- Source: Centrist Democrat International
The Centrist Democrat International (CDI; Spanish: Internacional Demócrata de Centro, IDC) is a centrist political international inspired by the values of Christian democracy. Until 2001, it was known as the Christian Democrat International (CDI); before 1999, it was known as the Christian Democrat and People's Parties International. This earlier name is still sometimes used colloquially.
It is the primary international political group dedicated to promoting Christian democracy. Although it attracts parties from around the globe, its members are drawn principally from Europe and Latin America. Although in recent years, the Centrist Democrat International has expanded its presence in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. This has led to the development of the IDC.Africa, the Centrist Democrat International's regional organization in Africa.
Overview
The IDC-CDI was formed in 1961 in Santiago, Chile, as the Christian Democrat World Union, building on the legacy of other Christian democrat internationals which were an alternative to the socialist internationals who tried to create a Christian-inspired third way. In 1999, it was renamed the Centrist Democrat International due to the participation of groups from other religions such as the Islamic National Awakening Party (PKB) of Indonesia.
The September 2001 leadership conference in Mexico City changed the organization's name to Centrist Democrat International, retaining its original CDI acronym. References to religion were not allowed in many Asian and African countries, and the IDC-CDI would not have been able to extend into Asia and Africa without a name change.
The IDC-CDI's European division is the European People's Party, the largest European political party. Its American equivalent is the Christian Democrat Organization of America. The Democratic Party of the United States maintains links with the IDC-CDI through the National Democratic Institute.
Timeline
December 1925: The first international gathering of Catholic-Christian democratic parties takes place in Paris, establishing the International Secretariat of Democratic Parties of Christian Inspiration (SIPDIC). Member parties were from Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, and Lithuania.
1939 to 1945: World War II suspends the SIPDIC.
23 April 1947: Political leaders from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay meet in Montevideo to create an international organization of Christian democratic parties. Representatives from Bolivia and Peru participate via diplomatic correspondence. The Declaration of Montevideo establishes the Organización Demócrata Cristiana de América (ODCA), although the name is not formalized until their second meeting in July 1949.
3 June 1947: European Christian Democrats form the Nouvelles Équipes Internationales (NEI) in Chaudfontaine, Belgium, prompted by the Swiss a year before restarting the SIPDIC. The NEI, open to non-Catholic parties who subscribed to the principles of social democracy, sees European integration as the best way to prevent the spread of communism into western Europe and encourages exile groups from Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia to attend. The NEI plays a significant role in preparations for the Hague Congress and the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community.
26 July 1950: The Christian Democratic Union of Central Europe (CDUCE) is formed in New York City to assist Christian democratic parties in exile by organizing forces in opposition to communism. By 1955, it begins working with underground operatives in the Soviet bloc while trying to coordinate efforts between European and Latin American Christian Democratic parties.
May and July 1956: The ODCA, NEI, and CDUCE meet for the first time in Paris at a gathering of 33 delegations from 28 countries to discuss the creation of a global Christian democratic organization.
1960: The three regional Christian democratic organizations establish the Christian Democratic International Information and Documentation Centre (CDI-IDC) in Rome to provide political analyses for Christian democratic parties around the world.
1961: The World Union of Christian Democrats (WUCD) is established in Santiago.
1982: The WUCD changes its name to the Christian Democrat International (CDI).
1999: The CDI changes its name to the Centrist Democrat International due to the increasing membership of non-Christian political parties. Since October 2000, some have informally referred to the CDI as the Christian Democrat and People's Parties International.
CDI member parties are generally members of the ODCA or the European People's Party (EPP, the successor of NEI).
Executive committee
The IDC-CDI executive committee consists of the president, secretary-general, and vice-presidents. The president is Andrés Pastrana Arango of Colombia and the Secretary-General is MEP Antonio López-Istúriz of Spain.
