View source for VMRO-DPMNE

{{Short description|Macedonian political party}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity
| logo             = VMRO-DPMNE Logo 2025.png{{!}}class=skin-invert
| colorcode        = {{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}
| leader           = [[Hristijan Mickoski]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.biznisvesti.mk/mitskoski-se-obrati-kon-svoite-sopartijtsi-od-vmro-dpmne-eve-shto-im-poracha-video/|title=Мицкоски се обрати кон своите сопартијци од ВМРО-ДПМНЕ: Еве што им порача|trans-title=Mickoski addressed his fellow party members from VMRO-DPMNE: Here is what he told them|date=23 December 2017|access-date=23 December 2017|archive-date=8 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808110519/https://www.biznisvesti.mk/mitskoski-se-obrati-kon-svoite-sopartijtsi-od-vmro-dpmne-eve-shto-im-poracha-video/|url-status=dead |language=mk |website=Biznis Vesti}}</ref>
| leader2_title    = Vice-President
| leader2_name     = [[Aleksandar Nikoloski]]<br>[[Vlado Misajlovski]] <br>[[Timčo Mucunski]] <br>[[Gordana Dimitrievska Kocovska]]
| secretary_general = [[Gjorgjija Sajkoski]]
| foundation       = 17 June 1990
| ideology         = {{ubl|class=nowrap|
 |[[Conservatism]]
 |[[Christian democracy]]
 |[[Macedonian nationalism]]
 |[[Economic liberalism]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Jebb |first=Cindy R. |author-link=Cindy Jebb |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQOJwfvFxzsC&pg=PA65 |title=The Fight for Legitimacy: Democracy vs. Terrorism |publisher=[[Praeger Publishing]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0275991890 |page=65}}</ref>
 |[[Anti-communism]]
}}
| headquarters     = [[Skopje]]
| international    = [[International Democracy Union]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.idu.org/members/ |title=Members |website=International Democracy Union |date=February 2018 |access-date=19 July 2024}}</ref>
| website          = {{url|https://vmro-dpmne.org.mk}}
| country          = North Macedonia
| native_name      = {{nobold|{{lang|mk|Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за македонско национално единство}}}}
| founders         = [[Ljubčo Georgievski]]<ref name="Berglund">{{cite book|editor-last=Berglund|editor-first=Sten|title=The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe|date=2013|publisher=[[Edward Elgar Publishing]]|isbn=978-1782545880|pages=621–622|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hmtuqFnuDZwC&pg=PA621}}</ref><br>[[Dragan Bogdanovski]]<br>Boris Zmejkovski<br>Gojko Jakovlevski<ref>{{cite book|first=Židas|last=Daskalovski|title=Walking on the Edge: Consolidating Multiethnic Macedonia, 1989–2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5RtM_MZlgVcC&pg=PA46|year=2006|publisher=Globic|isbn=978-0977666232|page=46}}</ref>
| abbreviation     = VMRO-DPMNE
| position         = [[Centre-right politics|Centre-right]] to [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]]
| youth_wing       = [[Youth Force Union]]
| european         = [[European People's Party]] (associate)
| national         = [[Your Macedonia]]
| colours          = {{Color box|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}|border=darkgray}} Red<br />{{Colour box|Black|border=darkgray}} Black<br/>{{Colour box|#FECC00|border=darkgray}} Gold
| seats1_title     = [[Assembly of North Macedonia|Assembly]]
| seats1           = {{Composition bar|55|120|hex={{party color|Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity}}}}
| seats2_title     = [[Municipalities of North Macedonia|Mayors]]
| seats2           = {{Composition bar|54|80|hex={{party color|Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity}}}}
| seats3_title     = [[Municipalities of North Macedonia|Local councils]]
| seats3           = {{Composition bar|549|1345|hex={{party color|Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity}}}}
| seats4_title     = [[Skopje|Skopje city council]]
| seats4           = {{Composition bar|18|45|hex={{party color|Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity}}}}
| flag             = 
}}
The '''Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity''' ({{langx|mk|Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за македонско национално единство|Vnatrešna makedonska revolucionerna organizacija – Demokratska partija za makedonsko nacionalno edinstvo}}), abbreviated as '''VMRO-DPMNE''' ({{langx|mk|ВМРО–ДПМНЕ|links=no}}), is a [[Conservatism|conservative]]<ref name="Bakke2010">{{cite book|first=Elisabeth|last=Bakke|chapter=Central and East European party systems since 1989|title=Central and Southeast European Politics since 1989|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oFXdiS25N78C&pg=PA79|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|editor-link=Sabrina P. Ramet|editor-last=Ramet|editor-first=Sabrina P.|isbn=978-0-521-88810-3|page=79}}</ref><ref name="PEE">{{cite web|first=Wolfram|last=Nordsieck|title=North Macedonia|website=Parties and Elections in Europe|url=http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/northmacedonia.html|year=2020|access-date=16 July 2020}}</ref> and the main [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]]<ref>{{cite book|first1=Robert|last1=Bideleux|first2=Ian|last2=Jeffries|title=The Balkans: A Post-Communist History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jrHOKsU9pEC&pg=PA419|year=2007|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=978-0-415-22962-3|page=419}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Aili|last=Piano|title=Freedom in the World 2009: The Annual Survey of Political Rights & Civil Liberties|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hZVhuV7h5hwC&pg=PA433|date=30 September 2009|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|isbn=978-1-4422-0122-4|page=433}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Philipp H.|last1=Fluri|first2=Gustav E.|last2=Gustenau|first3=Plamen I.|last3=Pantev|title=The Evolution of Civil-Military Relations in South East Europe: Continuing Democratic Reform and Adapting to the Needs of Fighting Terrorism|chapter=Macedonian Reform Perspectives|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AlVVsfDT0mMC&pg=PA170|date=19 September 2005|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-7908-1572-6|page=170}}</ref> to [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]]<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AlVVsfDT0mMC&pg=PA170|page=170|title=The Evolution of Civil–Military Relations in South East Europe: Continuing Democratic Reform and Adapting to the Needs of Fighting Terrorism|chapter=Macedonian Reform Perspectives|last=Atanasov|first=Petar|editor1-last=Fluri|editor1-first=Philipp H.|editor2-last=Gustenau|editor2-first=Gustav E.|editor3-last=Pantev|editor3-first=Plamen I.|date=2005|isbn=978-3-7908-1572-6|publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]]}}</ref> [[list of political parties in North Macedonia|political party]] in [[North Macedonia]].

