The Union for the Defence of the Republic (1968, French: Union pour la défense de la République) or Union of Democrats for the Republic (1968–1976, French: Union des Démocrates pour la République), commonly abbreviated UDR, was a Gaullist political party of France from 1968 to 1976.
It was the successor to Charles de Gaulle's earlier party, Rally of the French People, and was organised in 1958, along with the founding of the Fifth Republic as the Union for the New Republic (UNR), and in 1962 merged with the Democratic Union of Labour, a left-Gaullist group. In 1967 it was joined by some Christian Democrats to form the Union of Democrats for the Fifth Republic, later dropping the 'Fifth'. After the May 1968 crisis, it formed a right-wing coalition named Union for the Defense of the Republic (UDR); it was subsequently renamed Union of Democrats for the Republic, retaining the abbreviation UDR, in October 1968.
It survived de Gaulle's death by only six years. It dissolved in 1976, and its successor was Jacques Chirac's Rally for the Republic.
Read more about Union Of Democrats For The Republic: Secretaries-general
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