The Free-minded Liberal Party () was a
political party in Norway founded in 1909 by the
conservative-liberal faction of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
. The party cooperated closely with the
Conservative Party and participated in several short-lived governments, including two headed by Free-minded Prime Ministers. In the 1930s the party changed its name to the Free-minded People's Party () and initiated cooperation with nationalist groups. The party contested its last election in 1936, and was not reorganised in 1945.
History
The Free-minded Liberal Party was founded in March 1909 under influence of Norway's first independent Prime Minister,
Christian Michelsen of the Liberal Party, after around a third of the Liberal parliamentary representatives had been excluded from a reconstitution of the Liberal Party in 1908.
The party was founded in protest against the increasingly
radical course of the "consolidated" Liberal Party, which the party's right wing considered to conflict with the party's traditionally liberal ideology.
Other co-founders of the party included
Abraham Berge,
Wollert Konow (SB),
Sofus Arctander,
Harald Bothner,
Magnus Halvorsen,
Ernst Sars,
Ola Thommessen and
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...
.
The party initiated a close cooperation with the
Conservative Party, and won 23 seats in the 1909 parliamentary election, after which the party formed a government together with the Conservatives with
Wollert Konow as Prime Minister.
The government did however not live up to the expectations of either Michelsen or the Conservatives, and the Conservatives withdrew from the government in 1911.
Konow's government came to an abrupt end in early 1912 after he declared his sympathies for the rural language form ''
Landsmål
Nynorsk (; ) is one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language (''Landsmål''), parallel to the Da ...
'' in a speech to the Agrarian Youth Association, during the height of the
Norwegian language conflict. The speech caused an uproar among militant ''
Riksmål
(, also , ) is an unofficial written Norwegian language form or spelling standard, meaning the ''National Language'', closely related and now almost identical to the dominant form of Bokmål, known as .
Both Bokmål and Riksmål evolved from t ...
''-supporters, especially among the Conservatives, but also in his own party, eventually leading to Konow's replacement as Prime Minister (by Conservative
Jens Bratlie).
Notably
individualist
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and a ...
in orientation, the party emphasised
intellectual freedom
Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas without restriction. Viewed as an integral component of a democratic society, intellectual freedom protects an individual's right to access, explore, consider, and ...
.
The first woman meeting as a parliamentary representative in Norwegian history was the Free-minded's
Anna Rogstad in 1911, two years before full suffrage for women was granted in Norway. The conflicts around Konow's failed government caused a major defeat for the Conservative-Free-minded alliance in the 1912 election, and reduced the Free-minded to insignificance with only four seats. The party organisation was increasingly merged into the Conservative organisation after 1912, until election gains and coalition victories in 1921 and 1924 sparked desires for a more independent party. The conflict resulted in numerous name-changes of the various Conservative local and regional chapters in attempts to signal a broader conservative-liberal profile.
The two parties participated in several governments together in the 1920s, until they started drifting increasingly apart towards the end of the decade. In 1931, the Free-minded changed their name to the Free-minded People's Party, and was subsequently reduced to a single representative from
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
in the 1933 election. It contested its last election in 1936 in electoral cooperations with the
Fatherland League and
Nasjonal Samling
The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...
(NS), failing to secure a single seat.
By then most of the local and regional chapters had returned to or joined the Conservatives.
The party was not reorganised in 1945.
The first non-Labour Prime Minister after the war,
John Lyng, was a member of the party before he joined the Conservatives in 1938.
Historian and journalist
Hans Fredrik Dahl has described the
Progress Party as a spiritual successor to the party.
[ Hans Fredrik Dahl,]
Til høyre for Høyre
, ''Dagbladet'', 13-10-2014
Leaders
;Party chairman
*
Abraham Berge 1909–1910
*
Magnus Halvorsen 1910–1912
*
William Nygaard 1912–1915
*
Erik Enge 1915–1918
*
Bernt Holtsmark 1918–1922
*
Oluf Müller 1922–1924
*
Karl Wefring 1924–1925
* 1925–1930
*
Anton Wilhelm Brøgger (acting, 1930–1931)
* 1931–1933
*
Rolf Thommessen
Rolf Thommessen (22 July 1879 – 9 December 1939) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor and politician. He edited the newspaper ''Tidens Tegn'' from 1917 to 1938. He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1928 to 1930, represen ...