It was established as a nationalist and anti-communist party. It has later rebranded itself as [[Christian-democratic]].<ref name="Berglund"/><ref name="PEE" /><ref>{{cite news |date=27 September 2012 |title=Key political Parties in Macedonia |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/who-is-who-political-parties-in-macedonia |work=[[Balkan Insight]]}}</ref> The party claims that their goals and objectives are to express the tradition of the Macedonian people on whose political struggle and concepts it is based.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vmro-dpmne.org.mk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=192:-15102004-&catid=42:statut&Itemid=77 |title=Вмро – Дпмне |publisher=Vmro-dpmne.org.mk |access-date=30 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="emrrm">{{cite book |author=Eben Friedman |date=2004 |title=European Yearbook of Minority Issues: 2002–2003 |chapter=Party System, Electoral Systems and Minority Representation in the Republic of Macedonia from 1990 to 2002 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |pages=231, 234–236 |isbn=9789004138391}}</ref> Nevertheless, it has formed multiple coalition governments with [[Minority group#Racial and ethnic minorities|ethnic minority]] parties.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mkd.mk/makedonija/partii/pobedi-makedonija-so-organiziranjeto-na-ushte-edni-fer-i-demokratski-izbori |website=MKD.MK |language=mk |title="Победи Македонија со организирањето на уште едни фер и демократски избори" |access-date=6 May 2013 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200745/http://www.mkd.mk/makedonija/partii/pobedi-makedonija-so-organiziranjeto-na-ushte-edni-fer-i-demokratski-izbori |url-status=dead }}</ref> Under the leadership of [[Ljubčo Georgievski]] in the 1990s, the party supported Macedonian independence from [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Socialist Yugoslavia]], and led a policy of closer relationships with Bulgaria.<ref>{{cite book |author=Stefan Troebst |chapter=An Ethnic War That Did Not Take Place: Macedonia, Its Minorities and Its Neighbours in the 1990s |page=78 |editor=David Turton |title=War and Ethnicity: Global Connections and Local Violence |publisher=University of Rochester Press |date=1997 |isbn=9781878822826}}</ref> Georgievski left VMRO-DPMNE and formed the [[VMRO – People's Party]] in 2004.<ref name="db">{{cite book |author=Dimitar Bechev |title=Historical Dictionary of North Macedonia |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |date=2019 |edition=2nd |pages=124–125, 149–151 |isbn=9781538119624}}</ref>

Under the leadership of [[Nikola Gruevski]], the party promoted [[Ultranationalism|ultranationalist]]<ref>{{cite book |author=Arianna Piacentini |chapter=Make Macedonia Great Again! The New Face of Skopje and the Macedonians’ identity dilemma |editor=Evinç Doğan |title=Reinventing Eastern Europe: Imaginaries, Identities and Transformations |publisher=Transnational Press |location=London |date=2019 |isbn=978-1910781876 |page=87}}</ref> [[identity politics]] in the form of [[antiquisation]]. Its nationalist stances were often also [[Anti-Albanian sentiment|anti-Albanian]].<ref>{{cite book |editor=Tom Lansford |title=Political Handbook of the World 2018-2019 |date=2019 |publisher=CQ Press |page=968 |isbn=978-1544327136}}</ref> During Gruevski's leadership the party changed from a [[pro-European]] and а [[North Macedonia–NATO relations|pro-NATO]] policy, to a [[Russophilia|Russophilic]], [[pro-Serbian]] and [[Anti-Western sentiment|anti-Western]] one.<ref>{{multiref2
| 1 = {{cite web |author=Gurakuç Kuçi |title=Hybrid Warfare And The Importance Of Elections In Geopolitics: The Case Of North Macedonia – Analysis |url=https://www.eurasiareview.com/24042024-hybrid-warfare-and-the-importance-of-elections-in-geopolitics-the-case-of-north-macedonia-analysis/ |website=Eurasia Review |date=24 April 2024}}
| 2 = {{cite book |author=Irena Rajcinovska Pandeva |date=2022 |chapter=North Macedonia and Russia: An Ambiguous Relationship |editor1=Michael Kaeding |editor2=Johannes Pollak |editor3=Paul Schmidt |title=Russia and the Future of Europe |publisher=Springer International Publishing |pages=145–148 |isbn=9783030956479}}
| 3 = {{cite book |author1=Tomáš Vlček |author2=Martin Jirušek |title=Russian Oil Enterprises in Europe: Investments and Regional Influence |publisher=Springer |date=2019 |page=143 |isbn=978-3030198398}}
| 4 = {{cite web |author=Vassilis Petsinis |title=From pro-American to pro-Russian? Nikola Gruevski as a political chameleon |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/from-proamerican-to-prorussian-nikola-gruevski-as-political-cha/ |date=22 May 2015 |website=openDemocracy}}
| 5 = {{cite book |author=Jasmin Mujanovic |title=Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2018 |isbn=978-0190877392 |pages=115; 162}}
| 6 = {{cite web |author=Aubrey Belford |title=Leaked Documents Show Russian, Serbian Attempts to Meddle in Macedonia |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/spooksandspin/leaked-documents-show-russian-serbian-attempts-to-meddle-in-macedonia/ |date=4 June 2017 |website=Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.}}
}}</ref>{{explain|date=July 2024|reason=Needs more context and to be summarized in the body.}} His government also managed to build strong anti-EU sentiments within the country.<ref>{{cite book |author=Irena Rajcinovska Pandeva |date=2021 |chapter=North Macedonia: The Name in Exchange for European Union Membership? |editor1=Michael Kaeding |editor2=Johannes Pollak |editor3=Paul Schmidt |title=Euroscepticism and the Future of Europe |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9783030412722 |page=107}}</ref>{{explain|date=July 2024|reason=Same as previous.}}

