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A green party is a formally organized
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
based on the principles of
green politics Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy.#Wal10, Wall 2010. p. 12-13. ...
, such as
environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...
and
social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
. Green party platforms typically embrace
social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
economic policies and form coalitions with other left-wing parties. Green parties exist in nearly 90 countries around the world, many of which are members of Global Greens.


Definitions

There are distinctions between "green" parties and "Green" parties. Any party, faction, or politician may be labeled "green" if it emphasizes environmental causes. In contrast, formally organized Green parties may follow an
ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
that includes not only
environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...
, but often also other concerns such as
social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
and
consensus decision-making Consensus decision-making is a group decision-making process in which participants work together to develop proposals for actions that achieve a broad acceptance. #Origin and meaning of term, Consensus is reached when everyone in the group '' ...
. The
Global Greens Charter The ''Global Greens Charter'' is a document that 800 delegates from the Green parties of 72 countries decided upon a first gathering of the Global Greens in Canberra, Australia in April 2001. The first part contains six guiding principles, wherea ...
lists six guiding principles which are ecological wisdom, social justice, participatory democracy, nonviolence, sustainability and respect for diversity.


History

Political parties campaigning on a predominantly environmental platform arose in the early 1970s in various parts of the world. The world's first political parties to campaign on a predominantly environmental platform were the United Tasmania Group, which contested the April 1972 state election in
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, Australia, and the Values Party of
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, which contested the November 1972 New Zealand general election. Their use of the name 'Green' derived from the 'Green Bans': an Australian movement of building workers who refused to build on sites of cultural and environmental significance.Bevan, RA (2001), Petra Kelly: The Other Green, New Political Science, vol. 23, no. 2, November, pp. 181-202 The first green party in Europe was the Popular Movement for the Environment, founded in 1972 in the
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
canton of
Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
. The first national green party in Europe was
PEOPLE The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
, founded in Britain in February 1973, which eventually turned into the Ecology Party and then the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
. Several other local political groups were founded in the beginning of the 1970s. Fons Sprangers was probably the first Green mayor in the world, elected in 1970 in Meer, and active until 2020 for the Flemish Greens. The first political party to use the name "Green" seems to have been the Lower Saxon " Green List for Environmental Protection", founded on 1 September 1977. The first Green Party to achieve national prominence was the German Green Party, famous for their opposition to
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
, as well as an expression of anti-centralist and pacifist values traditional to greens. They were founded in 1980 and have been in coalition governments at
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
level for some years. They were in federal government with the
Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...
in a so-called Red-Green alliance from 1998 to 2005. In 2001, they reached an agreement to end reliance on nuclear power in Germany, and agreed to remain in coalition and support the government of Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German former politician and Lobbying, lobbyist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (S ...
in the 2001 Afghan War. This put them at odds with many Greens worldwide. In
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, in 1995, the Finnish Green Party was the first European Green party to be part of a national Cabinet. Other Green parties that have participated in government at national level include the Groen! (formerly Agalev) and
Ecolo Ecolo (), officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales (, ) is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The party is active in Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region. Ecolo's F ...
in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, The Greens in France and the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
in Ireland. In the Netherlands
GroenLinks (, ; GL) is a Green politics, green List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four Left-wing politics, left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Neth ...
("GreenLeft") was founded in 1990 from four small
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
parties and is now a stable faction in the Dutch parliament. The
Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...
supported a
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
minority government from 2010 to 2013, and have participated in several state governments. In 2022
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, the Green Party The Alternative has only one Parliament member, having dropped from the previous nine, and five local parliaments members. In 2022
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, the Green Party People-Animals-Nature also has only one Parliament member, having dropped from the previous four, and another in the
Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
Regional Parliament, while its two other Green parties, Partido da Terra and Partido Ecologista "Os Verdes", only have, respectively, two councilpeople and one mayor. Around the world, individuals have formed many Green parties over the last thirty years. Green parties now exist in most countries with democratic systems, from
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
to
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, from
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, from
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
to
Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
. There is Green representation at national, regional and local levels in many countries around the world. Most of the Green parties are formed to win elections, and so organize themselves by the presented electoral or political districts. But that does not apply universally: The Green Party of Alaska is organized along bioregional lines to practice bioregional democracy.


Support

Academic research has uncovered striking international consistency in the typical demographic and attitudinal profile of Green party supporters. In particular, Green voters tend to be young, highly educated, disproportionately female, and employed in the social and cultural services (healthcare, teaching, the arts, etc.), whilst also displaying above-average levels of environmentalism and social liberalism, as well as being left-leaning. Additionally, Green parties also tend to attract greater levels of support in countries defined by high levels of economic development and low levels of unemployment, as well as the presence of tangible environmental disputes (such as nuclear power production) and active major party competition on the environmental issue. The former two factors are believed to generate cohorts of voters with enough material security to devote their attention to 'higher' goals such as environmentalism; the latter two help raise the profile of the Green's own policy positions and statements (providing that the major parties do not act so quickly to the rising salience of environmentalism as to usurp the issue entirely and completely preempt the development of a separate ecological party). Their supporters sometimes blame the economical system for the environmental issues neglecting any green free-market liberal capitalist alternatives.


Alliances

Depending on local conditions or issues, platforms and alliances may vary. In line with the goal of democracy, neighboring
ecoregions An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecology, ecological and Geography, geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of la ...
may require different policies or protections. Green parties are often formed in a given jurisdiction by a coalition of scientific
ecologists This is a list of notable ecologists. A-D * John Aber (United States) * Aziz Ab'Saber (Brazil) * Charles Christopher Adams (United States) * Warder Clyde Allee (United States) * Herbert G. Andrewartha (Australia) * Sarah Martha Baker ( ...
, community
environmentalists Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologi ...
, and local (or national)
leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...
groups or groups concerned with peace or citizens rights. A Red-Green alliance is an alliance between Green parties and
social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
parties. Such alliances are typically formed for the purpose of elections (mostly in
first-past-the-post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
election systems), or, after elections, for the purpose of forming a government. Some Greens, such as those in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, find more effective alliances (Blue-Green alliance) or
indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
– who seek to prevent disruption of traditional ways of life or to save ecological resources they depend on. Although Greens find much to support in fostering these types of alliances with groups of historically different backgrounds, they also feel strongly about forming diverse communities through encouragement of
diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...
in social and economic
demographics Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examin ...
in communities, Alliances often highlight strategic differences between participating in parties and advancing the values of the Green movement. For example, Greens became allied with centre-right parties to oust the centre-left ruling
Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...
of
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
.
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...
, the 2000 presidential nominee of the U.S. Greens, campaigned with ultra-conservative
Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan ( ; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative author, political commentator, and politician. He was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He ...
on joint issues such as farm policy and bans on corporate funding of election campaigns, although this "alliance" between Nader and Buchanan was very specifically limited to the purpose of showing that there was broad support for certain specific issues, across the political spectrum. U.S. Greens grew dramatically throughout 2001. However, stable coalitions (such as that in Germany) tend to be formed between elections with left-wing parties on social issues, and 'the grassroots right' on such issues as irresponsible corporate subsidies and public ethics. On 13 June 2007, the Irish Green Party, represented by six members of parliament or TDs, agreed to go into a coalition government for the first time in their history, with
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
and the
Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats (, literally "The Democratic Party"), commonly referred to as the PDs, were a conservative liberal political party in Ireland. The party's history spanned 24 years, from its formation in 1985 to its dissolution in 20 ...
(the Progressive Democrats later dissolved as a party, though their members remained in parliament). The Green Party held two Cabinet seats, as well as two junior ministries, until their withdrawal from government in January 2011. They lost all of their six seats in the following month's general election, but won two in the 2016 general election, and twelve seats in the 2020 general election, and entered government again in June 2020. In the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
, the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
was part of the governing coalition, together with the conservative Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the Christian Democrats (KDU–ČSL) from January 2007 until the government collapsed in March 2009. Green parties often have to join coalitions/alliances with other parties within parliament as they rarely get a large share of the vote (rarely polling above 10% at a national level). Their involvement in coalition governments is important in getting environmental issues on the political agenda, however they are often limited in the amount that they can succeed given they are not the majority within the alliance.


