On 11 December 1989, a group of intellectuals—including anti-communist dissidents, liberal academics, poets, writers, and film and theatre directors—held a press conference announcing the revival of the Democratic Party (DS), at which they also released a written proclamation.

[6] The original thirteen signatories of the proclamation of the Founding Committee included Kosta Čavoški, Milovan Danojlić, Zoran Đinđić, Gojko Đogo, Vladimir Gligorov, Slobodan Inić, Marko Janković, Vojislav Koštunica, Dragoljub Mićunović, Borislav Pekić, Miodrag Perišić, Radoslav Stojanović, and Dušan Vukajlović.

[9][17] According to Mićunović, Čavoški initially registered the party in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in March 1990 because Serbia had not yet adopted a law authorising a multi-party system.

[15]: 73  Čavoški previously proposed that opposition parties should receive television air time, representation on electoral bodies, and for the campaign to last 90 days in total.

[22][23] Together with the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), DS organised mass protests in Belgrade in March 1991, demanding reforms of the Radio Television of Serbia (RTS).

[16] By contrast, Mićunović characterised the manner of Đinđić's takeover of DS as a "combination of Machiavellianism and a revolutionary technique" (spoj makijavelizma i revolucionarne tehnike).

[15]: 286–287 [25]: 72  However, the Electoral Commission invalidated those local election results, which ultimately led to mass protests that were attended by hundreds of thousands of people in total.

[66][67] One month later, on 12 March 2003, Zvezdan Jovanović, a member of the Serbian Mafia's Zemun Clan, assassinated Đinđić as he was exiting a vehicle in front of a government building.

[90] Koštunica embraced anti-Western positions and was a hardliner on the Kosovo issue; he blamed his coalition partners for "creating an unworkable rift in the government" during his resignation speech.

[96]: 153–154  DS and SPS agreed to continue Serbia's accession to the European Union, work on fighting crime and corruption, and enact social justice reforms to help the vulnerable sections of the population.

[90] The DS-led government was faced with the arrest and trial of Radovan Karadžić, the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, and the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession.

[109][110] An extraordinary party congress was called for 25 November 2012, with Đilas and Branimir Kuzmanović put forward as the only candidates to succeed Tadić as president of DS.

[112][113] Additionally, Pajtić was re-elected as vice-president and was joined by Nataša Vučković, Vesna Martinović, Dejan Nikolić, Miodrag Rakić, Goran Ćirić, and Jovan Marković.

[118][119] Petrović was expelled from DS in January 2013[120] and subsequently formed a parliamentary group named Together for Serbia (ZZS) which was later registered as a political party.

[173][175] However, SZS was reorganised as a nationwide coalition in September 2018 that, in addition to DS, included ZZS, Sloga, LS, Jeremić's People's Party (Narodna), Dveri, the Movement for Reversal (PZP), and Healthy Serbia.

[195][196][197] During a session of the party's main board in November 2019, Lečić, Jerkov, Božović, Radoslav Milojičić, and Slobodan Milosavljević left a meeting to attempt to break quorum after demanding a new leadership election.

[219][220] Their coalition was formalised in February 2022 under the name United for the Victory of Serbia (UZPS); they nominated Zdravko Ponoš of Narodna as their presidential candidate.

[248] DS organised internal leadership elections on 14 December 2024, with Lutovac, Gavrilović, and Srđan Milivojević registering as candidates for the president of the party.

[15]: 59–61 [16] It included the founders of the Praxis School, Mićunović and Đinđić, who were labelled liberals, as well as Čavoški, Koštunica, and Milošević, who argued for the adoption of a stronger anti-communist position inside the party.

[9][15]: 59 [253]: 80  DS adopted a "civic and centrist identity", and in its Letter of Intent of December 1989, it stated its support for the establishment of a democratic and multi-party system.

[15]: 59 [253]: 80  Regarding Yugoslavia, DS supported federalisation and a pluralistic democratic order to guarantee human security and personal freedom and decrease ethnic conflicts.

[254]: 92  By contrast, political scientist Vukašin Pavlović has noted that DS could be described as centre-right at the time of its formation in 1990 due to its founders' ideological positions.

[2]: 143  Likewise, Metropolitan University Prague lecturer Marko Stojić has described DS in its founding era as centre-right because its programme advocated a liberal market economy and minimal role for the state.

[258]: 57  Additionally, political scientist Jovan Komšić has noted that DS moderated its stance on nationalism after the 1995 Dayton Agreement, thereafter focusing on the "democratisation of Serbia".

[255]: 45–46 Despite trying to position itself as a social democratic party after Đinđić's assassination, Vukomanović has argued that the leadership of DS did not "dare to take a decisive step towards the left".

[2]: 115  During Tadić's tenure, DS was the leading party of the liberal and pro-European bloc,[83]: 14  but it also promoted privatisation to accelerate Serbia's economic development.

[270] DS also advocated for the improvement of the standard of living and for a balanced regional development,[83]: 59–60  and proposed the creation of an independent body that would implement anti-corruption measures in the judiciary.

[273][274][275] By contrast, Dušan Spasojević, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade, has described DS' social views as being orientated towards the left.

[283] When Đilas led DS in opposition to SNS during the 2014 election, he pledged to provide free textbooks for students and full salaries for pregnant women, increase wages for healthcare workers, and help pensioners.

[284][285] DS has declared itself to be "the bearer of the most progressive ideas"; it is in favour of protecting workers, minorities, and the environment, and it supports guaranteed rights to healthcare, education, and pensions.