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Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
Leader	Milo Đukanović
Founded	1990
Headquarters	Podgorica
Political ideology	Democratic socialism, Nationalism
International affiliation	Socialist International (consultative member)
Website	http://www.dps.cg.yu

The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (Serbian/Montenegrin: Демократска Партија Социјалиста Црне Горе / Demokratska Partija Socijalista Crne Gore) is a political party in Montenegro.

It is the successor of the Montenegrin branch of the Yugoslav Communist League. It was formed/renamed in 1990.

DPS is led by Milo Đukanović. At the last legislative elections in Montenegro on the 10th September, 2006, DPS along with SDP (Coalition for European Montenegro) won 41 out of 81 seats, and the right to appoint the Government.

DPS was created after the breakup of Yugoslavia, with the introduction of a multi-party political system. It is the successor of former Communist party, and so it inherited the party infrastructure, giving it a significant head start on the first democratic elections. Three men emerged as leaders of this new party, swept into power during the "Anti-bureaucratic revolution": Milo Đukanović, Momir Bulatović and Svetozar Marović.

After an easy win over People's Party of Montenegro and anti-war and independence-oriented Liberal Alliance of Montenegro, the DPS with Momir Bulatović as the president, opted for a federation with Serbia, which resulted in the creation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The entire party leadership were close followers of Slobodan Milošević, supporting his policies and unconditionally aligning Montenegro with Serbia in all decisions during the turbulent 1990s.

In mid-1990s, a split at the party's highest level occurred. While Momir Bulatović insisted on continuing support to Milošević, an emerging faction led by Milo Đukanović distanced itself from Serbian leadership. A bitter fight over control within DPS began, and Đukanović came out as a clear winner. On 1997 Đukanović and Bulatović ran against each other at presidential elections, and after two run-offs Đukanović won with a slim majority. In its refusal to accept the results of elections, justified by alleged irregularities, Bulatović's faction created a near-warlike atmosphere in Montenegro. The results were confirmed. The elections were a turning point for the DPS.

Bulatović's defeated fraction of DPS created a new party, Socialist People's Party of Montenegro (SNP), which became the major opposition party in Montenegro.

From this point, the DPS government gradually severed ties with Serbia by taking over control over customs, introducing first the German mark, and later the Euro as legal tender, and generally reducing the influence of federal government on Montenegro. In time, Milo Đukanović became a fierce opponent of Milošević's regime, thus gaining worldwide support and sympathy for Montenegro. The politics of DPS gradually switched to become totally independence - oriented.

When Milošević's Serbian regime was defeated, on October 5, 2000, the DPS continued to be a proponent of full Montenegrin independence. The campaign for the 2002 parliamentary elections was entirely devoted to the question of Montenegro's independence. However the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro came into force early in 2003 and required a three year waiting period before an independence referendum. Until then Montenegro remained in loose union with Serbia, called Serbia and Montenegro.

The DPS is considered the party most responsible for the success of the referendum that was held on May 21, 2006. 55.5% of Montenegrins voted for independence, and made Montenegro an independent state on June 3, 2006.

On the first parliamentary elections in independent Montenegro, Coalition for European Montenegro (DPS and SDP) won 41 out of 81 seats in Montenegrin parliament, thus winning absolute majority of the seats and confirming the position of strongest Montenegrin political party.

Despite the expectations, on October 3, 2006, party's leader Milo Đukanović announced that he will not accept the nomination for the Prime Minister of Montenegro, although he will remain the president of the party. Vice-president of the party, Svetozar Marović, also said that he will not take up any positions in the government. Instead, the party leaders picked Željko Šturanović, former Ministef of Justice, to be the new Prime Minister.

• Official web site