The Socialist Party of Macedonia has a long political and social history that spans from the end of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century up to the present day. It continues the libertarian political traditions of progressive democratic socialist thought in Macedonia and the world, building upon already established values.

Starting with its creators and pioneers, such as Vasil Glavinov from Veles and a constellation of Macedonian socialists (Goce Delchev, Jane Sandanski, Dame Gruev, Gjorche Petrov, Dimo Hadji Dimov, Vele Markov, Petar Pop Arsov...) from the first political party in Macedonia — the mythically significant VMRO (in Goce’s sense, not the supremacist one), as well as the People’s Federative Party of Sandanski, Dimitar Vlahov, and Atanas Mitrov, continuing through the People's Anti-Fascist Front and the Socialist Alliance — without exception, the socialist idea has been deeply embedded in the continuity of the creation and development of the Macedonian state.
Feeling a duty to its predecessors, the Socialist Party continues to nurture and develop their visions, enriching them with new, relevant demands and challenges of the Macedonian people in this historical moment and in the process of our unification with Europe.

With the historical experiences gained before and during the Ilinden Uprising of 1903 and the Krushevo Republic, Macedonian socialists have continuously and uncompromisingly worked to bring to life the revolutionary ideas and traditions of social and national freedom for the Macedonian people and the creation of an independent Macedonian state.

Immediately after the fascist occupation in 1941, the Macedonian people began preparing for mass resistance and active armed struggle for freedom under the slogan: “Everyone to the front – all for the front.” This marked the beginning of the formation of the National Liberation Front as a mass organization in which the population of Macedonia participated. Young people actively joined the partisan units, while others supported the struggle with supplies of food, clothing, and other necessities.
Through a broad national liberation platform, the wide masses of people were engaged — those ready to fight against the occupiers for new social relations and equal rights for all citizens regardless of national identity.

After the end of the National Liberation War, on November 26, 1944, the first Regional Conference was held, where its governing bodies were elected and organizational structures established. Dimitar Vlahov was elected as the first president. Delegates from the Pirin and Aegean parts of Macedonia were also present.
With this act, the National Liberation Front transformed into a mass political organization under the name “People’s Front.” In addition to tasks related to ensuring normal life for the population, efforts began to rebuild and reconstruct the country — clearing ruins, building roads and streets, installing water systems, building cultural centers, etc.
The People’s Front was also tasked with organizing the first free democratic elections.
This marked the beginning of laying the foundations of the Macedonian state within the Yugoslav federation. The work of the unified National Liberation Front was assessed at the Regional Conference as the highest form of unity of the Macedonian people under those historical conditions.

On August 2, 1946, the First Congress of the People's Front of Macedonia was held, at which the future tasks of the Front in the reconstruction and development of the country were defined.

At the beginning of 1953, a constitutional law was adopted that amended the Constitution of Macedonia, and with it, the name People's Liberation Front was changed to the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Macedonia. With these new constitutional amendments, the Socialist Alliance acquired significant political functions, including: participation in shaping the political and economic life of the state, organizing public debates on specific strategic issues and laws, organizing referendums, and managing elections for members of parliament, local councils, community boards, and others.
It also played a special role in organizing the civic life within various social organizations — cultural, sports, health, educational, and other similar institutions — and in creating conditions for their effective operation.

In later partial amendments to the Constitutions of Yugoslavia and Macedonia, when the system of self-management was introduced, the Socialist Alliance gained a new important political role by being redefined as a Front of Organized Political Forces. Within this front, all socio-political organizations were united on an equal footing as constituent parts, sharing the common goal of building a socialist self-managing society.

With that political role, a new important democratic process began — one of mutual coordination and consensus-building among all socio-political organizations on key social and economic issues. The highest leadership figures from the League of Communists, Trade Union Alliance, Veterans' Union, Youth Union, Chamber of Commerce, Assembly, Presidency, and the Government of the Republic of Macedonia participated in these consultations and position-taking processes.

The positions and conclusions from these coordination meetings were presented to state institutions — most often the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, where decisions were made. A similar practice was implemented at the local level as well.

Among other responsibilities, the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Macedonia (SAWPM) and its member socio-political organizations exercised their constitutional function of nominating joint representatives to positions in governing bodies.

Individuals who led the People's Liberation Front, later the Socialist Alliance, from the liberation of our country until the changes in the political system, were prominent Macedonian revolutionaries and National Liberation War fighters:

• Gustav Vlahov
• Lazar Kolisevski
• Strahil Gigov
• Ljupcho Arsov
• Bosko Stankovski
• Azem Zulfikari
• Vaska Duganova
• Uros Andrejevski
• Krste Markovski
• Burhan Ademi
• Aleksandar Donev
• Goga Nikolovski
• Metodi Petrovski

With the change of the system and the introduction of political pluralism, i.e., a multi-party system, the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Macedonia was transformed into a political party under the name Socialist Party of Macedonia.
In these new conditions, the party continued to participate in the political life of our country, taking part in all parliamentary and local elections, with elected members of parliament and councilors in local councils.

On July 13, 1990, the Republic Conference of the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Macedonia (SAWPM) adopted a decision to transform the SAWPM into the Socialist Party of Macedonia (SPM) — a party with a democratic socialist orientation. Kiro Popovski was elected as its first president. On September 14, 1990, SPM was officially registered with the City Secretariat of Internal Affairs under the name Socialist Alliance of Macedonia – Socialist Party of Macedonia.

Kiro Popovski

Kiro Popovski was the first president and founder of the Socialist Party of Macedonia. He was born in 1942, held a degree in law, and was a prominent political figure in the modern history of Macedonia.

At the First Congress, held in June 1991, the words Socialist Alliance of Macedonia were removed from the party name, leaving only Socialist Party of Macedonia. At the Congress, the Political Program and the Statute of the Party were adopted.

Party Structure

The highest body of the Party is the Congress, which is held every four years (as of 2014, six regular congresses and one extraordinary congress had been held). Between two congresses, the highest body is the Republic Board, followed by the Executive Board, the Supervisory Board, and the Presidency.

The Party is led by a President, three Vice Presidents, a General Secretary, and Executive Secretaries.

On September 28, 1990, the Founding Assembly of the Socialist Alliance – Socialist Party of Macedonia was held. A total of 360 delegates attended the Founding Assembly.
The First Congress of SPM was held on June 8, 1991.
Kiro Popovski was elected as the first president.
Dr. Stojmen Mihajlovski and Dr. Jovan Lazarev were elected as vice presidents.
Mirko Tripunoski was elected as secretary.

The Second Congress of SPM was held on July 1, 1995.
Kiro Popovski was re-elected as president.
Dr. Ljube Trpeski and Blagoja Filipovski were elected as vice presidents.
Mirko Tripunoski was again elected as secretary.

The Third (Extraordinary) Congress was held on May 25, 1996.
Ljubisav Ivanov – Dzingo was elected as president.

Ljubisav Ivanov – Dzingo was the second president of SPM, born in 1936, a graduate mining engineer, and a prominent political and economic figure.

The Fourth Congress was held on March 25, 2000.
Ljubisav Ivanov – Dzingo was elected president.
Dr. Sasho Vasilevski, Branko Petkovski, Milan Hristovski, Dr. Petar Ilievski, and Prof. Dr. Todor Kalamatiev were elected as vice presidents.
Dr. Jovan Lazarev was elected as general secretary.

The Fifth Congress was held on October 25, 2003.
Ljubisav Ivanov – Dzingo was re-elected as president.
Zoran Vitanov was elected as vice president.
Dr. Jovan Lazarev was re-elected as general secretary.

The Sixth Congress was held on December 27, 2007.
Ljubisav Ivanov – Dzingo was re-elected as president.
Mihail Cvetkov, Dr. Jovan Lazarev, and Aco Spasenoski were elected as vice presidents.
Ljupcho Dimovski was elected as general secretary.
Vladanka Avirovic was elected as executive secretary.

The Seventh Congress was held on December 29, 2012.
Ljubisav Ivanov – Dzingo was re-elected as president.
Prof. Dr. Jovan Lazarev, Mihail Cvetkov, and Sashko Nikoloski were elected as vice presidents.
Ljupcho Dimovski was re-elected as general secretary.
Vladanka Avirovic and Malisha Stankovic were elected as executive secretaries.

The Eighth Congress was held on May 27, 2017.
Ljubisav Ivanov – Dzingo was re-elected as president.
Prof. Dr. Jovan Lazarev, Mihail Cvetkov, and Sashko Nikoloski were re-elected as vice presidents.
Ljupcho Dimovski was re-elected as general secretary.
Vladanka Avirovic and Malisha Stankovic were re-elected as executive secretaries.

The Ninth Congress was held on January 16, 2021.
Ljupcho Dimovski was elected as president.

Ljupcho Dimovski is the third president of SPM, born on April 9, 1959, in Veles, a graduate economist, and a prominent political figure.

