•
December 1925: The first international gathering of
Catholic-
Christian democratic parties takes place in
Paris, establishing the
International Secretariat of Democratic Parties of Christian Inspiration (SIPDIC). Member parties were from Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, and Lithuania. •
1939 to 1945:
World War II suspends the SIPDIC. •
23 April 1947: Political leaders from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay meet in
Montevideo to create an international organization of Christian democratic parties. Representatives from Bolivia and Peru participate via
diplomatic correspondence. The Declaration of Montevideo establishes the Organización Demócrata Cristiana de América (ODCA), although the name is not formalized until their second meeting in July 1949. •
3 June 1947: European Christian Democrats form the Nouvelles Équipes Internationales (NEI) in
Chaudfontaine, Belgium, prompted by the
Swiss a year before restarting the SIPDIC. The NEI, open to non-Catholic parties who subscribed to the principles of
social democracy, sees
European integration as the best way to prevent the spread of communism into western Europe and encourages exile groups from Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia to attend. The NEI plays a significant role in preparations for the
Hague Congress and the establishment of the
European Coal and Steel Community. •
26 July 1950: The Christian Democratic Union of Central Europe (CDUCE) is formed in
New York City to assist Christian democratic parties in exile by organizing forces in opposition to communism. By 1955, it begins working with underground operatives in the
Soviet bloc while trying to coordinate efforts between European and Latin American Christian Democratic parties. •
May and July 1956: The ODCA, NEI, and CDUCE meet for the first time in Paris at a gathering of 33 delegations from 28 countries to discuss the creation of a global Christian democratic organization. •
1960: The three regional Christian democratic organizations establish the Christian Democratic International Information and Documentation Centre (CDI-IDC) in Rome to provide political analyses for Christian democratic parties around the world. •
1961: The World Union of Christian Democrats (WUCD) is established in
Santiago. •
1982: The WUCD changes its name to the Christian Democrat International (CDI). •
1999: The CDI changes its name to the Centrist Democrat International due to the increasing membership of non-Christian political parties. Since October 2000, some have informally referred to the CDI as the Christian Democrat and People's Parties International. •
2021: The CDI underwent a profound change in its legal and constitutive form, considerably increasing its political, communicative and organisational skills. ==Executive committee==