International Republican Institute
The International Republican Institute (IRI) is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1983 and funded and supported by the United States federal government. Most of its board is drawn from the Republican Party. Its public mission is to advance freedom and democracy worldwide by helping political parties to become more issue-based and responsive, assisting citizens to participate in government planning, and working to increase the role of marginalized groups in the political process, including women and youth. It has been repeatedly accused of foreign interference and has been implicated in the 2004 Haitian coup d'état. It was initially known as the National Republican Institute for International Affairs.
| Abbreviation | IRI |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1983 |
| Headquarters | 1225 I Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Key people | Daniel Twining (President) Dan Sullivan (Chairman of the Board of Directors) |
Budget | $78m (2008) |
Revenue (2016) | $55,185,831 |
| Expenses (2016) | $55,053,587 |
Staff | 400 (2008) |
| Website | iri |
IRI's programs include assisting political parties and candidates develop their values and institutional structures, good governance practices, civil society development, civic education, women's and youth leadership development, electoral reform and election monitoring, and political expression in closed societies. Since its founding, IRI has been active globally in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
In 2018, U.S. Senator John McCain, who served as IRI's chairman of the board for 25 years, informed IRI's board of directors that he was stepping down. McCain recommended U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan to succeed him.