 | |
| Abbreviation | IDU |
|---|---|
| Formation | 24 June 1983; 42 years ago (1983-06-24) |
| Purpose | World federation ofright-of-centre/moderate-to-conservative political parties[1][2] |
| 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) |
TheInternational Democracy Union (IDU; known as theInternational Democrat Union until September 2023)[3] is aninternational alliance ofcentre-right toright-wingpolitical parties.[4][5] Headquartered inMunich, Germany,[6] the IDU consists of 84 full and associate members from 65 countries.[7] It ischaired byStephen Harper, formerprime minister of Canada. It has three affiliated international organizations (International Young Democrat Union,International Women's Democracy Union and SME Global)[8] 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 andEuropean Conservatives and Reformists Party).
The IDU allows "centre-right" conservativepolitical 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".[9] The IDU has some overlap of member parties with theCentrist Democrat International (CDI), but the CDI is morecentrist,Christian democrat andcommunitarian than the IDU.[10]
The group was founded in 1983 as the umbrella organisation for theEuropean Democrat Union (EDU),Caribbean Democrat Union (CDU), and theAsia Pacific Democrat Union (APDU). Created at the instigation of theKonrad Adenauer Foundation andU.S. Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush, the organisation was founded at a joint meeting of the EDU and APDU inLondon, United Kingdom.[11]
The IDU was founded inLondon on 24 June 1983.[12] According toRichard V. Allen, to be admitted as a member, a party must qualify as a "mainstream conservative" party influenced byclassical liberalism.[13]
The founding declaration was signed by 19 persons:[14]
According to a 1985CIA memo, theRepublican Party and theLiberal Democratic Party of Japan had provided half of all funding for the organization at the time.[15] Several leaders of member parties had gained political power with help fromArthur J. Finkelstein, such asViktor Orbán,[16] Benjamin Netanyahu[16][17] and Donald Trump.[18] The IDU shares resources with its members on "campaign technology, fund-raising techniques, opinion polling, advertising and campaign organization".[19] The Conservative Party of Canada and the Republican Party had closely collaborated on resources and strategy during the 2000s and 2010s.[19]
| Country[20] | 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 | Opposition | 0 / 110 (0%) | |
| United Civic Party | UCP | Opposition | 0 / 110 (0%) | ||
 Belgium | New Flemish Alliance | N-VA | Government | 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 | 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 | DISY | 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 | 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 | 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%) | ||
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 | This articleis missing information about Additional leaders of the IDU from 1989 to 1997. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(May 2025) |
| 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 | .jpg) | Kåre Willoch (1928–2021) | 1987 | 1989 | Conservative Party of Norway | |
| 3 | .jpg) | 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, 276 days | Conservative Party of Canada |
Since 1997, all Chairmen have been part of theAnglosphere (United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada).
In addition to being members of the UDI, political parties can also be members of one of its regional unions:
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.
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