Green parties


Africa

Some national Green parties began forming in Africa in the 1980s and 1990s, but they often struggled to gain influence.
Wangari Maathai Wangari is a name of Kikuyu origin that may refer to: * Wangari Maathai (1940–2011), Kenyan environmental and political activist * Catherine Wangari Wainaina (born 1985), Kenyan beauty pageant contestant * Margaret Wangari Muriuki (born 1986), K ...
was perhaps the most prominent and successful member of a Green party in Africa: after founding the Green Belt Movement and the Mazingira Green Party of Kenya, she was elected to the Kenyan Parliament in 2002, became an assistant minister for Environmental and Natural Resources, and won the
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
in 2004. Other African Green parties that have achieved parliamentary representation include Les Verts Fraternels of
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
, and Frank Habineza's
Democratic Green Party of Rwanda The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (DGPR; , PVDR; , IRDKI) is a green political party in Rwanda, established in 2009. The party was registered in August 2013, but too late to contest the 2013 parliamentary elections. Its platform emphasizes u ...
. In
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
, Green party leader Haïdar el Ali was appointed Minister for Ecology in 2012.


Asia and Oceania


Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu

Green parties have achieved national or state parliamentary representation in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
. In New Zealand the
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand (), commonly known as Green or the Greens, is a Green politics, green List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four pillar ...
currently holds 15 seats in the
New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives () is the Unicameral, sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers in the New Zealand Government, ministers to form the Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, ...
after the 2023 general election. The
Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...
hold 11 seats in the
Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...
and 4 seats in the
Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...
. Since
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, they have received more votes than any other third party in every federal election. They also have representation in the upper and lower houses of state parliaments of five states and in the unicameral chamber of one territory. Greens also hold representative positions in local government across New Zealand and Australia (where a number of local government authorities are controlled by Green councilors). The Greens took the seat of Melbourne from the Australian Labor Party in 2010 with candidate Adam Bandt. This was the first time the Greens have won a Lower House seat at a general election (although they have previously won two seats at by-elections).
Proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
in the Australian Senate and in New Zealand has strengthened the position of the Australian Greens and the Green Party of New Zealand and enabled them to participate directly in legislatures and policy-making committees. In countries following British-style '
first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
' electoral rules, Green parties face barriers to gaining federal or provincial/regional/state seats. The
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
's practice of allocating a portion of ALP ticket votes to Australian Greens has helped bring AG candidates into parliament. In the 2008 ACT election in Australia, the Greens won 15.6% of the vote, winning 4 out of 17 seats. Shane Rattenbury was elected the speaker of the assembly, the first time a Green party member had held such a position in any parliament or assembly in Australia. However, they retained only one seat at the 2012 election in the same territory. The Green Confederation (''Confédération Verte'') in
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
won 3 out of 52 seats in the last general election in October 2012. Its most prominent member is
Moana Carcasses Kalosil Moana Carcasses Kalosil (born 27 January 1963) is a Vanuatuan politician. He was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from March 2013 to May 2014. He was the first naturalized citizen of Vanuatu to become the country's prime minister. Carcasses was ousted ...
, who became
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
in March 2013. Carcasses, a Green liberal, does not lead a Green government, but a broad coalition government in which he is the only Green minister. There is a Papua New Guinea Greens Party, but it does not have any members in Parliament. There was briefly a Green Party in Fiji from 2008 to 2013; as Parliament was suspended by the military regime during this time, the party was not able to take part in any election before all parties were deregistered in 2013.


Lebanon

The Green Party of Lebanon was founded in 2008 as a secular party. Its first president was Philippe Skaff, CEO of Grey Advertising. The party debuted with the May 2010 municipal elections. In 2011, the party became the first political party in
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
to elect a female leader when Nada Zaarour was elected its president.


Israel

Many attempts to establish a green party were made. For example, the Greens were established in 1997. In the 1999 Knesset elections the party received 0.4% of the vote, failing to win a seat. They received the same share of the vote in the 2003 elections.


Pakistan

The Pakistan Green Party was founded in 2002.


Taiwan

The
Green Party Taiwan Green Party Taiwan is a political party in Taiwan established on 25 January 1996. Although the party is sympathetic to Taiwanese nationalism and shares a number of centre-left positions with the Pan-Green Coalition, the party emphasizes campai ...
was founded in 1996. It is a small party which have often associated with
Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...
, a major political party in Taiwan.


Europe


Belgian and German roots

The first green parties in Europe were founded in the late 1970s, following the rise of environmental awareness and the development of new social movements. Green parties in Belgium first made a breakthrough. Belgium had Green members of parliament elected first in the 1970s, and with seats on the local council, held the balance of power in the city of Liege, so were the first to go into coalition with the ruling party on that council. In 1979 political campaigns and dissident groups feeling underrepresented in west German politics formed a coalition to contest the 1979 elections to the European Parliament. Although they did not win any seats, the groups in this association formally agreed to become a party and won a breakthrough in the German national elections of 1983. They were not the first Green Party in Europe to have members elected nationally but the impression was created that they had been, because they attracted the most media attention. This was partly due to their charismatic leader Petra Kelly, a German who was of interest to the American media because she had an American step-father. Since its foundation in 1980 and merger with Alliance 90 after the German reunification, Kelly's party, now named
Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...
, has become one of Europe's most important Green parties. It played an important role in the formation of national-level Green parties in other countries such as Spain as well. The forerunner of the Green Party in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
was the
PEOPLE Party The People Party is an Islamist party in Egypt which is part of the Anti-Coup Alliance. History and profile On 8 October 2012 the Egyptian Salafist Front proposed the creation of a new political party, to be named the People Party. The party ...
, formed in
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
in 1972. It changed its name to the Ecology Party in 1973 and the Green Party in 1985.


1984–1989: A new political force

In 1984 Greens agreed a common platform for the European Parliament Elections and the first Green Members of the European Parliament were elected here. Germany, a stronghold of the Green movement, elected seven MEPs; two more came from Belgium and two from the Netherlands. As those eleven MEPs did not entitle the Greens to form a parliamentary group on their own, they concluded an alliance with MEPs from Italy, Denmark, and regionalists from Flanders and Ireland to form the GRAEL (Green Alternative European Link) group, also known as the Rainbow Group. Politically they engaged in the fight against environmental pollution, nuclear energy (1986 saw the Chernobyl disaster), the promotion of animal protection and the campaign against the demolition of Brussels by speculation fuelled by the presence of the European institutions.


