The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is a conservative political party in Croatia that was founded on 17 June 1989 by Franjo Tudman. The party began as a nationalist party, but also included former Yugoslav Partisans and members of the communist establishment. The party strongly advocated for Croatian independence, rendering it unpopular among the Serb minority, and Tudman and the HDZ dominated Croatian politics during the 1990s. The HDZ oversaw the transition from communism to capitalism under Tudman, and advocated for Croatian nationalism during the Croatian War of Independence and the Bosnian War.
The party was originally a right-wing party, with Tudman being inspired by Thatcherism. Later, the party became a center-right, Christian democratic party, and its only official ideology would be nationalism.
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