Political position Centre-left | Founded 1991 European affiliation None | |
The Social Democratic Party of Albania (Albanian: Partia Socialdemokrate e Shqipërisë, PSD) is a social-democratic minor political party in Albania. The party held seats in Parliament between 1992 and 1996, and again from 1997 until 2009. It is currently led by Skënder Gjinushi, a former Minister of Education (1987–1991) and Speaker of Parliament.
History
The party was formed on 22 April 1991, and was admitted into the Socialist International at its XIX congress in 1992. The party contested the 1992 parliamentary elections, winning seven seats. It did not run in the 1996 elections, but returned to contest the elections the following year in an alliance with the Socialist Party, with the PSD winning nine seats.
In the 2001 elections the party was reduced to four seats. The 2005 elections saw the party increase its representation back to seven seats. For the 2009 elections it was part of the "Unification for Changes" alliance, but received just 1.8% of the national vote and lost all its seats.