title: Masaryk Democratic Party
text: # Masaryk Democratic Party
  
  The Masaryk Democratic Party (Czech: Masarykova demokratická strana, MDS) is a centrist political party in the Czech Republic, founded on 25 May 1992. The party follows the legacy of the first Czechoslovak President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and considers itself a successor and to the tradition of the historical Czech Realist Party.
  
  ## History
  
  In the 2002 and 2006 municipal elections, the party co-operated with the Czech National Social Party and the Party for the Open Society. In the 2014 Czech Senate election, party leader Michal Chromec was a candidate in the Přerov district on the united list of the Czech Social Democratic Party, but failed to qualify for the second round.
  
  ## Leaders
  
  * Otomar Venzhöfer (2001–2012)
  * Michal Chromec (since 2012)
  