The Social Democratic Party ( fo, Javnaðarflokkurin, lit=Equality Party, JF) is a

social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

on the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, led by Aksel V. Johannesen.

History

The Social Democratic Party was founded on 25 September 1925 by members of Faroese trade unions. Its youth organization '' Sosialistiskt Ungmannafelag'' (Socialist Youth) was founded in 1965. At the 2004 general election on 20 January 2004, the party received 21.8% of the popular vote and therefore won 7 out of 33 seats in the

Løgting The Løgting (pronounced ; da, Lagtinget) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm. The name literally means "''Law Thing''"—that is, a law assembly—and derives from Old Norse ...

. At the 2008 general election on 19 January 2008, the party received 19.3% of the popular vote and therefore won 6 out of 33 seats. In the 2011 election for the Danish

Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature ( parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...

, the party improved its vote share to 21.0%, and took one of the two Faroese seats previously held by

Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

. The elected representative of the Social Democratic Party in the Folketing is Sjúrður Skaale, who received 1539 personal votes.Kringvarp.fo
At the 2011 general election on 29 October 2011, the party received 17.8% of the popular vote and therefore won 6 out of 33 seats. At the 2015 general election on 1 September 2015, the party received 25.1% of the vote, winning a plurality of 8 seats in the Løgting.

Ideology

The party is officially neutral on the matter of independence from

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, but generally leans towards remaining in the union. In the Danish Folketing, the Social Democratic Party supports the "Red Bloc" led by the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

of Denmark.

Party leaders

* Aksel V. Johannesen 2011–present *

Jóannes Eidesgaard Jóannes Dan Eidesgaard (born 19 April 1951) is a former Faroese politician. He was the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands from 2004, starting shortly after the general election of 20 January 2004, until 26 September 2008, when a new coalition to ...

1996–2011 *

Marita Petersen Marita Petersen () (née Johansen (); 21 October 1940 – 26 August 2001) was the first and to date only female Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands and the first female speaker of the Løgting (Parliament). She was elected to the Løgting in 1988 ...

1993–1996 *

Atli Dam Atli Pætursson Dam (12 September 1932 – 7 February 2005) was a Faroese politician who served as Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands on three occasions, most recently from 1991 to 1993. To this date, he is the longest-serving Prime Minister in ...

1972–1993 *

Jákup Frederik Øregaard Jákup is a Faroese masculine given name, a cognate of the names Jacob and James. People with the name Jákup include: *Jákup á Borg (born 1979), Faroese footballer *Jákup Dahl (1878-1944), Faroese Provost and Bible translator *Jákup Pauli ...

1969–1972 *

Einar Waag Einar is a Scandinavian given name deriving from the Old Norse name Einarr, which according to Guðbrandur Vigfússon is directly connected with the concept of the einherjar, warriors who died in battle and ascended to Valhalla in Norse mytholog ...

1968–1969 *

Peter Mohr Dam Peter Mohr Dam (11 August 1898 – 8 November 1968) was a Faroe Islands politician who was one of the founders of the Social Democratic Javnaðarflokkurin party in 1926. Born on 11 August 1898, in Skopun, Faroe Islands, Dam became a teacher i ...

1936–1968 * Maurentius Viðstein 1926–1936

Current members of the Løgting

As of the 2022 general snap election:

Election results

:a. The Social Democratic Party ran on a joint electoral coalition with the Self-Government Party in the 1946 general election (the former ended up winning 4 seats with the latter winning 2 seats).

References

External links

Official web site
{{Faroese political parties Political parties in the Faroe Islands Social democratic parties in Europe Centre-left parties in Europe Socialist parties in Denmark Socialism in the Faroe Islands Political parties established in 1925 1925 establishments in the Faroe Islands