Social Democrats of Croatia
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Social Democrats of Croatia (Croatian: Socijaldemokrati Hrvatske, SDH) is a now defunct left-wing political party in Croatia.
It was founded in 1990 under the name of Social Democratic Party of Croatia (Croatian: Socijaldemokratska stranka Hrvatske, SDSH). Like most parties created at the time, it was opposed to Communist government and wanted Croatia to secede from Yugoslavia, yet it had the distinction of being of the few to present itself as left-wing. The party founders included many prominent intellectuals, including Miroslav Tuđman, who was at the time opposed to his father and future president Franjo Tuđman.
The party claimed that it was continuing tradition of the very first Social Democratic Party of Croatia, created in 1894 and merged in 1919 into Communist Party of Yugoslavia.
On the first parliamentary elections in 1990, SDSH joined moderate Coalition of People's Accord and fared badly, winning only a handful of seats. However, its position was strong enough to warrant ministerial post in the national unity government of Franjo Gregurić in 1991. The party lost that post when its prominent member Zvonko Lerotić defected to Croatian Democratic Union.
Before 1992 parliamentary and presidential elections SDH was involved in bitter dispute with former Croatian Communist Party over its rebranding into Social Democratic Party of Croatia. SDH claimed that its name was stolen.
The election showed SDP to be much stronger party than SDSH, which failed to enter Sabor. At the same time SDSH leader Antun Vujić; finished last in the presidential race.
This ultimately led to SDH and SDP patching their difference and former being incorporated into the latter in 1994.
