Serb Democratic Party Српска демократска странка Srpska demokratska stranka | |
|---|---|
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| Abbreviation | SDS (СДС) |
| President | Jovica Radulović (acting) |
| Founder | Radovan Karadžić |
| Founded | 12 July 1990; 35 years ago (12 July 1990) |
| Headquarters | Trg Ilidžanske brigade,Pale,Istočno Sarajevo |
| Youth wing | Youth SDS |
| Membership | 40,000 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-right toright-wing[1] |
| Regional affiliation | Serb Democratic Party (Croatia) Serb Democratic Party (Serbia) |
| Colors |
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| HoR BiH | 2 / 42 |
| HoP BiH | 1 / 15 |
| NA RS | 11 / 83 |
| Mayors | 10 / 145 |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| www | |
TheSerb Democratic Party (Serbian:Српска демократска странка,СДС,romanized: Srpska demokratska stranka,SDS) is aSerbpolitical party inBosnia and Herzegovina.
In the parliamentary elections of October 2006, the SDS lost its status as the leading party inRepublika Srpska and the main Serb party in Bosnia and Herzegovina to theAlliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), led by thepresident of Republika SrpskaMilorad Dodik.[2] Despite making minor gains in the 2010 and 2014 elections, by 2018 the party had fallen to below 20% of the parliament, the lowest seat standing in its history.
The party is under sanctions from theUnited States for "failing to arrest and turn over war crimes suspects to an international tribunal." The sanctions prohibit any transfer of funds and material from the United States to the SDS and vice versa.[3][4] The party is on the list ofSpecially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons by theOffice of Foreign Assets Control U.S. agency.[5] To avoid the sanctions, the SDS officials established a separate legal entity calledSDS – The Will of the People (Serbian:СДС – Воља народа) in 2020.
Radovan Karadžić founded the Serb Democratic Party in 1990. The party aimed at unifying theBosnian Serb community, asJovan Rašković'sSerb Democratic Party did with the Serbs in Croatia, and staying part of Yugoslavia (as the "Third Yugoslavia" withSerbia and Montenegro) in the event of secession by those two republics from the federation.[6]
Throughout September 1991, the SDS began to establish various "Serb Autonomous Regions" throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the Bosnian parliament voted on sovereignty on 15 October 1991, a separateSerb Assembly was founded on 24 October 1991 inBanja Luka, in order to exclusively represent the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The following month, Bosnian Serbs held areferendum which resulted in an overwhelming vote in favor of staying in a federal state with Serbia and Montenegro, as part of Yugoslavia. In December 1991, a top-secret document entitled ‘For the organization and activity of organs of the Serbs people in Bosnia-Herzegovina in extraordinary circumstances’ was drawn up by the SDS leadership. This was a centralized program for the takeover of each municipality in the country, through the creation of shadow governments and para-governmental structures through various "crisis headquarters", and by preparing loyal Serbs for the takeover in co-ordination with theYugoslav People's Army (JNA).[7]
Historically, the party had a strongultranationalist,[8][9]separatist[9][10] andIslamophobic ideology[citation needed].
| No. | Name (Birth–Death) | Portrait | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radovan Karadžić (born 1945) |  | 12 July 1990 | 19 July 1996 |
| 2 | Aleksa Buha (born 1939) |  | 19 July 1996 | 1 July 1998 |
| 3 | Dragan Kalinić (born 1948) |  | 1 July 1998 | 20 July 2004 |
| 4 | Dragan Čavić (born 1958) |  | 20 July 2004 | 15 December 2006 |
| 5 | Mladen Bosić (born 1961) |  | 15 December 2006 | 8 October 2016 |
| 6 | Vukota Govedarica (born 1976) | 23 October 2016 | 30 June 2019 | |
| 7 | Mirko Šarović (born 1956) | .jpg) | 30 June 2019 | 12 November 2022 |
| 8 | Milan Miličević (born 1963) | 12 November 2022 | 13 July 2025 | |
| — | Jovica Radulović (born 1983) Acting | | 13 July 2025 | Incumbent |
| Year | Leader | Popular vote | % | # of seats | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Radovan Karadžić | 590,431 | 26.14 | 72 / 240 | Coalition |