Members of the executive committee are:
Andrés Pastrana Arango (Colombia) – President
Antonio López-Istúriz (Spain) – Secretary-General
César Maia (Brazil) – Vice-President
Lourdes Flores Nano (Peru) – Vice-President
Mariana Gómez del Campo (Mexico) – Vice-President
Andrés Hernández (Cuba) – Vice-President
Janez Janša (Slovenia) – Vice-President
Viktor Orbán (Hungary) – Vice-President
Andrej Plenković (Croatia) – Vice-President
Elmar Brok (Germany) – Vice-President
Yara Suos (Cambodia) – Vice-President
Muhaimin Iskandar (Indonesia) – Vice-President
Juan Edgardo Angara (Philippines) – Vice-President
Amine Gemayel (Lebanon) – Vice-President
Adalberto Costa Jr. (Angola) – Vice-President
Desirée Anne Ouloto (Ivory Coast) – Vice-President
Nizar Baraka (Morocco) – Vice-President
Pier Ferdinando Casini (Italy) – Honorary President
José María Aznar (Spain) – Honorary President
Ofelia Acevedo (Cuba) – Honorary Vice-President
Mario David (Portugal) – Honorary Vice-President
Ulisses Correia e Silva (Cape Verde) – Vice-President ex-officio
Manfred Weber (Germany) – Vice-President ex officio
Riccardo Pozzi (Italy) – Treasurer
Member parties
Former members
Andorra – Andorran Democratic Centre
Andorra – New Centre (Catalan: Nou Centre, NC) (until 2011)
Argentina – Justicialist Party (Spanish: Partido Justicialista, PJ) (until 2020s)
Belgium – Humanist Democratic Centre
Ecuador – Christian Democratic Union
Estonia – Pro Patria Union
France – Union for a Popular Movement
Hungary – Hungarian Democratic Forum
Italy – Union of Democrats for Europe
Slovakia – Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party
Spain – Democratic Union of Catalonia
Switzerland – Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
Observer parties
The IDC-CDI has 21 observers, including:
Armenia – Heritage (Armenian: Ժառանգություն)
Azerbaijan – New Azerbaijan Party (Azerbaijani: Yeni Azərbaycan Partiyası, YAP)
Belarus – Belarusian Christian Democracy (Belarusian: Беларуская хрысьціянская дэмакратыя, BKhD)
Belarus - BPF Party (Belarusian: Партыя БНФ)
Bolivia - Christian Democratic Party (Bolivia) (Spanish: Partido Demócrata Cristiano, PDC)
Bonaire - Bonaire Patriotic Union (Papiamentu: Union Patriótiko Boneriano, UPB; Dutch: Patriottische Unie van Bonaire)
Brazil – Brazilian Social Democracy Party (Brazilian Portuguese: Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira, PSDB)
Costa Rica - Social Christian Unity Party (Spanish: Partido Unidad Social Cristiana, PUSC)
Equatorial Guinea – Popular Union of Equatorial Guinea (Spanish: Partido Unión Popular, PUP)
Equatorial Guinea – Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (Spanish: Partido Democrático de Guinea Ecuatorial, PDGE)
Honduras - Christian Democratic Party of Honduras (Spanish: Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Honduras, PDC)
Honduras – National Party of Honduras (Spanish: Partido Nacional de Honduras, PNH)
Kosovo - Democratic League of Kosovo (Albanian: Lidhja Demokratike e Kosovës, LDK)
Lithuania - Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (Lithuanian: Tėvynės sąjunga – Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai, TS-LKD)
Mauritania - Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (French: Parti républicain démocratique et social, PRDS)
Mozambique – Mozambican National Resistance (Portuguese: Resistência Nacional Moçambicana, RENAMO)
Slovakia – Christian Democratic Movement (Slovak: Kresťanskodemokratické hnutie, KDH)
Trinidad and Tobago - United National Congress
Uganda - Democratic Party (Uganda) (Swahili: Chama cha Kidemokrasia, DP)
Uruguay - Christian Democratic Party of Uruguay (Spanish: Partido Demócrata Cristiano del Uruguay)
Uruguay - Partido Nacional
See also
Christian Democrat Organization of America
European People's Party
Wilfried Martens Centre
National Democratic Institute
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
International Democracy Union
Liberal International
Andres Pastrana
Antonio Lopez Isturiz
Notes
Further reading
Papini, Roberto (1997). The Christian Democrat International. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Grabow, Karsten & Hartleb, Florian (Eds.) (2013). Exposing the Demagogues. Center for European Studies & Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.
External links
Centrist Democrat International
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
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