Liberal Party (Norway)

Liberal Party

Venstre (Norwegian)
Gurutbellodat (Northern Sami)
Liberal Party Venstre (Norwegian); Gurutbellodat (Northern Sami)
Abbreviation	V
Chairperson	Guri Melby
Founded	28 January 1884
Headquarters	Møllergata 16 0179, Oslo
Student wing	Liberal Students of Norway
Youth wing	Young Liberals of Norway
Membership (2017)	7,057[needs update]
Ideology	Liberalism (Norwegian); Social liberalism; Green liberalism
Political position	Centre
European affiliation	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
International affiliation	Liberal International
Nordic affiliation	Centre Group
Colours	Teal
Storting	8 / 169
County Councils	39 / 728
Municipal Councils	280 / 10,781
Sami Parliament	0 / 39
Website
	venstre.no
	Politics of Norway; Political parties; Elections;

The Liberal Party (Norwegian: Venstre, lit. 'Left', V; Northern Sami: Gurutbellodat) is a centrist political party in Norway. It was founded in 1884 and it is the oldest political party in Norway. It is positioned in the centre on the political spectrum,^[4] and it is a liberal party which has over the time enacted reforms such as parliamentarism, freedom of religion, universal suffrage, and state schooling.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

For most of the late 19th and early 20th century, it was Norway's largest and dominant political party, but in the postwar era it lost most of its support and became a relatively small party. The party has nevertheless participated in several centrist and centre-right government coalitions in the postwar era. It currently holds eight seats in the Parliament, and was previously a part of Norway's government together with the Conservative Party and the Christian Democratic Party. Guri Melby has served as the party leader since 2020.

Founded in 1884, then with the main support from farmers and progressive members of the bourgeoisie, it was the first political party that came into existence in Norway, and was the dominant government party for several decades. From the beginning it had a close relationship with the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights, which was founded in the same year by most of the Liberal Party's leading politicians, and the party played a central role in advocating for women's suffrage.^[9] Since the 1880s the party has seen many internal schisms. A politically moderate and religious wing broke away in 1888 to form the Moderate Liberal Party; and the conservative-liberal faction, including the former Prime Minister of Norway Christian Michelsen, broke away in 1909 to form the Free-minded Liberal Party (both parties eventually merged into the Conservative Party). The most notable recent schism was in 1972, when the Liberal Party decided to oppose Norwegian membership in the European Economic Community (EEC), and the faction supporting membership broke away and formed the Liberal People's Party.^[10] The party has since endorsed Norwegian membership in the EU and is currently a strong proponent.^[11]

^ "KrF og Venstre mistet over 2.000 medlemmer på ett år". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). 11 January 2018.
^ "Valg 2011: Landsoversikt per parti" (in Norwegian). Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
^ "Venstre". Valg 2011 (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
^
- Bakken, Laila Ø.; Helljesen, Vilde (24 July 2009). "Venstre – lite parti med stor arv". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
- "Sentrum – politikk". Store norske leksikon. 10 October 2013.
- Van Hecke, Steven; Gerard, Emmanuel (2004). Christian Democratic Parties in Europe Since the End of the Cold War. Leuven University Press. p. 231. ISBN 9789058673770.
- Love, Juliet; O'Brien, Jillian, eds. (2002). Western Europe 2003. Europa Publications. p. 493. ISBN 9781857431520.
- Narud, Hanne Marthe; Esaiasson, Peter, eds. (2013). Between-Election Democracy: The Representative Relationship After Election Day. ECPR Press. p. 86. ISBN 9781907301988.
^ Svante Ersson; Jan-Erik Lane (28 December 1998). Politics and Society in Western Europe. SAGE. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7619-5862-8. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
^ Christina Bergqvist (1 January 1999). Equal Democracies?: Gender and Politics in the Nordic Countries. Nordic Council of Ministers. p. 320. ISBN 978-82-00-12799-4.
^ Allern, Elin Haugsgjerd (2010). Political Parties and Interest Groups in Norway. ECPR Press. pp. 163–164. ISBN 9780955820366.
^ "Norway – Political parties". Norwegian Social Science Data Services. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
^ Aslaug Moksnes (1984). Likestilling eller særstilling? Norsk kvinnesaksforening 1884–1913, p. 35, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, ISBN 82-05-15356-6
^ Bakken, Laila Ø.; Helljesen, Vilde (24 July 2009). "Venstre – lite parti med stor arv". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
^ Giverholt, Karl Arthur (27 September 2020). "Venstre sier ja til EU". Venstre.

[1] "KrF og Venstre mistet over 2.000 medlemmer på ett år". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). 11 January 2018.

[2] "Valg 2011: Landsoversikt per parti" (in Norwegian). Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2011.

[3] "Venstre". Valg 2011 (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 September 2011.

[4] 
Bakken, Laila Ø.; Helljesen, Vilde (24 July 2009). "Venstre – lite parti med stor arv". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
"Sentrum – politikk". Store norske leksikon. 10 October 2013.
Van Hecke, Steven; Gerard, Emmanuel (2004). Christian Democratic Parties in Europe Since the End of the Cold War. Leuven University Press. p. 231. ISBN 9789058673770.
Love, Juliet; O'Brien, Jillian, eds. (2002). Western Europe 2003. Europa Publications. p. 493. ISBN 9781857431520.
Narud, Hanne Marthe; Esaiasson, Peter, eds. (2013). Between-Election Democracy: The Representative Relationship After Election Day. ECPR Press. p. 86. ISBN 9781907301988.

[5] Bakken, Laila Ø.; Helljesen, Vilde (24 July 2009). "Venstre – lite parti med stor arv". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

[6] "Sentrum – politikk". Store norske leksikon. 10 October 2013.

[7] Van Hecke, Steven; Gerard, Emmanuel (2004). Christian Democratic Parties in Europe Since the End of the Cold War. Leuven University Press. p. 231. ISBN 9789058673770.

[8] Love, Juliet; O'Brien, Jillian, eds. (2002). Western Europe 2003. Europa Publications. p. 493. ISBN 9781857431520.

[9] Narud, Hanne Marthe; Esaiasson, Peter, eds. (2013). Between-Election Democracy: The Representative Relationship After Election Day. ECPR Press. p. 86. ISBN 9781907301988.

[ErssonLane1998-5] Svante Ersson; Jan-Erik Lane (28 December 1998). Politics and Society in Western Europe. SAGE. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7619-5862-8. Retrieved 17 August 2012.

[Bergqvist1999-6] Christina Bergqvist (1 January 1999). Equal Democracies?: Gender and Politics in the Nordic Countries. Nordic Council of Ministers. p. 320. ISBN 978-82-00-12799-4.

[Allern-7] Allern, Elin Haugsgjerd (2010). Political Parties and Interest Groups in Norway. ECPR Press. pp. 163–164. ISBN 9780955820366.

[ciac-8] "Norway – Political parties". Norwegian Social Science Data Services. Retrieved 21 December 2012.

[9] Aslaug Moksnes (1984). Likestilling eller særstilling? Norsk kvinnesaksforening 1884–1913, p. 35, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, ISBN 82-05-15356-6

[nrk-10] Bakken, Laila Ø.; Helljesen, Vilde (24 July 2009). "Venstre – lite parti med stor arv". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

[venstre-11] Giverholt, Karl Arthur (27 September 2020). "Venstre sier ja til EU". Venstre.

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