==Background==
The party's full name consists of the acronyms "VMRO" (standing for ''Vnatrešna Makedonska Revolucionerna Organizacija'' and referencing the [[Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization]] (IMRO), a rebel movement formed in 1893)<ref>{{cite book |author=Vasiliki P. Neofotistos |title=Macedonia and Identity Politics After the Prespa Agreement |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780367407292 |page=22}}</ref> and "DPMNE" (Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity, ''Demokratska partija za makedonsko nacionalno edinstvo'').<ref name="ptb">{{cite book |editor1=Vera Stojarová |editor2=Peter Emerson |title=Party Politics in the Western Balkans |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781135235857 |pages=175–176}}</ref><ref name="aec">{{cite book |author=Cvete Koneska |title=After Ethnic Conflict: Policy-making in Post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317183976 |pages=65, 144–146}}</ref> After undergoing various transformations, the original organisation was suppressed after the [[1934 Bulgarian coup d'état|military coup d'état of 1934]], in its headquarters in Bulgaria. At that time the territory of the current [[North Macedonia]] was a province called [[Vardar Banovina]], part of the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]. As the [[World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia#Bulgarian actions in 1943|Bulgarian army entered Yugoslav Macedonia]] as German satellite during WWII, former IMRO members were active in organising [[Bulgarian Action Committees]], charged with taking over the local authorities. After Bulgaria switched to side with the Allied powers in September 1944, they tried to create a pro-Bulgarian [[Independent Macedonia (1944)|independent Macedonian state]] under the protectorate of the Third Reich.<ref>{{cite book |title=Collective Memory, National Identity, and Ethnic Conflict: Greece, Bulgaria, and the Macedonian Question |author=Victor Roudometof |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |date=2002 |isbn=0275976483 |page=99}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Todor Chepreganov |title=History of the Macedonian People |publisher=Institute of National History, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University |location=Skopje |date=2008 |page=254}}</ref> VMRO–DPMNE claims ideological descent from the old IMRO,<ref>{{cite book| author = Alan John Day|author2=Roger East |author3=Richard Thomas | title = A Political and Economic Dictionary of Eastern Europe: Alan J. Day, Roger East and Richard Thomas [ed.]| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dt2TXexiKTgC&pg=PA275| year = 2002| publisher = Routledge| isbn = 978-1-85743-063-9| page = 275 }}</ref> although there is no known continuity between the two organisations.<ref>{{cite book |author=Bernard A. Cook |title=Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia, Volume 2 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |date=2001 |isbn=9780815340584 |page=813}}</ref> The historical IMRO was as a whole [[pro-Bulgarian]] grouping,<ref>{{cite book |quote=A more modern national hero is Gotse Delchev, leader of the turn-of-the-century Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), which was actually a largely pro-Bulgarian organization but is claimed as the founding Macedonian national movement. |author=Stuart J. Kaufman |title=Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War |publisher=Cornell University Press |date=2001 |isbn=0801487366 |page=193}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |quote=The first name of the IMRO was "Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees", which was later changed several times. Initially its membership was restricted only for Bulgarians. It was active not only in Macedonia but also in Thrace (the [[Vilayet of Adrianople]]). Since its early name emphasized the Bulgarian nature of the organization by linking the inhabitants of Thrace and Macedonia to Bulgaria, these facts are still difficult to be explained from the Macedonian historiography. They suggest that IMRO revolutionaries in the Ottoman period did not differentiate between ‘Macedonians’ and ‘Bulgarians’. Moreover, as their own writings attest, they often saw themselves and their compatriots as ‘Bulgarians’ and wrote in Bulgarian standard language. |author=Ulf Brrunnbauer |date=2004 |chapter=Historiography, Myths and the Nation in the Republic of Macedonia |title=(Re)Writing History. Historiography in Southeast Europe after Socialism. Studies on South East Europe, vol. 4 |publisher=LIT, Münster |pages=165–200 |isbn=382587365X}}</ref> and its membership was allowed initially only for Bulgarians.<ref>{{cite book |quote=The revolutionary committee dedicated itself to fight for "full political autonomy for Macedonia and Adrianople." Since they sought autonomy only for those areas inhabited by Bulgarians, they denied other nationalities membership in IMRO. According to Article 3 of the statutes, "any Bulgarian could become a member". |author=Laura Beth Sherman |title=Fires on the mountain: the Macedonian revolutionary movement and the kidnapping of Ellen Stone, Volume 62 |publisher=East European Monographs |date=1980 |isbn=0914710559 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |quote=The most controversial revisionist effort concerned the attempt to include the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (VMRO) of the [[interwar period]] within the Macedonian national narrative. Previous scholarship had regarded this organization as a reactionary force of Bulgarian expansionism, pointing to its support for conservative circles in Bulgaria, its contacts with the fascist Croatian Ustashe and Nazi Germany, and its display of Bulgarian national identity. The attempt to rehabilitate it was directly linked to efforts by the VMRO-DPMNE party, to declare itself the legitimate successor of the historical VMRO. |title=Serving the Nation: Ulf Brunnbauer, Historiography in the Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) After Socialism |journal=Historein |volume=4 |date=2003 |page=171}}</ref>

==History==


===Foundation and rise to power===
Following the death of Yugoslav President [[Josip Broz Tito]] in 1980, [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|SFR Yugoslavia]] began to disintegrate and democratic politics were revived in Macedonia. Many exiles returned to then [[Socialist Republic of Macedonia|SR Macedonia]] from abroad, and a new generation of young Macedonian intellectuals rediscovered the history of [[Macedonian nationalism]]. [[Dragan Bogdanovski]], who was a proclaimed Macedonian rights movement activist, had created the political program for the ''Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity'' on 23 January 1990 in [[Stockholm]], Sweden. A meeting at the end of May happened between [[Ljubčo Georgievski]] and Bogdanovski, Boris Zmejkovski, and a few other activists, where they agreed to make the party.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Прилепскиот конгрес на ВМРО-Демократска Партија за Македонско Национално Единство |trans-title=IMRO – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity’s Congress in Prilep |pages=149-150 |language=mk |date=2022 |journal=Glasnik |publisher=Институт за национална историја |author=Marjan Gijovski |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=1118173}}</ref> Under the name VMRO–DPMNE, it was founded on 17 June 1990 in [[Skopje]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Walking on the Edge: Consolidating Multiethnic Macedonia, 1989–2004 |author=Židas Daskalovski |publisher=Globic Press |date=2006 |page=46 |isbn=9780977666232}}</ref> as a Macedonian nationalist and anti-communist party.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Jenkins |editor1-first=Brian |editor2-last=Sofos |editor2-first=Spyros A. |title=Nation and Identity in Contemporary Europe |date=1996 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415123129 |page=255}}</ref><ref name="ptb" /><ref name="Bugajski1995">{{cite book|author-link=Janusz Bugajski|first=Janusz|last=Bugajski|title=Ethnic Politics in Eastern Europe: A Guide to Nationality Policies, Organizations, and Parties|url=https://archive.org/details/ethnicpoliticsin0000buga/page/111|year=1995|publisher=[[M. E. Sharpe]]|isbn=978-0-7656-1911-2|page=463}}</ref> Georgievski was elected as the party's first president in the constituent assembly.<ref name="ppwb">{{cite book |editor1-last=Gianluca Passarelli |title=The Presidentialisation of Political Parties in the Western Balkans |date=2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319973524 |pages=101–102, 106}}</ref> The party advocated for the independence of Macedonia, the withdrawal of the [[Yugoslav National Army]], creation of a [[Army of North Macedonia|Macedonian defence force]], establishment of an independent currency and international recognition as a sovereign state.<ref>{{cite book |author=Alice Ackermann |title=Making Peace Prevail: Preventing Violent Conflict in Macedonia |date=2000 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=9780815606024 |page=57}}</ref>

After the [[1990 Macedonian parliamentary election|first multi-party elections]] in 1990, VMRO–DPMNE became the strongest party in the parliament.<ref name="LevitskyWay">{{cite book |author1=Steven Levitsky |author2=Lucan A. Way |title=Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521709156 |pages=125–128}}</ref> It did not form a government because it did not achieve a majority of seats; this forced it to form a coalition with an ethnic Albanian party, but it refused to do so. The party boycotted the second round of the [[1994 Macedonian general election|1994 elections]] claiming fraud in the first round.<ref name="ppwb" /> During the early 1990s, the party presented itself as an extreme right-wing nationalist party with anti-Albanian sentiments.<ref name="ptb" /> It also promoted the irredentist concept of [[United Macedonia]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Loring Danforth |title=The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World |date=1995 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0691043574 |page=144 |quote=...the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), an ultranationalist party whose irredentist platform called for the creation of a "United Macedonia".}}</ref> By the mid-1990s, it created offices in most major cities.<ref name="LevitskyWay" /> The party opposed the 1995 Interim Accord with Greece.<ref>{{cite book |author=Jane K. Cowan |title=Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference |date=2000 |publisher=Pluto Press |isbn=9780745315898 |page=133}}</ref> During that period, the party moderated its rhetoric.<ref name="ptb" /> After winning the [[1998 Macedonian parliamentary election|1998 election]], VMRO–DPMNE formed a coalition government with the [[Democratic Alternative (North Macedonia)|Democratic Alternative]] and [[Democratic Party of Albanians]] (DPA), with Georgievski as prime minister.<ref name="ppwb" /> In 1999, VMRO–DPMNE's candidate [[Boris Trajkovski]] was elected president. Under Georgievski, there was an improvement in [[Bulgaria–North Macedonia relations|Bulgaria–Macedonia relations]].<ref name="db" /> He signed a bilateral agreement with Bulgarian prime minister [[Ivan Kostov]] regarding good neighbourly relations.<ref name="emrrm" />

In 2001, the party participated in a government of national unity.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Marc Weller |editor2=Barbara Metzger |editor3=Niall Johnson |title=Settling Self-Determination Disputes: Complex Power-sharing in Theory and Practice |date=2008 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004164826 |pages=275}}</ref> VMRO–DPMNE's government was defeated at the [[2002 Macedonian parliamentary election|2002 parliamentary elections]]. In an alliance with the [[Liberal Party of Macedonia]], VMRO–DPMNE won 28 out of 120 seats. In 2004, Trajkovski died in a plane crash and [[Branko Crvenkovski]] was elected president, defeating VMRO–DPMNE's candidate [[Saško Kedev]]. After losing the 2002 elections, Georgievski left the party and established the [[VMRO – People's Party|VMRO-NP]] in 2004.<ref name="db" />

[[Nikola Gruevski]] was elected as the new leader of the party in May 2003.<ref name="ppwb" /> The widespread public support for EU membership in the 2000s encouraged the party to evolve into a moderate and pro-European party.<ref name="LevitskyWay" /> It also rebranded itself as centre-right and Christian democratic.<ref name="Berglund"/> VMRO-DPMNE opposed the legalisation of the [[Tetovo University]] in early 2004.<ref name="aec" /> The party became the largest party in parliament again after a net gain of over a dozen seats in the [[2006 Macedonian parliamentary election|2006 parliamentary elections]]. With 44 of 120 seats, the party formed a government in coalition with the DPA again, with Gruevski becoming the prime minister.<ref name="ppwb" /> In its 2006 party programme, it emphasised the pursuit of EU and NATO membership as its major foreign policy goals.<ref>{{cite book |author=Christopher K. Lamont |title=International Criminal Justice and the Politics of Compliance |date=2010 |publisher=Ashgate |isbn=9780754679653 |page=98}}</ref> On 15 May 2007, the party became an observer-member of the [[European People's Party]].<ref name="db" />

The party won [[2008 Macedonian parliamentary election|2008 early parliamentary elections]]. In the 120-seat Assembly, VMRO–DPMNE won 63 seats and formed a coalition government with the Democratic Union for Integration.<ref name="PEE"/><ref name="ppwb" /> In 2009, the VMRO–DPMNE-led coalition "For a better Macedonia" won 56 out of 84 [[Municipalities of North Macedonia|municipalities]], the party's presidential candidate [[Gjorge Ivanov]] also won the [[2009 Macedonian presidential election|presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web |title=ВМРО-ДПМНЕ апсолутен победник со 56 градоначалници |url=http://www.vecer.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=D535691992594942B020D2E4139D5C91 |website=Večer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928154150/http://www.vecer.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=D535691992594942B020D2E4139D5C91 |date=28 September 2011 |archive-date=28 September 2011 |language=mk}}</ref> The party won again in the [[2011 Macedonian parliamentary election|2011 early parliamentary elections]]. VMRO–DPMNE won 56 seats of the 120-seat Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, the party formed a government in coalition with the Democratic Union for Integration in the Macedonian Parliament (mandate period 2011–2015). In 2014, [[2014 Macedonian general election|early parliamentary elections]] were held together with the presidential election, VMRO–DPMNE won again 61 seats of the 120-seat Assembly and formed a [[Cabinet of Nikola Gruevski IV|government in coalition]] with the [[Democratic Union for Integration]] (mandate period 2014–2018).

