Leader Milorad Dodik | Founded 1996 | |
Headquarters Petra Kočića 5,
78000 Banja Luka Ideology Social democracy
(mild) Pro-Russian
Serbian nationalism Political position Centre-left (economic)
Right-wing (social, cultural) International affiliation Socialist International (suspended) | ||
The Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (Serbian: Савез независних социјалдемократа/Savez nezavisnih socijaldemokrata, СНСД/SNSD), formerly the Party of Independent Social Democrats (Странка независних социјалдемократа/Stranka nezavisnih socijaldemokrata, SNSD), is a Serb political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina, founded in 1996. Its president, Milorad Dodik, is the current President of the Republika Srpska.
Contents
1991–96
The party grew out of the Independent Members of Parliament Caucus (IMPC), known as "the club", of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS) in 1996. The club was in opposition to the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) during the Bosnian War (1992–96). The IMPC was established from the caucus of ethnic Serb members of the Parliament of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina elected in 1990 from the election list of the Union of Reform Forces. The Serb members of the Parliament of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, the majority of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), including the members of the IMPC, established the Assembly of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 24 October 1991 (later renamed National Assembly of the Republika Srpska), following the majority of the parliament (mostly Croats and Bosniaks) approved the "Memorandum on Sovereignty" on 15 October 1991. In 1992, the Bosnian parliament held an independence referendum which led to the declaration of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The absolute majority of the newly founded NSRS was from the SDS. The IMPC was the only parliamentary opposition from the founding of the National Assembly through the first post-war elections in September 1996. The Party of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) participated in the elections in the "Union for Peace and Progress" coalition along with the Socialist Party of RS (SPRS) and a minor party. The club and later party (SNSD) was chaired by Milorad Dodik.
1997–present
In the early 1997 elections it cooperated with SPRS and the Serb National Alliance (SNS) in the Sloga ("Unity") coalition. The SNS was founded by Biljana Plavšić, who had left the SDS following internal clashes. Dodik was the RS PM in 1998–2001.
In December 1999 the Social Liberal Party of Republika Srpska merged into the SNSD, and after local elections in 2000 Nikola Špirić's Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) merged into it in 2001, the SNSD then changed its name to the "Alliance of Independent Social Democrats", keeping its old abbreviation. DSP was a splinter party of the SPRS. In August 2002 the New Labour Party of Republika Srpska merged into SNSD.
The SNSD was suspended from Socialist International in 2011 for continuing to "espouse a nationalist and extremist" line. It was later expelled on 4 September 2012.
Ideology
The party is nominally socialist, centre-left in the economic section, right wing in the social and cultural section, having transformed since the 1990s, and can now also be classified as nationalist and secessionist (see Proposed secession of Republika Srpska).
Positions held
Major positions held by Alliance of Independent Social Democrats members: