This article gives an overview of

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

and the historical radicalism movement within liberalism in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It is limited to liberal and radical

parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme. For inclusion in this scheme it is not necessary that parties labeled themselves as a liberal party.

Introduction

In the nineteenth century the radicalism of ''Freisinn'' became the dominant political force in Switzerland, which remained for a long time in the twentieth century. Both the major

Free Democratic Party of Switzerland The Free Democratic Party (, FDP; , PLD), also called Radical Democratic Party (, PRD; , PLR) was a liberal political party in Switzerland. Formerly one of the major parties in Switzerland, on 1 January 2009 it merged with the Liberal Party of ...

(''Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz/Parti Radical-Démocratique Suisse'', member LI, ALDE Party) and the minor

Liberal Party of Switzerland The Liberal Party of Switzerland () or Swiss Liberal Party (; ; ) was a political party in Switzerland with economically liberal policies. It was known as a party of the upper class. On 1 January 2009 it merged with the larger Free Democratic ...

(''Liberale Partei der Schweiz/Parti Libéral Suisse'', member LI) were centre-right liberal parties that merged into FDP.The Liberals (''FDP.Die Liberalen/PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux'', observer LI, member ALDE) in 2009.

Timeline

Regeneration

From Liberal Democrats to Liberal Party of Switzerland

* 1893: The moderate liberals established the Liberal Democrats (''Liberaldemokraten''), but most German-speaking liberals joined in 1894 the ⇒ Free Democratic Party of Switzerland * 1913: The party is renamed Liberal Democratic Party (''Liberaldemokratische Partei'') * 1961: The party is reorganised into the Liberal Democratic Union of Switzerland (''Liberaldemokratische Union der Schweiz'') * 1977: The party is renamed

(''Liberale Partei der Schweiz/Parti Libéral Suisse'')

Free Democratic Party of Switzerland

* 1894: The Radicals (''Freisinn'' in German) became a dominant factor in Swiss politics and established as a party the

(''Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz/Parti Radical-Démocratique Suisse'') * 1896: A faction formed the ⇒ Extreme Left * 1918: A conservative faction of the party seceded as the Farmers', Traders' and Citizens' Party * 1941: The Zürich branch joined the ⇒ Democratic Party of Switzerland * 1971: The Zürich branch of the ⇒ Democratic Party of Switzerland rejoined the party

From Extreme Left to Democratic Party of Switzerland

* 1896: The left wing of the ⇒ Free Democratic Party of Switzerland established the Extreme Left (''Äußerste Linke'') * 1905: The Extreme Left organised itself as the social liberal Democratic Party of Switzerland (''Demokratische Partei der Schweiz'') * 1941: A Zürich faction of the ⇒ Free Democratic Party of Switzerland joined the party * 1971: The Zürich branch of the party returned to the ⇒ Free Democratic Party of Switzerland, while the Glarus and Grisons branches merged into the

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (, SVP; , PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (, UDC; , UDC), is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marcel Dettling, it is the largest party in ...

Ring of Independents

* 1936: Gottlieb Duttweiler formed the Ring of Independents as a social-liberal party * 1999: The party disbanded

Liberal leaders

* Freisinn: Ludwig Snell - Alfred Escher