It was led by Philibert Tsiranana, a member of the French National Assembly.
Tsiranana had joined the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) group, and the French SFIO government aided the construction of the PSD.
The party campaigned for continued links with France in the 1958 referendum.
PSD allied itself with the Socialist Democratic Union of Madagascar, forming the Republican Cartel.
This article about an African political party is a stub.