[1] The party was founded on 11 January 1989[2] in the Cankar Hall in Ljubljana, and Dimitrij Rupel was elected as its president.
[2] It was founded mostly by intellectuals around the alternative journal Nova revija and it was initially called Slovenian Democratic Union of Reason.
In April 1990, the coalition won the first free elections in Slovenia after World War II, gaining around 55% of the popular vote.
Despite the relatively modest result, members of the party covered several key positions in the new cabinet led by the Christian Democrat Lojze Peterle, such as the Ministry of Interior, Defence, Justice, Information.
The Democratic Party gained 5,01% of the popular vote, and in 1994, most of its members joined the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia.