The Founding Committee of the Democratic Party
Encyclopedia
The Founding Committee of the Democratic Party (DS
) were a group of pro-democracy activists and intellectuals who believed in transforming the communist one-party state of Yugoslavia into a modern democratic civil society. They included anti-communist dissidents and liberal academics, well known poets, writers and film and theatre directors, who all came together in December 1989 to begin the process of re-establishing the Democratic Party, which was to be the first opposition, non-communist political party in Serbia since 1945 .
The first public proclamation of the Founding Committee was made on December 11, 1989 at a press conference held in Belgrade where the members publicly declared their intention to re-establish the Democratic Party
(DS) which had been banned by the communists in 1945. The Founding Committee called upon all democratically minded citizens to join them in this endeavour.
There were thirteen signatories to the initial proclamation made by the members of the Founding Committee setting out their intention to initiate the re-establishment of the Democratic Party:
Over the following weeks nine other prominent intellectuals joined the thirteen initiators as members of the Founding Committee. They all worked together towards re-establishing the Democratic Party by drafting the first party political program and making preparations for the founding party conference .
By the end of December 1989, the Founding Committee also included:
In the first two weeks of January the Founding Committee drafted the political program of the soon to be re-established Democratic Party which was published on 18 January 1990 as the "Pismo o namerama" (Letter of intent) to inform the public of the democratic principles and policies which the Democratic Party would pursue. The Letter of Intent was signed by all the 22 Members of the Founding Committee .
Throughout January 1990 the Founding Committee worked on publicising the party's proposed political program and its democratic aims. It worked on gathering potential party members to ensure a successful founding conference. It finally organised the founding conference of the renewed Democratic Party on 3 February 1990 at which the party was formally re-established by several hundred founder members, including former members from the 1940s and a younger generation of new members. At the founding conference the founder members elected the party President, the Executive and General Committees tasked with running the party. Following the founding conference the party started establishing local committees and networks throughout Serbia.
However, the Democratic Party was strictly an illegal organisation until late spring of 1990 when it was finally given permission to be formally registered as a political party by the Communist regime. At that time the party newspaper Demokratija (Democracy) was also established to inform the public of what the DS was trying to achieve, since the Communist controlled state media did not give any coverage to it.
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
) were a group of pro-democracy activists and intellectuals who believed in transforming the communist one-party state of Yugoslavia into a modern democratic civil society. They included anti-communist dissidents and liberal academics, well known poets, writers and film and theatre directors, who all came together in December 1989 to begin the process of re-establishing the Democratic Party, which was to be the first opposition, non-communist political party in Serbia since 1945 .
The first public proclamation of the Founding Committee was made on December 11, 1989 at a press conference held in Belgrade where the members publicly declared their intention to re-establish the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
(DS) which had been banned by the communists in 1945. The Founding Committee called upon all democratically minded citizens to join them in this endeavour.
There were thirteen signatories to the initial proclamation made by the members of the Founding Committee setting out their intention to initiate the re-establishment of the Democratic Party:
- Kosta ČavoškiKosta CavoškiKosta Čavoški is a professor at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law. He is an outspoken critic of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and is a Serbian nationalist.He was one of the thirteen initiators of the re-establishment of the Democratic Party in Serbia on...
, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer... - Milovan DanojlićMilovan DanojlicMilovan Danojlić , is a famous Serbian writer, who lives and works in France. He has been a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts since 2000. In 1989 he was a member of the Founding Committee of the Democratic Party in Yugoslavia...
- Zoran Đinđić, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
- Gojko Đogo
- Vladimir GligorovVladimir GligorovVladimir Gligorov is a prominent economist and was a founder of the Democratic Party in Serbia in December 1989. He is the son of the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Macedonia, Kiro Gligorov....
, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer... - Slobodan InićSlobodan InicSlobodan Inić is a political commentator and professor of sociology at the University of Belgrade. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in Serbia, Yugoslavia in December 1989.Published books:...
, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer... - Marko Janković
- Vojislav KoštunicaVojislav KoštunicaVojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer... - prof. Dragoljub MićunovićDragoljub MicunovicDragoljub Mićunović, PhD is a prominent Serbian politician and philosopher.-Early life:...
, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer... - Borislav PekićBorislav PekicBorislav Pekić was a Serbian writer. He was born in 1930, to a prominent family in Montenegro, at that time part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. From 1945 until his immigration to London in 1971, he lived in Belgrade...
- Miodrag PerišićMiodrag PerišicMiodrag Perišić was one of the founders and a former vice president of the modern-day Democratic Party in Serbia and a former FR Yugoslavia's ambassador in Canada...
- prof. Radoslav StojanovićRadoslav StojanovicRadoslav Stojanović, PhD was Professor of Law at the University of Belgrade and was a member of the Founding Committee of the Democratic Party in December 1989...
, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
and - Dušan VukajlovićDušan VukajlovicDušan Vukajlović was a well known Serbian poet who was a member of the Founding Committee of the Democratic Party in Serbia, Yugoslavia in December 1989. The Democratic Party was the first non-communist opposition party in Serbia since 1945.-References:*...
Over the following weeks nine other prominent intellectuals joined the thirteen initiators as members of the Founding Committee. They all worked together towards re-establishing the Democratic Party by drafting the first party political program and making preparations for the founding party conference .
By the end of December 1989, the Founding Committee also included:
- Vida OgnjenovićVida OgnjenovicVida Ognjenović is a famous Serbian theater director, playwright, writer, drama professor and diplomat....
- prof. Ljubomir TadićLjubomir TadicLjubomir "Ljuba" Tadić is a law graduate and a professor of philosophy at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy as well as a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts...
, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer... - Mirko PetrovićMirko Petrovic (politician)Mirko Petrović is a Serbian politician and former Chief Executive Officer of one of the largest Serbian companies, the Dunav Insurance Company. He was a member of the Founding Committee of the Democratic Party in December 1989...
- Đurđe Ninković
- prof. Nikola MiloševićNikola Miloševic (politician)Nikola Milošević, PhD was a Serbian writer, political philosopher, literary critic, and politician....
, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer... - Aleksandar-Saša Petrović
- Aleksandar IlićAleksandar IlicAleksandar Ilić is a professor of literature at Belgrade University. He was appointed the Ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro in the Czech Republic between 2001 and 2005....
, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer... - Vladan VasilijevićVladan VasilijevicVladan Vasilijević was one of the most prominent Yugoslav specialists in criminal law in the 1980s. Throughout the 1990s he was engaged as a human rights lawyer promoting a democratic civil society and the rule of law in Serbia. In December 1989 he was one of the members of the Founding Committee...
, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
and - Zvezdana PopovićZvezdana PopovicZvezdana Popović, a scientific researcher, was a member of the Founding Committee of the Democratic Party, the first non-communist opposition party in Serbia, from late December 1989.-References:*...
, PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
In the first two weeks of January the Founding Committee drafted the political program of the soon to be re-established Democratic Party which was published on 18 January 1990 as the "Pismo o namerama" (Letter of intent) to inform the public of the democratic principles and policies which the Democratic Party would pursue. The Letter of Intent was signed by all the 22 Members of the Founding Committee .
Throughout January 1990 the Founding Committee worked on publicising the party's proposed political program and its democratic aims. It worked on gathering potential party members to ensure a successful founding conference. It finally organised the founding conference of the renewed Democratic Party on 3 February 1990 at which the party was formally re-established by several hundred founder members, including former members from the 1940s and a younger generation of new members. At the founding conference the founder members elected the party President, the Executive and General Committees tasked with running the party. Following the founding conference the party started establishing local committees and networks throughout Serbia.
However, the Democratic Party was strictly an illegal organisation until late spring of 1990 when it was finally given permission to be formally registered as a political party by the Communist regime. At that time the party newspaper Demokratija (Democracy) was also established to inform the public of what the DS was trying to achieve, since the Communist controlled state media did not give any coverage to it.