=== Antiquisation and Skopje 2014 ===
{{See also|Antiquisation|Skopje 2014}}
The party pursued the "[[Antiquization|antiquisation]]" policy between 2006 and 2017, in which it sought to claim [[Ancient Macedonians|ancient Macedonian]] figures like [[Alexander the Great]] and [[Philip II of Macedon]] for the country. The policy was pursued since its coming to power in 2006,<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Naoum Kaytchev |title=Being Macedonian: Different types of ethnic identifications in the contemporary Republic of Macedonia |journal=Politeja |date=2014 |volume=11 |issue=4 (30) |pages=123–131 |doi=10.12797/Politeja.11.2014.30.13 |publisher=ismo Wydziału Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politycznych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego|doi-access=free}}</ref> and especially since Macedonia's non-invitation to NATO in 2008, as a way of putting pressure on Greece as well as in an attempt to construct a new identity on the basis of a presumed link to the world of antiquity.<ref name="Georgievski">{{cite web |title=Ghosts of the past endanger Macedonia's future |author=Boris Georgievski |website=Balkan Insight |date=27 October 2009 |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/ghosts-of-the-past-endanger-macedonia-s-future}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Benjamin Langer|author2=Julia Lechler|title=Reading the City: Urban Space and Memory in Skopje|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sgfc1TosZGYC&pg=PA43| year = 2010| publisher = Univerlagtuberlin| isbn = 978-3-7983-2129-8| page = 43 }}</ref> The policy received academic criticism as it demonstrated feebleness of archaeology and other historical disciplines in public discourse, as well as a danger of [[Social exclusion|marginalization]].<ref>{{cite book| author = Ludomir R. Lozny| title = Comparative Archaeologies: A Sociological View of the Science of the Past| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HFkueBuO-ucC&pg=PA427| date = 1 January 2011| publisher = Springer| isbn = 978-1-4419-8225-4| page = 427 }}</ref> The policy also attracted criticism domestically, by ethnic Macedonians within the country, who saw as dangerously dividing the country between those who identify with [[classical antiquity]] and those who identify with the country's Slavic culture.<ref name="Georgievski"/> Ethnic [[Albanians in North Macedonia|Albanians]] saw it as an attempt to marginalize them and exclude them from the national narrative.<ref name="Georgievski"/> [[Bulgaria]] also accused the country of falsification of history.<ref name="Georgievski"/> According to researcher Anastas Vangeli, it harmed interethnic relations and the country's international position.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/00905992.2010.532775 | volume=39 | title=Nation-building ancient Macedonian style: the origins and the effects of the so-called antiquization in Macedonia | year=2011 | journal=Nationalities Papers | pages=13–32 | author=Vangeli Anastas| s2cid=154923343}}</ref> Foreign diplomats warned that the policy reduced international sympathy for Macedonia's position in the naming dispute with Greece.<ref name="Georgievski"/> [[Social Democratic Union of Macedonia|SDSM]] was opposed to the [[Skopje 2014]] project and alleged that the monuments could have cost six to ten times less than what the government paid, which may already have exceeded 600 million euros.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.skopjediem.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9407:sdsm-allegations-at-government-on-skopje-2014-project-&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=81|title=SDSM Allegations at Government on Skopje 2014 Project|date=30 March 2011|publisher=SkopjeDiem|access-date=30 July 2012|location=Skopje|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104174531/http://www.skopjediem.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9407:sdsm-allegations-at-government-on-skopje-2014-project-&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=81|archive-date=4 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonian-culture-strategy-milestone-or-wish-list |title=Macedonian Culture Strategy: Milestone or Wish List? |website=Balkan Insight |date=15 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Joanne McEvoy |title=Power-Sharing Executives: Governing in Bosnia, Macedonia, and Northern Ireland |date=2015 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=9780812246513 |page=194}}</ref> In 2012, a statue of the member of the IMRO [[Simeon Radev]], who was also a Bulgarian diplomat, was installed on the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but it was later taken down, and according to [[Makfax]], with the explanation that it had been a mistake.<ref>{{cite web |title=В Скопие: Скулптурата на Симеон Радев била грешка |url=https://www.vesti.bg/bulgaria/medii/v-skopie-skulpturata-na-s.-radev-bila-greshka-4719871 |website=Vesti.bg |language=bg |date=11 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Macedonia Press Review – April 12, 2012 |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2012/04/12/macedonia-press-review-april-aa2-2%C3%A5aa2/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=12 April 2012}}</ref> The party built new headquarters for itself in Skopje in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=Photo: Macedonia's Ruling Party Builds Itself White Palace |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2015/03/23/photo-macedonia-s-ruling-party-builds-lavish-hq/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=23 March 2015}}</ref>

=== Macedonian political crisis ===
{{See also|2011 Macedonian protests|2015 Macedonian protests|2016 Macedonian protests|2017 storming of Macedonian Parliament}}
In the 2010s and the 2020s, Georgievski criticised the party several times, seeing it as a personal failure and a fake party without any ideology, etc.<ref>{{multiref2 |1={{cite web |title=Георгиевски: Ако обичаме Македония, трябва да учим албански |url=https://www.actualno.com/world/georgievski-ako-obichame-makedonija-trjabva-da-uchim-albanski-news_407258.html |date=19 November 2012 |website=Actualno.com |language=bg }} |2={{cite web |url=https://www.slobodnaevropa.mk/a/26809481.html |website=Radio Free Europe |date=23 January 2015 |author=Marija Mitevska Марија |title=Србизација на Македонија? |language=mk }} |3={{cite web |title=Скопие осъмна с билборд срещу сръбската асимилация |url=https://www.actualno.com/balkani/skopie-osymna-s-bilbord-sreshtu-srybskata-asimilacija-news_454576.html |website=Actualno.com |date=3 February 2015 |language=bg }} |4={{cite web |title=Љубчо Георгиевски:Во Македонија се крие дека Делчев бил бугарски учител – Жртвите за самостојна Македонија ги правиме предавници, а удбашите херои |url=https://infomax.mk/љубчо-георгиевскиво-македонија-се-кр/ |date=6 May 2022 |website=Infomax |language=mk }} |5={{cite web |title=Љубчо Георгиевски му одговоpи на Бориc Стојменов – кажа сè што мисли за него |url=https://info7.news/2022/11/01/lubcho-georgievski-mu-odgovori-na-boris-stojmenov-kazha-se-shto-misli-za-nego/ |website=info7NEWS |date=1 November 2022 |language=mk |access-date=1 November 2022 |archive-date=1 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101173223/https://info7.news/2022/11/01/lubcho-georgievski-mu-odgovori-na-boris-stojmenov-kazha-se-shto-misli-za-nego/ |url-status=dead }}}}</ref> The party opposed the Friendship Treaty with Bulgaria in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=CC of VMRO-DPMNE: We will not support the agreement with Bulgaria in Parliament |url=https://meta.mk/en/cc-of-vmro-dpmne-we-will-not-support-the-agreement-with-bulgaria-in-parliament/ |website=Meta.mk |date=30 July 2017}}</ref>

