The Social Democratic Party , abbreviated to PSD, was a social democratic

Social democracy

Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...

 political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

 between 1971 and 1984.

The PSD was founded in March 1971 as a secession of the 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...

 tendency within the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party

Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party

The Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party , abbreviated to LSAP or POSL, is a social democratic political party in Luxembourg.The LSAP is the second-largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, having won 13 of 60 seats at the 2009 election, and has one seat in the European Parliament...

 (LSAP). The group left the LSAP in opposition to the rising leftist faction in the LSAP, which opposed forming coalitions with the Christian Social People's Party

Christian Social People's Party

The Christian Social People's Party , abbreviated to CSV or PCS, is the largest political party in Luxembourg. The party follows a Christian Democratic and conservative ideology and, like most parties in Luxembourg, it is strongly pro-European...

 (CSV) and championed coalitions with the Communist Party

Communist Party of Luxembourg

The Communist Party of Luxembourg , abbreviated to KPL or PCL, is a communist political party in Luxembourg.Ali Ruckert is the current chairman of the party.- History :...

 at communal

Communes of Luxembourg

The communes of Luxembourg are the lowest nation-wide administrative division in Luxembourg. They conform to LAU level 2.Within the hierarchy of administrative subdivisions, communes come directly below cantons, which are directly below districts. Communes are often re-arranged, being merged or...

 level.

The split was led by Henry Cravatte

Henry Cravatte

Henry Cravatte was a Luxembourgian politician. Cravatte was Deputy Prime Minister from 1964 until 1969, and also served as President of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party....

, who had been ejected as President of the LSAP in May 1970. In total, six of the LSAP's eighteen MPs joined the new party, including Albert Bousser

Albert Bousser

Albert Bousser was a Luxembourgian politician, railway inspector, and trade unionist.Born on 8 February 1906 in Alzingen, Bousser studied in Paris at the École du génie civil, after which he became a railway inspector for Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois, in which capacity he worked until 1969...

 and Astrid Lulling

Astrid Lulling

Astrid Lulling is a politician in Luxembourg, and a Member of the European Parliament for the Christian Social People's Party, part of the European People's Party.- Current positions held :...

. One-sixth of the LSAP's communal councillors also defected.

The party competed in the 1974 election

Luxembourgian legislative election, 1974

Legislative elections were held in Luxembourg on 26 May 1974. Voters elected all 59 members of the Grand Duchy's unicameral national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies.-Results:...

, taking 9.2% of the vote and winning five seats, to draw level with the Communist Party

Communist Party of Luxembourg

The Communist Party of Luxembourg , abbreviated to KPL or PCL, is a communist political party in Luxembourg.Ali Ruckert is the current chairman of the party.- History :...

, which had been the long-held fourth party in Luxembourgian politics. In that election, the LSAP formed a coalition with the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (Luxembourg)

The Democratic Party , abbreviated to DP, is the major liberal political party in Luxembourg. One of the three major parties, the DP sits on the centre-right, holding moderate market liberal views combined with a strong emphasis on civil liberties, human rights, and internationalism.Founded in...

. In 1979

Luxembourgian legislative election, 1979

Legislative elections were held in Luxembourg on 10 June 1979. Voters elected all 57 members of the Grand Duchy's unicameral national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies.-Results:...

, the PSD lost three of their seats to a resurgent CSV. In the European election

European Parliament election, 1979 (Luxembourg)

The European Parliament election of 1979 in Luxembourg was the election of the delegation from Luxembourg to the European Parliament on 10 June 1979. It was held on the same day as the legislative elections, which elected members to Luxembourg's Chamber of Deputies.-Results:...

held on the same day, the PSD failed to win a seat, but did beat the Communist Party into fifth place.

Before it fought another election, the party disbanded, in 1984. Some of its members, including Cravatte, returned to the LSAP, whilst others, such as Lulling, joined the CSV, thereby completing their political metamorphosis from left to right.