SOCIAL
DEMOCRACY - BACKGROUND
The Socialist
International is the worldwide organization of social
democratic, socialist and labor parties. It currently brings
together 159 political parties and organizations from all
continents.
The Socialist International, whose origins go back to the early
international organizations of the labor movement, has existed
in its present form since 1951, when it was re-established at
the Frankfurt Congress. Since then it has been increasingly
active and grown considerably in membership, particularly in
recent years doubling the number of its members during the
1990s. Labor, social democratic and socialist parties are now a
major political force in democracies around the world. Numerous
member parties of the International, in all continents, are
currently leading governments or are the main opposition force.
The supreme decision-making bodies of the International are the
Congress, which meets every three to four years, and the
Council, which includes all member parties and organizations and
which meets twice a year.
George A. Papandreou, President of PASOK, the organization’s
member party in Greece, is President of the Socialist
International, elected in January 2006. Luis Ayala (Chile) is
the Secretary General, re-elected at the last Congress. The
Vice-Presidents, who are also elected, together with the
President and the Secretary General, make up the Presidium of
the International, the leadership of the organization. Former
Presidents and Secretaries General of the organization
From 1976 to 1992 the late Willy Brandt, former Chancellor of
Germany and winner of the 1971 Nobel Peace Prize, was President
of the Socialist International. Pierre Mauroy, former Prime
Minister of France, served as President from 1992 to 1999, and
António Guterres, former Prime Minister of Portugal, from 1999
to 2005.
The secretariat of the Socialist International is located in
London and coordinates the activities and initiatives of the
International, convenes its meetings and conferences, issues
statements and press releases and produces its publications.
The International established for the current inter-Congress
period, in addition to the statutory Ethics Committee and
Committee for Finance and Administration, committees on subjects
or regions, as follows: the Economy, Social Cohesion and the
Environment; Local Authorities; Migrations; Peace, Democracy and
Human Rights; Africa; Asia and the Pacific; CIS and the
Caucasus; Latin America and the Caribbean; the Mediterranean;
the Middle East; South Eastern Europe and working groups within
some of these committees on the Bretton Woods System; the
Kurdish Question; and South Pacific Democracies.
These committees or working groups have specific programs of
activities and meet regularly.
The Socialist International also frequently sends missions or
delegations to various countries or regions. In recent years
these have visited on many occasions the Middle East, Africa,
Latin America and the Caribbean, and Central and Eastern Europe.
The Socialist International is financed by annual affiliation
fees from its member parties and its fraternal and associated
organizations. The International's budget is decided
democratically by all members at its Council meetings. The 2007
Budget totals £1,155,000 (pounds sterling). During 2006 the
International registered a total income of £1,076,000 with a
total expenditure of £1,073,000, which broke down into £64,000
for communications; £125,000 for administration; £380,000 for
the Secretariat; £101,000 for conferences and council meetings;
£99,000 for delegations and missions; £114,000 for committees
and other meetings, as well as £183,000 for Socialist
International Women.
As a non-governmental organization, the Socialist International
has consultative status (Category I) with the United Nations,
and works internationally with a large number of other
organizations.
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Social
Democratic International, Secretariat |