As a result of the political crisis, the political parties signed the [[Pržino Agreement]], which also resulted in the resignation of Gruevski in January 2016.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Otto Eibl |editor2=Miloš Gregor |title=Thirty Years of Political Campaigning in Central and Eastern Europe |date=2019 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9783030276935 |pages=263–264}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1=Robert Hudson |editor2=Ivan Dodovski |title=Macedonia's Long Transition: From Independence to the Prespa Agreement and Beyond |date=2023 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9783031207730 |pages=32–34}}</ref> VMRO-DPMNE was widely accused of nepotism and authoritarianism and was involved in a series of wiretapping, corruption and money-laundering scandals, with the Macedonian Special Prosecution ordering in 2017 a series of investigations against the party's former leader and ex-Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, as well as ministers and other high-ranked officials, for involvement in illegal activities. In 2018, amid ongoing investigations, a Skopje court froze the party's property assets.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/court-freezes-macedonian-opposition-s-real-estate-11-01-2018| title=Court Freezes Macedonian Opposition's Property Assets|date=1 November 2018|access-date=13 November 2018}}</ref> Gruevski himself was sentenced to two years in prison for the illegal purchase of a Mercedes car in 2018 but [[fugitive|fled]] to Hungary when he was ordered to serve his prison sentence.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nikola Gruevski: Former North Macedonia Prime Minister given fifth prison sentence |url=https://www.euronews.com/2022/06/08/nikola-gruevski-former-north-macedonia-prime-minister-given-fifth-prison-sentence |website=Euronews |date=8 June 2022}}</ref> Nevertheless, he remained an honorary chairman of the party until July 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=EWB|date=22 July 2020|title=Gruevski no longer honorary president of VMRO-DPMNE|url=https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/07/22/gruevski-no-longer-honorary-president-of-vmro-dpmne/|access-date=28 July 2020|website=European Western Balkans|language=en-US}}</ref> On 8 October 2018, [[Gordana Jankulovska]], the former Minister of Interior and senior member of the party, was sentenced to six years in prison for illegally purchasing the Mercedes, which Gruevski had used secretly.<ref>{{cite web |title=Macedonia Court Jails Ex-Interior Minister For Six Years |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2018/10/08/macedonia-court-gives-former-interior-minister-six-year-sentence-10-08-2018/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=8 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos |title=The Irregular Pendulum of Democracy: Populism, Clientelism and Corruption in Post-Yugoslav Successor States |date=2023 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9783031256097 |page=212}}</ref>

=== Mickoski's leadership ===
[[Hristijan Mickoski]] became the leader of the party on 23 December 2017, replacing Gruevski.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 December 2017 |title=Hristijan Mickoski to Lead Macedonia's Frail Opposition |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2017/12/23/hristijan-misckoski-to-lead-macedonia-s-battered-opposition-12-23-2017/ |website=Balkan Insight}}</ref> VMRO-DPMNE has been criticised for its hard-line stance against the [[Prespa Agreement]] that was reached in June 2018 between the [[North Macedonia|Republic of Macedonia]] and [[Greece]], which resolved the long-standing [[Macedonia naming dispute]] by renaming the country as [[North Macedonia]] and recognising that Macedonian culture and language are distinct and unrelated to [[Ancient Greece|ancient Hellenic civilisation]]. On 16 October 2018, [[United States Assistant Secretary of State|US Assistant Secretary of State]] [[A. Wess Mitchell|Wess Mitchell]] sent a letter to Mickoski, in which he expressed the disappointment of the United States with the positions of the party's leadership, including him personally, regarding its position against the Prespa agreement and asked him to "set aside partisan interests" and work to get the name change approved.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.balkaneu.com/wess-mitchell-to-vmro-dpmne-leader-mickoski-we-are-disappointed-with-you/|title=Wess Mitchell to VMRO-DPMNE leader Mickoski: We are disappointed with you!|website=www.balkaneu.com|date=16 October 2018|language=en-US|access-date=20 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/233694/article/ekathimerini/news/us-ups-pressure-on-fyrom-opposition-to-ratify-constitutional-changes|title=US ups pressure on FYROM opposition to ratify constitutional changes {{!}} Kathimerini|access-date=20 October 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Read Assistant Secretary A. Wess Mitchell's letter to VMRO-DPMNE Leader Hristijan Mickoski |url=https://mk.usembassy.gov/letter-from-assistant-secretary-a-wess-mitchell-to-vmro-dpmne-leader-hristijan-mickoski-october-16-2018/ |website=U.S. Embassy in North Macedonia |access-date=31 July 2024 |date=16 October 2018}}</ref> Despite the party's opposition, eight deputies of the party voted in favour of the initiation of the constitutional amendments to allow the country's name change.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2018/10/19/xx-macedonia-parliament-votes-on-name-agreement-10-17-2018/ |website=Balkan Insight |title=Macedonia's Parliament Backs 'Name' Agreement with Greece |date=19 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="db" />

