Abbreviation | CDI (English), IDC (French, Spanish) |
---|---|
Formation | 30 July 1961[1] |
Purpose | Christian democracy Social conservatism |
Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
Region served | Worldwide |
Membership | 80 political parties |
Official languages |
|
Chairman | Andrés Pastrana Arango |
Subsidiaries | Youth of the Centrist Democrat International |
Affiliations | Christian Democrat Organization of America (ODCA) European People's Party (EPP) National Democratic Institute (NDI) |
Website | idc-cdi.com |
Part of a series on |
Christian democracy |
---|
![]() |
The Centrist Democrat International (Spanish: Internacional Demócrata de Centro) is a Christian-democratic political international. Until 2001, it was known as the Christian Democrat International (CDI); before 1999, it was known as the Christian Democrat and People's Parties International. This earlier name is still sometimes used colloquially.
It is the primary international political group dedicated to promoting Christian democracy. Although it attracts parties from around the globe, its members are drawn principally from Europe and Latin America. Some are also members of the conservative International Democrat Union (IDU), although the CDI is closer to the European-conservative political centre and more communitarian than the IDU.
The CDI was formed in 1961 in Santiago, Chile, as the Christian Democrat World Union, building on the legacy of other Christian democrat internationals which were an alternative to the socialist internationals who tried to create a Christian-inspired third way. In 1999, it was renamed the Centrist Democrat International due to the participation of groups from other religions such as the Islamic National Awakening Party (PKB) of Indonesia.
The September 2001 leadership conference in Mexico City changed the organization's name to Centrist Democrat International, retaining its original CDI acronym. References to religion were not allowed in many Asian and African countries, and the CDI would not have been able to extend into Asia and Africa without a name change.[2]
The CDI's European division is the European People's Party, the largest European political party.[citation needed] Its American equivalent is the Christian Democrat Organization of America. The Democratic Party of the United States maintains links with the CDI through the National Democratic Institute.
CDI member parties are generally members of the ODCA or the European People's Party (EPP, the successor of NEI).
The CDI executive committee consists of the president, executive secretary, and vice-presidents. The president is Andrés Pastrana Arango of Colombia and the executive secretary is MEP Antonio López-Istúriz of Spain, who is also secretary-general of the EPP.[3]
Members of the executive committee are:
The CDI has 9 observers, including: