Democrats of the Left

Democrats of the Left
Democratici di Sinistra
Secretary
PresidentMassimo D'Alema
Founded14 February 1998 (1998-02-14)
Dissolved14 October 2007 (2007-10-14)
Preceded byDemocratic Party of the Left
Merged intoDemocratic Party
HeadquartersVia Palermo 12, Rome
Youth wingYouth Left
Membership (2007)615,414
IdeologySocial democracy
Political positionCentre-left
National affiliation
European affiliationParty of European Socialists
European Parliament groupParty of European Socialists
International affiliationSocialist International
Colors  Red

The Democrats of the Left (Italian: Democratici di Sinistra, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy. Positioned on the centre-left, the DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger of the PDS with several minor parties. A member of The Olive Tree coalition, the DS was successively led by Massimo D'Alema, Walter Veltroni, and Piero Fassino, and merged with Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy and a number of minor centre-left parties to form the Democratic Party in October 2007.