Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity Bнатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за македонско национално единство
Leader	Nikola Gruevski
Founded	1893 (IMRO) June 17, 1990 (Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity)
Headquarters	Skopje
Youth wing	Youth Force Union
Ideology	Macedonian nationalism Conservatism, National conservatism, Pro-Europeanism[citation needed]
Political position	Centre-right to right-wing
International affiliation	International Democrat Union
European affiliation	European People's Party (observer)
Official colours	Red,      Black,      Gold
Parliament	56 / 123
Website
www.vmro-dpmne.org.mk
Politics of the Republic of Macedonia Political parties Elections

First congress of VMRO-DPMNE on June 17, 1990 in Skopje

The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (Macedonian: Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за македонско национално единство, ВМРО-ДПМНЕ, Vnatrešna makedonska revolucionerna organizacija – Demokratska partija za makedonsko nacionalno edinstvo, VMRO–DPMNE) is a nationalist political party in the Republic of Macedonia. The party describes itself as a Christian democratic and pro-European political party which supports the admission of Macedonia to NATO and the European Union. It is ethnically based, claiming that "the party's goals and objectives express the tradition of the Macedonian people on whose political struggle and concepts it is based."

Background

The party's name derives from the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, a rebel movement formed in 1893. After undergoing various transformations, the original organization was suppressed in the 1930s, at which time the territory of the current Republic of Macedonia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The VMRO–DPMNE claims ideological descent from the old VMRO.

Post-Yugoslav revival

Following the death of Josip Broz Tito in 1980, SFR Yugoslavia began to disintegrate and democratic politics were revived in Macedonia. Many exiles returned to the newly independent Republic of Macedonia from abroad, and a new generation of young Macedonian intellectuals rediscovered the history of Macedonian nationalism. In these circumstances it was not surprising that the name of the famed Macedonian rebels was revived. Under the name VMRO–DPMNE, the party was founded on June 17, 1990 in Skopje.

Rise to power

After the first multi-party elections in 1990, VMRO–DPMNE became the strongest party in the Parliament. It did not form a government because it did not achieve a majority of seats; this forced it to form a coalition with an ethnic Albanian party, but it refused to do so. The party boycotted the second round of the 1994 elections claiming fraud in the first round. After winning the 1998 election, VMRO–DPMNE surprised many people when finally forming a coalition government with an ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Party of Albanians. After their victory in the elections, they formed a new government with Ljubco Georgievski as Prime Minister. In 1999, VMRO–DPMNE's candidate Boris Trajkovski was elected President, completing VMRO–DPMNE's takeover. Once in office, Trajkovski adopted a more moderate policy than expected.

In 2002 VMRO–DPMNE's government was defeated at the legislative elections. In an alliance with the Liberal Party of Macedonia, VMRO–DPMNE won 28 out of 120 seats. In 2004 Trajkovski died in a plane crash and Branko Crvenkovski was elected President, defeating the VMRO–DPMNE's candidate Saško Kedev.

The first President of the VMRO–DPMNE and its founder was Ljubco Georgievski, and the current president of the party is Nikola Gruevski.

Nikola Gruevski announcing victory of 2006 parliamentary elections on Macedonia Square in Skopje

The party became the largest party in Parliament again after a net gain of over a dozen seats in the July 5, 2006 parliamentary elections. With 44 of 120 seats, the party formed a government in coalition with the Democratic Party of Albanians.

On May 15, 2007, the party became an observer-member of the European People's Party (EPP).

On 1 June 2008, following the dismissal of the Macedonian Parliament on April 12, early parliamentary elections were held. The elections were followed by series of violent incidents in the north-western parts of Macedonia by the Albanian minority, which has a national majority in those parts of Macedonia, while in the other parts of the country, the elections were followed in peaceful, fair and democratic atmosphere. The results were victorious for VMRO–DPMNE and for its leader and prime minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Gruevski. In the 120 seats Parliament, VMRO–DPMNE won 63 seats, enough to form its own government, and by that, the party won 4 more years of dominance in the Macedonian Parliament (mandate period 2008-2012) and government control. The acting President of the Republic of Macedonia (mandate period 2004-2009), Branko Crvenkovski, acknowledged the victory of VMRO–DPMNE on 1 June 2008 parliamentary elections, and after the Parliament constituted itself on the 21st of June, 2008, the President Branko Crvenkovski on the 23rd of June, 2008 gave the VMRO–DPMNE's leader and current and future prime minister Nikola Gruevski the mandate to form the new Government of the Republic of Macedonia (mandate period 2008-2012).

In 2009, the party had another two major successes. While the VMRO–DPMNE-led coalition "For a better Macedonia" won in 56 out of 84 municipalities, the party's proposed presidential candidate Gjorge Ivanov also won the presidential election.

External links

• Official website (Macedonian)