The Democratic Union for the Republic (Unione Democratica per la Repubblica, UDR) was a short-lived centrist

Centrism

In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...

 political party in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

It was founded in February 1998 by Francesco Cossiga

Francesco Cossiga

Francesco Cossiga was an Italian politician, the 43rd Prime Minister and the eighth President of the Italian Republic. He was also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sassari....

, Clemente Mastella

Clemente Mastella

Mario Clemente Mastella is an Italian politician. He is currently leader of Popular-UDEUR, a minor centrist Italian party. He was Minister of Labour in the Berlusconi government from 10 May 1994 to 17 January 1995, and Minister of Justice in the Prodi government from 17 May 2006 to 17 January 2008...

 (ex-Christian Democratic Centre, then leader of the Christian Democrats for the Republic

Christian Democrats for the Republic

The Christian Democrats for the Republic was a Christian-democratic Italian political party.The party was formed in February 1998 as a splinter group from the Christian Democratic Centre...

), Rocco Buttiglione

Rocco Buttiglione

Rocco Buttiglione is an Italian Christian Democrat politician and an academic.His nomination for a post as European Commissioner with a portfolio that was to include civil liberties, resulted in controversy as some political groups opposed him for his Roman Catholic views on homosexuality, despite...

 (leader of the United Christian Democrats

United Christian Democrats

The United Christian Democrats was a Christian democratic party in Italy.-History:It began in 1995 by a split of those members of the Italian People's Party who wanted to enter into an alliance with Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia...

), Mario Segni

Mario Segni

Mariotto Segni, more often known as Mario, is an Italian politician, son of Antonio Segni, one time President of the Republic of Italy....

 (leader of Patto Segni

Patto Segni

Patto Segni was a Christian-democratic and liberal political party in Italy, named after Mario Segni.-History:The party was founded in 1993 as a split from Democratic Alliance and as the continuation of the Populars for the Reform, a split from Christian Democracy in 1992, whose principal aim was...

), Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini

Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini

Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini is an Italian Italian economist and politician. He is a university professor in applied economics and was chancellor of the Luiss University of Rome ....

 (ex-FI

Forza Italia

Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....

), Enrico Ferri (ex-CCD) and Irene Pivetti (ex-LN), along with many other MPs elected for the centre-right, in order to provide a majority in Parliament for Massimo D'Alema

Massimo D'Alema

Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...

's government. UDR was initially only a federation of parties, but in June CDR, CDU and Patto Segni merged to form a united party. Clemente Mastella was elected Secretary of the new party.

After disagreements between Cossiga and Mastella, the party broke up in February 1999. Most party members rallied behind Mastella and entered in his Union of Democrats for Europe (UDEUR), later renamed into UDEUR Populars. Those around Cossiga formed the Union for the Republic

Union for the Republic (Italy)

The Union for the Republic was a centrist Italian political party.It was formed by Francesco Cossiga and his followers after the break-up of the Democratic Union for the Republic in 1999. Most of its members, with the notable exception of Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini, joined Forza Italia prior to the...

 (UpR), whose leading members, such as Angelo Sanza and Giorgio Rebuffa, entered in Forza Italia in 2001. The most notable exception was Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini

Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini

Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini is an Italian Italian economist and politician. He is a university professor in applied economics and was chancellor of the Luiss University of Rome ....

 who joined the Federation of Italian Liberals

Federation of Italian Liberals

The Federation of Italian Liberals is a tiny liberal party in Italy, founded in 1994 by Raffaello Morelli and Valerio Zanone...

, and then European Democracy

European Democracy

European Democracy was a minor christian-democratic Italian political party.It was founded in 2000 by Sergio D'Antoni , Giulio Andreotti and Ortensio Zecchino, all three spliters from the Italian People's Party...

 and the Pact of Liberal Democrats

Pact of Liberal Democrats

The Pact of Liberal Democrats is a liberal and Christian-democratic Italian political party.It was conceived in 2003 by Mario Segni, Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini and Michele Cossa , as a centrist party alternative to the centre-left...

. Buttiglione had previously re-established CDU, as Segni did with his Patto, while Ferri joined Forza Italia.

Leadership

• Secretary: Clemente Mastella
  Clemente Mastella
  Mario Clemente Mastella is an Italian politician. He is currently leader of Popular-UDEUR, a minor centrist Italian party. He was Minister of Labour in the Berlusconi government from 10 May 1994 to 17 January 1995, and Minister of Justice in the Prodi government from 17 May 2006 to 17 January 2008...
  
   (1998–1999)
• President: Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini
  Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini
  Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini is an Italian Italian economist and politician. He is a university professor in applied economics and was chancellor of the Luiss University of Rome ....
  
   / Rocco Buttiglione
  Rocco Buttiglione
  Rocco Buttiglione is an Italian Christian Democrat politician and an academic.His nomination for a post as European Commissioner with a portfolio that was to include civil liberties, resulted in controversy as some political groups opposed him for his Roman Catholic views on homosexuality, despite...
  
   (1998–1999)
• Honorary President: Francesco Cossiga
  Francesco Cossiga
  Francesco Cossiga was an Italian politician, the 43rd Prime Minister and the eighth President of the Italian Republic. He was also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sassari....
  
  (1998–1999)