[1][3] Until the 1970s, HOP was a Croatian emigrant organization with more than 80 percent of its members made up of people who had been politically active in some way in the 1941–1945 Independent State of Croatia regime.

Originally led by Ante Pavelić,[1] the former poglavnik, other signatories of HOP's first foundation charter included former Independent State of Croatia government officials such as Džafer Kulenović and Vjekoslav Vrančić, which caused it to be considered a successor of the Ustashe, the Croatian fascist movement which ran the Independent State of Croatia.

After the collapse of communism in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the organization's headquarters were moved from Buenos Aires to Zagreb and it was officially registered as a political party in Croatia in October 1991.

Today, HOP functions as a minor political party in Croatia without holding any seats in the Croatian Parliament or at any other government level.

The organization has active branches in Canada (in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver), and Australia (in Melbourne and Sydney).