Vase Anakiev, Jovan Pejkovski, and Nikola Konjanovski were elected as vice presidents.
Malisha Stankovic was elected as general secretary.
Ivan Mitrovski and Zharko Miloshevski were elected as executive secretaries.

Within the Socialist Party of Macedonia (SPM), there are also active organizations such as the Young Socialists and the Women’s Forum, each with their own independent bodies. Additionally, there are committees dedicated to nearly all areas of political and social engagement, which discuss specific legislative proposals and current societal issues.

The Party has 80 municipal organizations at the local level, with branches within local communities. Their organizational structure closely mirrors that of the national (Republic-level) organization.

Participation in the Electoral Process

Since the first parliamentary elections, the Socialist Party of Macedonia has consistently participated in all electoral cycles and has maintained a presence of three to eight MPs in Parliament.

In the current Parliament, SPM holds 3 seats and, as part of a coalition with multiple political parties, is represented in the Government of the Republic of Macedonia by a minister, a deputy minister, and other leadership roles.

SPM participates in all local elections for mayors and municipal councilors and consistently wins 3 to 5 mayoral positions out of the country’s 120 municipalities, as well as councilor seats in local councils.

In addition to its political platform and program, SPM presents a separate electoral program for each parliamentary and local election cycle.

In Macedonia’s pluralistic society, the Socialist Party of Macedonia has been active for nearly two decades, thereby enriching the European family of left-oriented parties. It has established and maintained cooperation with over twenty socialist and other left-leaning parties in the region and across Europe. Representatives of SPM have participated in their congresses, gatherings, forums, and other forms of activity. SPM has also organized international academic debates and co-organized similar events with socialist parties from the region.

Parliamentary Elections

First elections: SPM won 5 seats — Kiro Popovski, Ljubisav Ivanov - Dzingo, Bozo Rajchevski, Branko Arsovski, Ivan Ivanov, and Faik Abdi. In coalition with SDSM, SPM participated in the government with Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Ljube Trpeski and Minister of Health Ilija Filipche.

Second elections: SPM won 8 seats — Kiro Popovski, Prof. Dr. Jovan Lazarev, Mirko Tripunoski, Blagoja Filipovski, Mirko Pecov, Branko Arsovski, Ljubisav Ivanov - Dzingo, and Dr. Mirko Lazarevski (initially elected as an independent who later joined the SPM group). In coalition with SDSM, SPM held posts including Deputy Prime Minister Zlatka Popovska, Minister without portfolio Vlado Naumovski, Minister of Health Petar Ilievski, and Deputy Minister of Interior Ilija Gajtanovski.

Third elections (1998): SPM secured 1 seat — Ljubisav Ivanov - Dzingo. In 2001, after the conflict in Macedonia, SPM joined a broad coalition with Zoran Vitanov as Deputy Minister of Economy.

Fourth elections (2002): SPM won 1 seat — Ljubisav Ivanov - Dzingo.

Fifth elections (2006): On a joint list with VMRO-DPMNE, SPM won 3 seats — Ljubisav Ivanov - Dzingo, Vladanka Avirovic, and Zoran Vitanov. In government, SPM held positions such as Minister of Agriculture Aco Spasenoski and Deputy Minister of Education Prof. Dr. Jovan Lazarev.

Early elections (2008): Jointly with VMRO-DPMNE, SPM retained 3 seats — Ljubisav Ivanov - Dzingo, Vladanka Avirovic, and Prof. Dr. Jovan Lazarev. SPM was represented in government with Minister of Agriculture Aco Spasenoski and Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Ljupcho Dimovski. Following Spasenoski’s appointment as ambassador to Ukraine, Ljupcho Dimovski became Minister of Agriculture, and Goran Mihajlovski became Deputy Minister of Transport.

Early elections (2011): Joint list with VMRO-DPMNE yielded 3 seats — Ljubisav Ivanov - Dzingo, Vladanka Avirovic, and Malisha Stankovic. SPM held ministerial posts with Minister of Agriculture Ljupcho Dimovski and Deputy Minister of Health Jovica Andovski.

Elections (2014): Again with VMRO-DPMNE, SPM won 3 seats — Ljupcho Dimovski, Vladanka Avirovic, and Stojan Milanov. In government, SPM held Minister of Agriculture Mihail Cvetkov and Deputy Minister of Health Jovica Andovski.

Elections (2016): Joint list with VMRO-DPMNE brought 3 seats — Ljupcho Dimovski, Vladanka Avirovic, and Stojan Milanov.

Elections (2020): Joint list with VMRO-DPMNE won 2 seats — Ljupcho Dimovski and Stojan Milanov.