1933–1936
*
Rudolf Falck Ræder 1936–1937
* 1937–1939
;Parliamentary leaders
*
Magnus Halvorsen 1910–1912
*
Bernhard Hanssen 1913–1915
*
Bernt Holtsmark 1916–1921
*
Wollert Konow (H) 1922–1924
*
Abraham Berge 1925
*
Hakon Magne Wrangell 1926
*
Karl Wefring 1927
*
Rolf Thommessen
Rolf Thommessen (22 July 1879 – 9 December 1939) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor and politician. He edited the newspaper ''Tidens Tegn'' from 1917 to 1938. He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1928 to 1930, represen ...
1928–1930
* 1931–1933
*
Rudolf Falck Ræder 1934–1936
;General Secretaries
*Harald Hauge 1909–1911
*Anders Hauge 1911–1918
*
Rolf Thommessen
Rolf Thommessen (22 July 1879 – 9 December 1939) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor and politician. He edited the newspaper ''Tidens Tegn'' from 1917 to 1938. He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1928 to 1930, represen ...
1918–1924
*Bernhard Kjelstrup 1924–1936
MPs elected
*
Jakob Brevig (1910-1912)
*
Erik Mathiassen Enge (1910-1912)
*
Mathias Larsen Blilie (1910-1912)
*
Helge Nilsen Thune (1910-1912)
*
Ole Anunsen Strøm (1910-1912)
*
Johan Gustav Austeen (1910-1912)
*
Abraham Theodor Berge (1910-1912)
*
Nikolai Larsen Lima (1910-1912)
*
Lars Konrad Bjørnsen Jelsa (1910-1912)
*
Iver Jonassen Svendsbøe (1910-1915)
*
Wollert Konow (SB) (1910-1912)
*
Kristian Olai Rasmussen Sandnes (1910-1912)
*
Olaf Amundsen (1910-1912)
*
Richard Bernhard With (1910-1912)
* (1910-1912)
*
Johan Throne Holst (1910-1912)
*
Tholf Grini (1910-1912)
*
Ambortius Olsen Lindvig (1910-1912)
*
Gustav Johannes Natvig (1910-1912)
*
Cornelius Bernhard Hanssen (1910-1915)
*
Fredrik Ludvig Konow (1910-1912)
*
Johan Magnus Halvorsen (1910-1912)
*
Henrik Lie (1910-1912)
*
Kristen Christoffersen Kopseng (1913-1915)
*
Henrik Spangelo (1913-1915)
*
Bernt Holtsmark (1916-1921)
*
Kristian Nilsen Dæhlen (1919-1921)
*
Andor Hoel (1919-1921)
*
Oluf Müller (1919-1921)
*
Alfred Getz (1919-1921)
*
Ove Christian Owe (1919-1921)
*
Johan Rye Holmboe (1919-1924)
*
Wollert Konow (H) (1922-1924)
*
Haldor Virik (1922-1924)
*
Eilert Præsteng (1922-1927)
*
Kristian Fredrik Holst (1922-1924)
*
Waldemar Heggelund Larssen (1922-1927)
*
Wilhelm Martin Nygaard (1922-1924)
*
Simen Fougner (1922-1924)
*
Hakon Magne Wrangell (1922-1927)
*
Joakim Sveder Bang (1922-1927)
*
Karl Ivarsson (1922-1927)
*
Karl Wilhelm Wefring (1925-1927)
*
Ivar Johannesson Bleiklie (1925-1927)
*
Bastian Adolf Width (1925-1927)
*
Abraham Berge (1925-1927)
*
Johan Henrik Rye Holmboe (1925-1927)
*
Rolf Thommessen
Rolf Thommessen (22 July 1879 – 9 December 1939) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor and politician. He edited the newspaper ''Tidens Tegn'' from 1917 to 1938. He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1928 to 1930, represen ...
(1928-1930)
*
Johan Henrik Bollmann (1928-1930)
*
Einar Greve (1931-1933)
*
Rudolf Ræder (1931-1933)
Election results
# Full electoral cooperation with the Conservatives. The votes are united.
# Support for individual lists. There were also joint lists with the Conservative Party
# Support for individual lists with the Fatherland League. There were also joint lists with the Conservative Party.