Croatian Social Liberal Party

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) is a conservative-liberal political party in Croatia. It was founded on May 20, 1989 in Zagreb, as the first Croatian party formed after Croatia began its multi-party system. Over time, the party moved from liberal ideas toward more conservative positions and is generally seen as centre to centre-right.

HSLS has international and regional links. It is affiliated with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and the Liberal International, and it participates in the Liberal South East European Network. Nationally, it has often worked in coalitions and has been part of conservative alliances since 2015, most notably with the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).

The party’s leadership has changed several times. Since 2019, HSLS has been led by Dario Hrebak, who is also the mayor of Bjelovar. As of the 2024 Croatian elections, HSLS won two seats in the 151-member Sabor (Croatian Parliament) as part of a broader conservative coalition. The party’s membership was about 13,700 in 2021. HSLS has not had a member in the European Parliament in recent years.

Key historical points include its early role as a major opposition force in the 1990s, winning a governing majority in 2000 in coalition with SDP, internal splits that pushed the party toward conservatism, and a pattern of fluctuating parliamentary representation since 2003. Notable founders and leaders include Slavko Goldstein, Dražen Budiša, Vlado Gotovac, and Đurđa Adlešič. The party’s traditional colors are yellow, magenta, and blue.