| Year | Leader | Popular vote | % | HoR | Seat change | HoP | Seat change | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Aleksa Buha | 578,723 | 24.11 | 9 / 42 | New | 5 / 15 | New | Coalition |
| 1998 | Dragan Kalinić | 162,721 | 9.43 | 4 / 42 |  5 | 1 / 15 | 4 | Opposition |
| 2000 | 248,579 | 16.68 | 6 / 42 |  2 | 1 / 15 |  0 | Opposition | |
| 2002 | 172,544 | 14.04 | 5 / 42 | 1 | 3 / 15 | 2 | Coalition | |
| 2006 | Dragan Čavić | 108,616 | 7.69 | 3 / 42 | 2 | 1 / 15 | 2 | Opposition |
| 2010 | Mladen Bosić | 137,844 | 8.40 | 4 / 42 | 1 | 1 / 15 | 0 | Coalition(2010–2013) |
| Opposition(2013–2014) | ||||||||
| 2014 | 211,562 | 12.97 | 5 / 42 | 1 | 2 / 15 | 1 | Coalition | |
| 2018[a] | Vukota Govedarica | 162,414 | 9.80 | 3 / 42 | 2 | 1 / 15 | 1 | Opposition |
| 2022 | Mirko Šarović | 112,250 | 7.07 | 2 / 42 | 1 | 1 / 15 | 0 | Opposition |
| Year | Leader | Popular vote | % of popular vote | # of seats | Seat change | Coalition | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Radovan Karadžić | MPs that left the Bosnian parliament | 72 / 83 | — | — | Majority | |
| 1996 | Aleksa Buha | 568,980 | 52.3% | 45 / 83 | 27 | — | Majority |
| 1997 | 209,767 | 28.9% | 24 / 83 | 21 | — | Opposition | |
| 1998 | Dragan Kalinić | 160,594 | 21.7% | 19 / 83 | 5 | — | Opposition |
| 2000 | 226,226 | 36.1% | 31 / 83 | 12 | — | Coalition | |
| 2002 | 159,164 | 31.2% | 26 / 83 | 5 | — | Coalition | |
| 2006 | Dragan Čavić | 103,035 | 18.27% | 17 / 83 | 9 | — | Opposition |
| 2010 | Mladen Bosić | 120,136 | 18.97% | 18 / 83 | 1 | — | Opposition |
| 2014 | 173,824 | 26.26% | 21 / 83 | 3 | With | Opposition | |
| 2018 | Vukota Govedarica | 123,515 | 18.04% | 16 / 83 | 5 | With | Opposition |
| 2022 | Mirko Šarović | 95,648 | 14.95 % | 13 / 83 | 3 | — | Opposition |
| Election year | # | Candidate | Votes | % | Note | Elected? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1st | Momčilo Krajišnik | 690,646 | 67.3% | — | Yes |
| 1998 | 2nd | Momčilo Krajišnik | 314,236 | 44.7% | — | No |
| 2002 | 1st | Mirko Šarović | 180,212 | 35.5% | — | Yes |
| 2006 | 2nd | Mladen Bosić | 130,824 | 24.2% | — | No |
| 2010 | 2nd | Mladen Ivanić | 285,951 | 47.31% | Support | No |
| 2014 | 1st | Mladen Ivanić | 318,196 | 48.71% | Support | Yes |
| 2018 | 2nd | Mladen Ivanić | 292,065 | 42.74% | Support | No |
| 2022 | 2nd | Mirko Šarović | 224,912 | 35.45% | — | No |
| Election year | # | Candidate | Votes | % | Note | Elected? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1st | Biljana Plavšić | 636.654 | 59.2% | — | Yes |
| 1998 | 1st | Nikola Poplašen | 322,684 | 43.9% | Support | Yes |
| 2000 | 1st | Mirko Šarović | 313,572 | 49.8% | — | Yes |
| 2002 | 1st | Dragan Čavić | 183,121 | 35.9% | — | Yes |
| 2006 | 2nd | Dragan Čavić | 163,041 | 29.4% | — | No |
| 2007 | 2nd | Ognjen Tadić | 142,898 | 33.8% | — | No |
| 2010 | 2nd | Ognjen Tadić | 227,239 | 35.92% | — | No |
| 2014 | 2nd | Ognjen Tadić | 296,021 | 44.28% | — | No |
| 2018 | 2nd | Vukota Govedarica | 284,140 | 41.81% | — | No |
| 2022 | 2nd | Jelena Trivić | 273,245 | 42.84% | Support | No |
Major positions held by Serb Democratic Party members:
| Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Years |
|---|---|
| Momčilo Krajišnik | 1996–1998 |
| Mirko Šarović | 2002–2003 |
| Borislav Paravac | 2003–2006 |
| Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Years |
| Boro Bosić | 1997–1999 |
| Spasoje Tuševljak | 2000 |
| President of Republika Srpska | Years |
| Radovan Karadžić | 1992–1996 |
| Biljana Plavšić | 1996–1998 |
| Mirko Šarović | 2000–2002 |
| Dragan Čavić | 2002–2006 |
| Prime Minister of Republika Srpska | Years |
| Branko Đerić | 1992–1993 |
| Vladimir Lukić | 1993–1994 |
| Dušan Kozić | 1994–1995 |
| Rajko Kasagić | 1995–1996 |
| Gojko Kličković | 1996–1998 |
| Pero Bukejlović | 2005–2006 |
| President of Republika Srpska National Assembly | Years |
| Momčilo Krajišnik | 1992–1996 |
| Dragan Kalinić | 1996–1998 2000–2004 |
| Dušan Stojičić | 2004–2006 |
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that, under the sanctions, any assets the Serbian Democratic Party had in the United States would be frozen. In addition, he said, any members of that party or its partner, the Party for Democratic Progress, would be banned from entering the United States.