Since the 1990s

After years of co-operation between the national Green parties, they formed a pan-European alliance that unites most European Green parties. The Greens are a party within the European parliament with 46 seats, as of June 2009. It has a long-standing alliance with the
European Free Alliance The European Free Alliance (EFA) is a European political party that consists of various regionalist, separatist and minority political parties in Europe. Member parties advocate either for full political independence and sovereignty, or some ...
(EFA), an alliance of "stateless nations", such as the Welsh nationalist
Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...
and
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
. Together European Green Party/EFA have 58 seats and they are the fourth largest party in the European Parliament. While on many issues European Greens practice the same policies, one issue divides European Green parties: the European Union. Some Green parties, like the Dutch
GreenLeft (, ; GL) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the ...
, the Green Party of England and Wales, the Swiss Green Party, the Irish Green Party and the German
Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...
, are
pro-European Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Pol ...
while some, like the Green party in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, are moderately
eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...
. Some Green parties have been part of governing coalitions. The first one was the Finnish
Green League The Green League, ( , Vihr; ; ; ; ) shortened to the Greens, (; ) is a green political party in Finland. Ideologically, the Green League is positioned on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a reformist party and it supports femi ...
that entered government in 1995. The Italian
Federation of the Greens The Federation of the Greens (, FdV), frequently referred to as Greens (''Verdi''), was a green political party in Italy. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the Federation of Green Lists and the Rainbow Greens. The FdV was part of the Eur ...
, the French Greens, the German Alliance '90/The Greens and both Belgian Green parties, the French-speaking
Ecolo Ecolo (), officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales (, ) is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The party is active in Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region. Ecolo's F ...
and the Dutch-speaking Agalev were part of government during the late 1990s. Most successful was the Latvian Green Party, who supplied the
Prime Minister of Latvia The prime minister of Latvia () is the most powerful member of the Government of Latvia, who presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. The officeholder is nominated by the president of Latvia, but must be able to obtain the support of a p ...
in 2004. The Swedish
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
was a long-term supporter of the social-democratic minority government until the election 2006 when the social-democratic party lost. The Irish
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
is currently in government, having entered a coalition with
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
and
Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...
in June 2020, with three cabinet positions. It was previously in a
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
with Fianna Fáil from
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
until January 2011 when the party withdrew their support for the ruling coalition. In Scandinavia, left-wing socialist parties have formed the Nordic Green Left Alliance. These parties have the same ideals as European Greens. However, they do not cooperate with the Global Greens or European Greens, but instead form a combined parliamentary group with the
Party of the European Left The Party of the European Left (PEL), or European Left (EL), is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed ...
, which unites communists and post-communists. There is one exception, in 2004 the MEP for Danish Socialist People's Party has left the Nordic Green Left parliamentary group and has joined the Green parliamentary group in the European parliament. The Socialist People's Party is currently an observer at the
European Green Party The European Green Party (EGP), also referred to as European Greens, is a transnational, European political party representing national parties from across Europe who share Green values. The European Greens works closely with the Greens–Eur ...
and the Global Greens. Outside of Scandinavia, in 2004,
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
became the first country in the world to have a Green politician become Head of Government, but in 2006 the Green Party received only 16.71 percent of the vote. In the
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
2007 parliamentary elections, the Estonian Greens won 7.1 percent of the vote, and a mandate for six seats in the country's parliament, the
Riigikogu The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...
. Other significant electoral results for European green parties include Germany's
Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...
in the 2002 federal election and France's
Europe Ecology – The Greens The Ecologists – Europe Ecology The Greens (), commonly known as The Ecologists (, LE) and formerly as Europe Ecology The Greens ( , EELV ) until 2023, is a centre-left to left-wing green political party in France. The party is a member of th ...
in the 2012 legislative election, in which they both won more seats than any other
third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a veh ...
. In some countries Greens have found it difficult to win any representation in the national parliament. Three reasons can be found for this. It includes countries with a first past the post electoral system, such as the United Kingdom. However, despite the
first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
system in the United Kingdom, the
Green Party of England and Wales The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
won their first seat in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
when
Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...
won the seat of Brighton Pavilion in 2010. In July 2024, after a targeted campaign, 4 Green MPs were elected in Bristol Central, Waveney Valley, North Herefordshire and Brighton Pavilion. The
Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; ) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has 7 MSPs of 129 in the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 35 of the 1226 councillors at Scottish local Government level. The ...
have had success in the devolved
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
having recently signed a deal to enter a governing coalition, whilst the Green Party Northern Ireland has had success in the devolved
Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
and
local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
where the first-past-the-post system is not used. In countries where a party with similar ideals is stronger, such as
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and Denmark, Green parties tend to perform worse. In some
Eastern European Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountains, and ...
countries, like
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, Green parties are still in the process of formation and have therefore not gained enough support. In
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
the Green Party, registered in 2004, won their first three seats in the Sejm in 2019. The Green Party of Bulgaria was founded in Sofia in 1989 by Aleksandar Karakachanov. Green Movement (ZD) was a member of an anti-corruption coalition - Democratic Bulgaria (DB). Ecoglasnost is a member of the BSP for Bulgaria coalition. For the elections in 2022, the Party of the Greens (Партия на зелените, ПнЗ, PnZ) joined the Bulgarian Rise coalition. The
European Green Party The European Green Party (EGP), also referred to as European Greens, is a transnational, European political party representing national parties from across Europe who share Green values. The European Greens works closely with the Greens–Eur ...
has worked to support weak Green parties in European countries. Until recently, they were giving support to Green parties in the Mediterranean countries. These Green parties are now making electoral gains, e.g. in Spain,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
and
Republic of Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third lar ...
, or getting organized to do so, e.g. in
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. Therefore, the EGP is now turning its attention to Eastern Europe – all these countries have Green parties, but in materially poor Eastern Europe the success of Green Parties is patchy except for Hungary, where the local Green party,
Politics Can Be Different Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources. The branch of social science that studies poli ...
(LMP), has been elected to parliament and many city councils. In 2021 Croatian local elections We can! party became the largest political party in the
Zagreb Assembly The City Assembly of the City of Zagreb (, short: GSGZ) is the lawmaking body of the Croatian capital of Zagreb. It consists of 47 members who were elected by universal suffrage and secret ballot at 2021 elections for a term of four years. Th ...
, winning 23 seats in total. Their mayoral candidate
Tomislav Tomašević Tomislav Tomašević (; born 13 January 1982) is a Croatian politician, activist, environmentalist and political scientist who has served as the 53rd List of mayors of Zagreb, mayor of Zagreb since 2021. He is one of the leaders of the local Zagr ...
won a landslide victory on 31 May.


Germany

As mentioned above, the German green party holds strong influence in terms of green politics in Europe. The German green party: Alliance 90/The Greens ( Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) was founded in 1993 after the West German green party (Die Grünen, formed in 1980) and the East German green party (Bündnis 90, formed in 1990) joined after the
reunification of Germany German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...
. in 1998, Alliance 90/The Greens joined a coalition government with the SPD, forming a Red-Green alliance that would last until 2005. In order to agree to the coalition, Alliance 90/The Greens had 3 priorities: to reduce unemployment, close nuclear-power stations/Germany to not rely on nuclear power, and for citizenship laws to be reformed. The coalition remained in place following the 2002 election. However, green policies were no longer considered to be a focal point so much, with unemployment growing and other economic issues being more pressing, leading to the rise of the CDU/CSU, and the eventual loss of a majority in parliament.


Turkey

Greens and the Left Party of the Future is a left-libertarian and green party in Turkey. It was founded on 25 November 2012 as a merger of the Greens Party and the Equality and Democracy Party. Prominent members include Murat Belge, left-liberal political author and columnist for ''Taraf''; Kutluğ Ataman, filmmaker and contemporary artist; and Ufuk Uras, former Istanbul deputy and president of the Freedom and Solidarity Party. The party is one of the participants in the Peoples' Democratic Congress, a political initiative instrumental in founding the Peoples' Democratic Party in 2012. The Greens, along with feminists, left YSGP en masse in 2016, citing its lack of democratic decision making practices. They and a new generation of activists reestablished the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
(Yeşiller) in 2020.


North America

As of the 41st general election in Canada, held on May 2, 2011, there was only one federally elected member of the
Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada () is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It elected its first member of ...
in the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
, its leader
Elizabeth May Elizabeth Evans May (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, lawyer, activist, and author. She has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011. May is the leader of the Green Party ...
. However, at the dissolution of the 41st Parliament on August 2, 2015, the
Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada () is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It elected its first member of ...
held two seats in the House of Commons, the second seat belonging to formerly Independent MP Bruce Hyer who was elected to the House of Commons as a member of the NDP in 2011. Only May won re-election to the 42nd parliament. Mike Morrice was elected to the 43rd parliament, returning Greens to two seats. There remains no federal representation by the
Green Party of the United States The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; anti-war; ...
in the U.S. Congress. Accordingly, in these countries, Green parties focus on
electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems that alters how public desires, usually expressed by cast votes, produce election results. Description Reforms can include changes to: * Voting systems, such as adoption of proportional represen ...
. In Mexico, however, the '' Partido Verde Ecologista,'' often abbreviated as PVEM, has 17 deputies and four senators in
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
as a result of the 2006 elections. Nevertheless, some of its political practices such as plead in favor of the death penalty in Mexico, led to the
European Green Party The European Green Party (EGP), also referred to as European Greens, is a transnational, European political party representing national parties from across Europe who share Green values. The European Greens works closely with the Greens–Eur ...
's withdrawal of recognition of the PVEM as a legitimate green party.


Canada

The first Green parties in Canada (both federal and provincial) were founded in 1983. The strongest provincial Green parties are the
Green Party of British Columbia The Green Party of British Columbia, or simply the BC Greens, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1983 and is based in Victoria. The party won its first seat in the Legislative Assembly of British Colu ...
, the
Green Party of Ontario The Green Party of Ontario (GPO; ) is a political party in Ontario, Canada. The party is led by Mike Schreiner. Schreiner was elected as Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada), MPP for the riding of Guelph (provincial electoral district), Gue ...
, the
Green Party of New Brunswick The Green Party of New Brunswick (PVNBGP; ), commonly known as the Greens, is a green politics, green provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada. Formed in 2008, the party has been under the leadership of David Coon since 2012. The party ...
, and the Green Party of Prince Edward Island which was elected the
Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
in the 2019 election. The first ever BC Green MLA was elected in 2013, and in
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
they helped the minority NDP form government. In 2014 a Green MLA was elected to the New Brunswick legislature, in 2015 a Green MLA was elected to the Prince Edward Island Legislature, and in 2018 Mike Schreiner became the first Green MPP elected to the Ontario provincial legislature. Federally, the
Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada () is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It elected its first member of ...
received 6.49% of the popular vote and a record three seats in Parliament during the 2019 federal election, breaking ground in
Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...
with the election of Jenica Atwin as the first federal Green from outside of
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. This is up from one seat ( later two) and 3.91% won in the 2015 federal election. Although
Elizabeth May Elizabeth Evans May (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, lawyer, activist, and author. She has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011. May is the leader of the Green Party ...
(the leader of the GPC from 2006 to 2019) was the first elected Member of Parliament, the first seat was gained in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
on August 30, 2008, when sitting Independent MP Blair Wilson joined the party. As of September 2020, May continues to sit as a Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands and has exerted a considerable amount of legislative influence on a number of issues ranging from denying unanimous consent for military intervention in Libya, playing a central role in exposing changes to environmental legislation hidden in the omnibus Budget Bill C-38, to introducing a
private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...
to develop a national strategy on
Lyme disease Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a tick-borne disease caused by species of ''Borrelia'' bacteria, Disease vector, transmitted by blood-feeding ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. It is the most common disease spread by ticks in th ...
. Mike Morrice joined May in Parliament in 2021 representing Kitchener Centre and has been active on disability issues. In the 2008 Vancouver municipal election, Stuart Mackinnon, a member of the Vancouver Green Party, was elected to the Vancouver Parks Board. Since that time former
Green Party of British Columbia The Green Party of British Columbia, or simply the BC Greens, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1983 and is based in Victoria. The party won its first seat in the Legislative Assembly of British Colu ...
leader, and deputy-leader of the federal Green party, Adriane Carr won the Greens' first seat on Vancouver City Council, in 2011 municipal elections.


United States

In the United States, Greens first ran for public office in 1985. Since then, the
Green Party of the United States The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; anti-war; ...
has claimed electoral victories at the municipal, county and
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
levels. The first U.S. Greens to be elected were David Conley and Frank Koehn in Wisconsin 1986. Each was elected to a position on the County Board of Supervisors in Douglas and Bayfield counties respectively. Keiko Bonk was first elected in 1992 in Hawaii County, becoming Official Chairwoman in 1995. The first Green Party mayor was Kelly Weaverling, elected in Cordova, AK in 1991. As of April 2018, 156 Greens held elective office across the US in 19 states. The states with the largest numbers of Green elected officials are California (68), Connecticut (15), and Pennsylvania (15). Titles of offices held include: Alderman, Auditor, Board of Appeals, Board of Finance, Board of Selectmen, Borough Council, Budget Committee, Circuit Court Judge, City Council, Common Council, Community College District Board of Trustees, Community Service Board, Conservation Congress, Constable, County Board of Supervisors, County Supervisor, Fire Commission, Fire District Board, Inspector of Elections, Judge of Elections, Mayor, Neighborhood Council Board, Park District, Parks and Recreation District Board, Library Board, Planning Board, Public Housing Authority Resident Advisory Board, Public Service District, Rent Stabilization Board, Sanitary District Board, School Board, Soil and Water Conservation Board, State Representative, Town Council, Transit District Board, Village Trustee, Water District Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals. As of October 2016, 100 Greens held elected office across the US. The first US Green elected to a state legislature was Audie Bock in 1999, to the
California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
, followed by John Eder to the
Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...
in 2002 and 2004 and Richard Carroll to the
Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...
in 2008. While in office in 2003 in the
New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...
, incumbent Matt Ahearn made a party switch to Green for the remainder of his term. The Green Party has contested seven presidential elections: in 1996 and 2000 with
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...
for president and Winona LaDuke as vice president, in 2004 with David Cobb for president and
Pat LaMarche Patricia Helen LaMarche (born November 26, 1960) is an American political figure and activist with the Green Party of the United States; she was the party's Vice President of the United States, vice-presidential candidate in the 2004 United Stat ...
for vice president, and in 2008 with Cynthia McKinney for president and Rosa Clemente for vice president. In 2000, Nader received more votes for president than any Green Party candidate before or since.
Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and perennial candidate who was the Green Party of the United States, Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the Jill Stein 2012 presidential campaign ...
ran for president on the Green ticket in 2012, 2016 and 2024; the vice-presidential candidates were Cheri Honkala in 2012, Ajamu Baraka in 2016 and Butch Ware in 2024. Stein, who received over one million votes in the 2016 race, led unsuccessful attempts toward 2016 election recounts in three states: Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In 2020, Howie Hawkins, a founder of the Green Party, was the party's presidential nominee.


South America


Brazil

The Brazilian
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
was constituted after the military dictatorship period and, like other Green Parties around the world, is committed to establishing a set of policies on ensuring social-equity and sustainable development. One of the party's founding members was the journalist and former anti-dictatorship revolutionary Fernando Gabeira, Alfredo Sirkis and Carlos Minc. Among the main items on the Green Party's agenda are federalism, environmentalism, human rights, a form of direct democracy, parliamentarism, welfare, civil liberties, pacifism and marijuana legalization under specific conditions. Green Party's candidate
Marina Silva Maria Osmarina Marina da Silva Vaz de Lima (born Maria Osmarina da Silva; 8 February 1958), known as Marina Silva, is a Brazilian politician and environmentalist, currently serving as Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, a position ...
won 19.33% of the vote in the first round of the 2010 Brazilian presidential election (more than any other third party), taking enough votes from
Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the ...
of the incumbent PT to prevent her from achieving the majority of the vote needed to avoid a second round. Success in the legislature amounted to winning 2 more seats for a total of 15 in the Chamber of Deputies and the loss of their only senate seat. Marina Silva left the party the following year. In the 2014 presidential election the Green Party's candidate Eduardo Jorge received 0,61% of the vote. He garnered attention for campaigning on a progressive platform supporting policies such as cannabis legalization and the decriminalization of abortion. Because of his perceived eccentricity and spontaneity while participating in the televised debates, Jorge became the subject of several memes on the internet. The party elected 6 federal deputies and 1 senator. In 2016, the Greens in Congress voted in favour of the
impeachment of Dilma Rousseff The impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, began on 2 December 2015 with a petition for her impeachment being accepted by Eduardo Cunha, then president of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamber of Deputies, and continued int ...
. The party later went on to support president Michel Temer who succeeded her. For the 2018 presidential election the party formed the coalition ''United to transform Brazil'' with the Sustainability Network (REDE), in support of the candidacy of Marina Silva in her third run for the presidency. Eduardo Jorge was chosen as her running mate. Despite faring well in the initial polls, Silva ultimately received 1% of the vote. The party elected 4 federal deputies.


Colombia

In the 1990s, the Oxygen Green Party was created under the leadership of Ingrid Betancourt but dissolved after her infamous kidnapping. Later, the Visionaries Party was created by
Antanas Mockus Aurelijus Rūtenis Antanas Mockus Šivickas (; born 25 March 1952) is a Colombian mathematician, philosopher, and politician. He has a master's degree in philosophy from the National University of Colombia, and a Honoris Causa PhD from the Un ...
whose ideals earned him the Bogotá Mayoral Office twice. In the 2010 Colombian presidential election a green party has been created under the name Colombian Green Party, with former
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
mayor Antanas Mockus being the leader.


Green parties in government

While most green parties remain
minor parties A minor party is a political party that plays a smaller (in some cases much smaller, even insignificant in comparison) role than a major party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so great ...
, some have entered into national
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
s. The following table lists green parties that have entered into government at the national level. It does not include the green conservative parties of
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
and
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. It also excludes parties that were elected into government as a minor partner in an
electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...
, such as the Italian
Federation of the Greens The Federation of the Greens (, FdV), frequently referred to as Greens (''Verdi''), was a green political party in Italy. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the Federation of Green Lists and the Rainbow Greens. The FdV was part of the Eur ...
which governed as a small part of the
Olive Tree The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
and Union alliances.


See also

*
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
and chartreuse – colors associated with the Green movement * List of green political parties * Outline of green politics


References

* Epstein, David A. (2012). Left, Right, Out: The History of Third Parties in America. Arts and Letters Imperium Publications. .


External links

* – The official global organization of Green parties worldwide of Green parties {{Authority control