The Democratic Party ( sk, Demokratická strana) was a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, existing during the final phase of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and the

Third Czechoslovak Republic The Third Czechoslovak Republic ( cs, Třetí Československá republika, sk, Tretia česko-slovenská republika), officially the Czechoslovak Republic (, ), emerged as a sovereign state after the end of World War II, from 1945 to 1948. It was ...

, from 1944 to 1948.

History

It arose during the 1944

Slovak National Uprising The Slovak National Uprising ( sk, Slovenské národné povstanie, abbreviated SNP) was a military uprising organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. This resistance movement was represented mainly by the members of the ...

as a party for all non-communist participants (i.e. the counterpart of the

Communist Party of Slovakia The Communist Party of Slovakia ( sk, Komunistická strana Slovenska, KSS) is a communist party in Slovakia, formed in 1992, through the merger of the Communist Party of Slovakia – 91 and the Communist League of Slovakia. The party is observer ...

). It was led by Ján Ursíny (1896–1972),

Vavro Šrobár Vavrinec Ján Šrobár, known as Vavro Šrobár (9 August 1867 – 6 December 1950) was a Slovak doctor and politician. He was a major figure in Slovak politics in the interwar period. Šrobár played an important role in the creation of Czec ...

(1867–1950) and Jozef Lettrich (1905–1969). All three had been members of the agrarian

Republican Party of Farmers and Peasants sk, Republikánska strana zemedelského a maloroľníckeho ľudu , logo = , leader = Stanislav Kubr Josef Žďárský Antonín ŠvehlaRudolf Beran , foundation = , dissolution = , merged = Party of National Unity , you ...

before World War II. In the 1946 elections in Czechoslovakia, the party won as much as 62% of the Slovak votes and 43 of 300 seats in the Czechoslovak Constituent National Assembly. However, the party was disempowered in 1947–48 by the Communists, who had a majority in the central government in Prague (because unlike in Slovakia, the Communists had won the 1946 elections in the

Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands ( cs, České země ) are the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia. Together the three have formed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia since 1918, the Czech Socialist Republic since ...

). Following the Communist takeover in the February 1948 coup d'état, the party was disbanded. Ursíny was imprisoned for several years, while Lettrich fled to the United States and became a leader of the

Council of Free Czechoslovakia A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

exile organisation. Those members who accepted the communist dominance reorganised in March 1948 as the

Party of Slovak Revival Party of Slovak Revival ( sk, Strana slovenskej obrody, SSO) was a political party founded in 1948 by pro-Communist members of the Slovak Democratic Party. It was accepted into the Czechoslovak National Front and got 17 seats in the Slovak parl ...

(''Strana slovenskej obrody'', SSO), a

bloc party Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle ( ...

within the pro-communist National Front. In December 1989, at the end of the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

, the Party of Slovak Revival rebranded itself as a new Democratic Party, claiming to be a continuation of the 1940s Democratic Party.

Election results

{, class="wikitable" ! Year ! Leader ! Vote ! Vote % ! Seats ! Place ! Government , - , 1946 , Jozef Lettrich , 999,622 , 14.1 , , 6th , style="background-color:#77EE77" , {{center, Yes Conservative parties in Slovakia Defunct agrarian political parties Defunct political parties in Slovakia Political parties in Czechoslovakia Political parties established in 1944 1944 establishments in Slovakia Political parties disestablished in 1948 1948 disestablishments in Czechoslovakia