In April 2022, a [[Bulgarians in North Macedonia|Bulgarian club]] named after the last leader of the historical IMRO, [[Ivan Mihailov]], was officially opened in [[Bitola]]. After its opening, the club was set on fire, and Mickoski demanded that the arsonist, who was arrested, be released.<ref>{{cite web |title=Лидерът на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ Християн Мицкоски поиска освобождаването на арестувания за палежа на Културния клуб "Иван Михайлов" в Битоля. |url=https://www.bta.bg/bg/news/world/europe/278663-liderat-na-vmro-dpmne-hristiyan-mitskoski-poiska-osvobozhdavaneto-na-arestuvaniy |website=БТА |date=8 June 2022}}</ref> The deputy chairman of the party Alexander Nikoloski expressed later his support to the decision of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, which announced that the club "Ivan Mihailov" is discriminative towards the citizens of the country on national and ethnic grounds. VMRO-DPMNE deputy [[Rashela Mizrahi]] declared also the last leader of the organisation whose name it bears to be a [[Fascist (insult)|fascist]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Influx of Anti-Bulgarian Rhetoric by the Macedonian Elite |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/214801/Influx+of+Anti-Bulgarian+Rhetoric+by+the+Macedonian+Elite |website=Sofia News Agency |date=20 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Игра на клубове: новите български сдружения разпалиха битката на власт и опозиция в Скопие |url=https://www.dnevnik.bg/sviat/2022/10/18/4404550_igra_na_klubove_novite_bulgarski_sdrujeniia_razpaliha/?ref=rss |website=Дневник |date=18 October 2022 |language=bg}}</ref> Later, the party submitted a bill demanding that such names be banned for use in the country to increase distancing from fascism and Nazism.<ref>{{cite web |title=ВМРО-ДПМНЕ предлага закон за "спорни имена на сдружения" след откриването на български клубове |url=https://dnes.dir.bg/svyat/vmro-dpmne-predlaga-zakon-za-sporni-imena-na-sdruzheniya-sled-otkrivaneto-na-balgarski-klubove |website=Dir.bg |date=17 October 2022 |language=bg}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Лидерът на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ преброи 173 българи в Северна Македония |url=https://www.mediapool.bg/liderat-na-vmro-dpmne-prebroi-173-balgari-v-severna-makedoniya-news340650.html |website=Mediapool.bg |date=8 October 2022 |language=bg}}</ref> The bill was adopted, in collaboration with the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Parliament adopts amendments to laws on associations and political parties |url=https://mia.mk/en/story/parliament-adopts-amendments-to-laws-on-associations-and-political-parties%C2%A0 |website=MIA |date=2 November 2022}}</ref>

The party became the main oppositional force which participated in the [[2022 North Macedonia protests]], surrounding its accession into the [[European Union|EU]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Margarita Assenova |title=The Balkans Are Heating up Again |url=https://jamestown.org/program/the-balkans-are-heating-up-again/ |website=Jamestown |date=8 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Debate Derailed In North Macedonian Parliament Amid Unrest Over Proposed Deal With EU, Bulgaria. |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/north-macedonia-parliament-debate-unrest-eu-bulgaria/31933467.html |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=7 July 2022}}</ref> In September 2022, the party proposed a referendum under which the friendship treaty between Bulgaria and North Macedonia would be denounced.<ref>{{cite web |title=ВМРО-ДПМНЕ обяви въпроса за референдума, свързан с Договора за приятелство с България |url=https://dnes.dir.bg/politika/vmro-dpmne-obyavi-vaprosa-za-referenduma-svarzan-s-dogovora-za-priyatelstvo-s-balgariya |website=Dir.bg |date=5 September 2022 |language=bg}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=North Macedonia Opposition Seeks Referendum Against Bulgaria Deal |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2022/09/06/north-macedonia-opposition-seeks-referendum-against-bulgaria-deal/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=6 September 2022}}</ref> The party is against the recognition of the [[Bulgarians in North Macedonia]] as an official ethnic minority, which is [[conditio sine qua non]] the country to become a member of the EU.<ref>{{cite web |author=Лилия Чалева |title=Мицкоски се зарече да напусне политиката, ако българите бъдат вписани в Конституцията на РСМ |url=https://dnes.dir.bg/svyat/mitskoski-se-zareche-da-napusne-politikata-ako-balgarite-badat-vpisani-v-konstitutsiyata-na-rsm |website=Dir.bg |date=16 August 2022 |language=bg}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-09 |title=Новият македонски президент подсказа: Политиката ще е против България – Новини от Actualno |url=https://www.actualno.com/balkani/novijat-makedonski-prezident-podskaza-politikata-shte-e-protiv-bylgarija-news_2217887.html |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=www.actualno.com |language=bg}}</ref> In this way, the party effectively halted the European integration of North Macedonia.<ref>{{cite web |author=Krassen Nikolov |title=Bulgaria says North Macedonia risks EU accession over recent statements |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/bulgaria-says-north-macedonia-risks-eu-accession-over-recent-statements/ |website=Euractiv |date=14 June 2024}}</ref> The party won the [[2024 North Macedonian parliamentary election|2024 parliamentary elections]].<ref>{{cite web |title=North Macedonia set for rocky ties with EU as nationalists win presidential, parliamentary election |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/north-macedonia-set-for-rocky-ties-with-eu-as-nationalists-win-presidential-parliamentary-election/ |website=Euractiv |date=9 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=North Macedonia's parliament elects Hristijan Mickoski as PM |url=https://www.dw.com/en/north-macedonias-parliament-elects-hristijan-mickoski-as-pm/a-69452674 |website=Deutsche Welle |date=24 June 2024}}</ref> It formed a government with [[VLEN Coalition|VLEN]] and [[For Our Macedonia|ZNAM]] in June.<ref>{{cite web |title=Close Allies, Fewer Albanians and a Moscow Fan – North Macedonia's Govt Takes Shape |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2024/06/20/close-allies-fewer-albanians-and-a-moscow-fan-north-macedonias-govt-takes-shape/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=20 June 2024}}</ref> On 25 September 2024, the EU announced the separation of Albania from North Macedonia on the EU accession path.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Restelica |first=Bleona |date=2024-09-26 |title=EU Separates Albania’s Accession Path From North Macedonia |url=https://schengen.news/eu-separates-albanias-accession-path-from-north-macedonia/ |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=SchengenNews |language=en}}</ref> Following this decision, Albania continued its path separately.

== Youth Force Union ==
The ''Youth Force Union'' ({{langx|mk|Унија на млади сили на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ}}), also known as '''UMS''' ({{langx|mk|УМС}}), is the youth wing organisation of the VMRO-DPMNE, formed in 1991.<ref>{{Cite web |title=УНИЈА НА МЛАДИ СИЛИ НА ВМРО-ДПМНЕ |website=ВМРО-ДПМНЕ |url=https://vmro-dpmne.org.mk/%d1%83%d0%bd%d0%b8%d1%98%d0%b0-%d0%bd%d0%b0-%d0%bc%d0%bb%d0%b0%d0%b4%d0%b8-%d1%81%d0%b8%d0%bb%d0%b8-%d0%bd%d0%b0-%d0%b2%d0%bc%d1%80%d0%be-%d0%b4%d0%bf%d0%bc%d0%bd%d0%b5 |access-date=17 July 2024 |language=mk}}</ref>

A number of projects arising from the Youth Force Union were conducted in the past 20 years. It organised demonstrations against the introduction of the Albanian language in the pedagogical faculty of the [[University of Skopje]] in 1997.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Oliver P. Richmond |editor2=Gëzim Visoka |title=The Palgrave Encyclopedia Of Peace And Conflict Studies |date=2022 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9783030779542 |page=353}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Florian Bieber |title=The Rise of Authoritarianism in the Western Balkans |date=2019 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=9783030221485 |page=54}}</ref>

== Election results ==
=== Presidential elections ===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
! rowspan="2" |Election
! rowspan="2" |Party candidate
!Votes
!%
!Votes
!%
! rowspan="2" |Result
|-
! colspan="2" |First round
! colspan="2" |Second round
|-
![[1994 Macedonian general election|1994]]
|[[Ljubiša Georgievski]]
| 197,109
| 21.6%
| –
| –
|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}
|-
![[1999 Macedonian presidential election|1999]]
|[[Boris Trajkovski]]
| 219,098
| 21.1%
|582,808
| 53.2%
|'''Elected''' {{Y}}
|-
![[2004 Macedonian presidential election|2004]]
|[[Saško Kedev]]
| 309,132
| 34.1%
|329,179
| 37.4%
|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}
|-
![[2009 Macedonian presidential election|2009]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Gjorge Ivanov]]
| 345,850
| 35.04%
|453,616
| 63.14%
|'''Elected''' {{Y}}
|-
![[2014 Macedonian general election|2014]]
| 449,442
| 51.69%
|534,910
| 55.28%
|'''Elected''' {{Y}}
|-
![[2019 North Macedonian presidential election|2019]]
|rowspan=2 |[[Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova]]
| 318,341
| 44.16%
|377,713
| 46.41%
|'''Lost''' {{Nay}}
|-
![[2024 North Macedonian presidential election|2024]]
| 363,085
| 41.21%
|561,000
|69.01%
|'''Elected ''' {{Y}}
|}

=== Assembly elections ===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Election
!'''Party leader'''
! colspan="2" |Vote
! %
! Seats
!'''+/–'''
!'''Position'''
!Government
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[1990 Macedonian parliamentary election|1990]]
| rowspan="7" |[[Ljubčo Georgievski]]
|First round
| 154,101
| 14.3%
| rowspan="2" align="left" |{{Composition bar|38|120|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}}}
| rowspan="2" |{{increase}} 38
| rowspan="2" |{{increase}} 1st
| rowspan="2" {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
|Second round
| 238,367
| 29.9%
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[1994 Macedonian general election|1994]]
|First round
| 141,946
| 14.3%
| rowspan="2" align="left" |{{Composition bar|0|120|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}}}
| rowspan="2" |{{decrease}} 38
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" {{Eliminated|Extra-parliamentary}}
|-
|Second round
| colspan="2" | Boycotted
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[1998 Macedonian parliamentary election|1998]]
|First round
| 312,669
| 28.1%
| rowspan="2" align="left" |{{Composition bar|49|120|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}}}
| rowspan="2" |{{increase}} 49
| rowspan="2" |{{increase}} 1st
| rowspan="2" {{yes2|Government}}
|-
|Second round
| 381,196
| 49%
|-
![[2002 Macedonian parliamentary election|2002]]
| colspan="2" |298,404
|25%
|{{Composition bar|33|120|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}}}
|{{decrease}} 16
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|-
![[2006 Macedonian parliamentary election|2006]]
| rowspan="5" |[[Nikola Gruevski]]
| colspan="2" |303,543
|32.5%
|{{Composition bar|45|120|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}}}
|{{increase}} 12
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Government}}
|-
![[2008 Macedonian parliamentary election|2008]]
| colspan="2" |481,501
|48.48%
|{{Composition bar|63|120|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}}}
|{{increase}} 18
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Government}}
|-
![[2011 Macedonian parliamentary election|2011]]
| colspan="2" |438,138
|39.98%
|{{Composition bar|56|123|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}}}
|{{decrease}} 7
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Government}}
|-
![[2014 Macedonian general election|2014]]
| colspan="2" |481,615
|42.98%
|{{Composition bar|61|123|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}}}
|{{increase}} 5
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Government}}
|-
![[2016 Macedonian parliamentary election|2016]]
| colspan="2" |454,519
|38.14%
|{{Composition bar|51|120|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}}}
|{{decrease}} 10
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|-
![[2020 North Macedonian parliamentary election|2020]]
| rowspan="5" |[[Hristijan Mickoski]]
| colspan="2" |315,344
|34.57%
|{{Composition bar|44|120|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}}}
|{{decrease}} 7
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|-
![[2024 North Macedonian parliamentary election|2024]]
| colspan="2" |436,407
|44.58%
|{{Composition bar|58|120|{{party color|VMRO-DPMNE}}}}
|{{increase}} 14
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Government}}
|}

== See also ==
*[[List of political parties in North Macedonia]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book |last1=Mattioli |first1=Fabio |title=Dark Finance: Illiquidity and Authoritarianism at the Margins of Europe |date=2020 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-1-5036-1294-5 |language=en}}

== External links ==
*[https://vmro-dpmne.org.mk Official website] {{in lang|mk}}

{{Political parties in North Macedonia}}
{{European People's Party}}
{{International Democracy Union}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party For Macedonian National Unity}}
[[Category:1990 establishments in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia]]
[[Category:Anti-communist parties]]
[[Category:Christian democratic parties in Europe]]
[[Category:Conservative parties in North Macedonia]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodox political parties]]
[[Category:Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization]]
[[Category:International Democracy Union member parties]]
[[Category:Macedonian nationalism]]
[[Category:National conservative parties]]
[[Category:Nationalist parties in North Macedonia]]
[[Category:Parties related to the European People's Party]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1990]]
[[Category:Pro-independence parties in Yugoslavia]]