Social Democratic Party (Portugal)
The Social Democratic Party (Portuguese: Partido Social Democrata, ), is a centre-right liberal conservative political party in Portugal. It is commonly known by its initials, PSD; on ballot papers, its initials appear as PPD/PSD, with the first three letters coming from the party's original name, Democratic People's Party (Partido Popular Democrático). The party won the June 2011 election, with 108 out of 230 seats in the Assembly of the Republic.
The party was founded in 1974, two weeks after the Carnation Revolution. In 1979, it allied with centre-right parties to form the Democratic Alliance, and won that year's election. After the 1983 election, the party formed a grand coalition with the rival Socialist Party, before winning election under new leader Aníbal Cavaco Silva in 1985. Cavaco Silva served as Prime Minister for ten years, instituting major economic liberalisation and winning two landslide victories. After he stepped down, the PSD lost the 1995 election. The party was returned to power under José Manuel Durão Barroso in 2002, but was defeated in the 2005 election. The current leader, Pedro Passos Coelho, was elected on 26 March 2010, and became Prime Minister about a year later.
Despite the party's name, the PSD belongs to the centre-right, to the right of the Socialist Party and the left of the People's Party. Its first political position, after its foundation as the People's Democratic Party, was centre-left and social democratic, but it moved to the right during the 1980s. The PSD is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and the Centrist Democrat International, having belonged to the ELDR and the Liberal International until 1996.
The party publishes the weekly Povo Livre (Free People) newspaper.
Read more about Social Democratic Party (Portugal): Factions, Election Results, List of Leaders, List of General Secretaries (second-in-command), Prime Ministers, Presidents of The Republic
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