentary election|1927]] |381,784 |16.4% |{{increase}} 2nd |{{Composition bar|59|315|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (Serbia)}}}} |{{Increase}} 23 |{{increase}} 2nd | – |- ![[1931 Yugoslavian parliamentary election|1931]] | colspan="3" style="background:#ddd;" |''Banned'' |{{Composition bar|0|370|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (Serbia)}}}} | {{decrease}} 59 | {{n/a}} | – |- ![[1935 Yugoslavian parliamentary election|1935]] |1,076,345 |37.4% |{{steady}} 2nd |{{Composition bar|67|370|hex=gray}} |{{increase}} 67 |{{increase}} 2nd | {{nowrap|[[1935 Yugoslavian parliamentary election#Coalitions|United Opposition]]}} |- ![[1938 Yugoslavian parliamentary election|1938]] |1,364,524 |44.9% |{{steady}} 2nd |{{Composition bar|67|370|hex=gray}} |{{steady}} 0 |{{steady}} 2nd | {{nowrap|[[1938 Yugoslavian parliamentary election#Coalitions|United Opposition]]}} |- ![[1945 Yugoslavian parliamentary election|1945]] |[[Milan Grol]] | colspan="3" style="background:#ddd;" | Election boycott |{{Composition bar|0|354|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (Serbia)}}}} |{{decrease}} 67 | {{n/a}} | - |}

==See also== *[[Democratic Party (Serbia)]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Banned political parties]] [[Category:Political parties established in 1919]] [[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1948]] [[Category:Liberal parties in Slovenia]] [[Category:Political history of Slovenia]] [[Category:Defunct liberal political parties]] [[Category:Political parties in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] [[Category:Liberalism in Yugoslavia]] [[Category:Yugoslavism]]