Portal:Socialism/Selected article/22
The Socialist International (SI) is a worldwide association of political parties, most of which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of democratic socialist, social-democratic and labour political parties and other organisations.
Although formed in 1951 as a successor to the Labour and Socialist International, it has antecedents to the late nineteenth century. The association has grown to include 153 member parties from over 100 countries. Its members have governed in many countries including most of Europe. The Party of European Socialists (PES), a major European political party, is an associated organisation of the SI.
The current secretary general of the SI is Luis Ayala (Chile), who has held the post since 1989. The current president of the SI is the former Prime Minister of Greece George Papandreou.