(, , V), full name (), is a conservative-liberal, agrarian

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, ...

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 ...

. Founded as part of a peasants' movement against the

landed aristocracy Landed may refer to: * ''Landed'' (album), a 1975 album by German krautrock band Can. * " Landed (Ben Folds song)", from ''Songs for Silverman'' 2005 * "Landed", a song by Drake from ''Dark Lane Demo Tapes'' * Landed gentry, a largely historical ...

, today it espouses an

economically liberal Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism, ...

, pro-

free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

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 ...

. is the

major party A major party is a political party that holds substantial influence in a country's politics, standing in contrast to a minor party. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Major parties hold a significant percentage of the vote in electio ...

of the

centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...

, and the second-largest party in the country. The party has produced many

Prime Ministers 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 rat ...

. In the 2022 general elections, received 13.3% of the vote and 23 out of 179 seats. Following the resignation of

Jakob Ellemann-Jensen Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (born 25 September 1973) is a Danish former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark and Minister of Defence under Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen from 2022 to 2023. He led the Venstre party from 2019 to 2 ...

, the party is led by

Troels Lund Poulsen Troels Lund Poulsen (born 30 March 1976) is a Danish politician, who is the Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark and leader of . He also serves as Minister of Defence. He previously served as Minister for the Environment from 2007 to 2010, Minist ...

who serves as the country's

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

. Since December 2022, the party has been a junior partner in the second Frederiksen government. The party is a member of

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...

and the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; , ADLE) was a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Democratic Party. ALDE had political ...

(ALDE) and has four MEPs in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

History

1870–1910

Venstre was founded in 1870 under the name "Det Forenede Venstre" (). Originally, the party consisted of multiple conflicting groups, all united under the

classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, eco ...

(then the standard

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 ...

) ideology, the safeguarding of farmers' interests and opposition to the then

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

classical conservative party

Højre (, ''Right'') was the name of two Danish political parties of Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The ...

(literally "Right"). After the party in 1872 gained an absolute majority in the

Folketing The Folketing ( , ), 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 and Greenland. E ...

, it became the leading voice in the battle for

parliamentarism A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...

, whereafter the party in 1895 split in two, Venstrereformpartiet ("Venstre Reform Party") and Det Moderate Venstre ("The Moderate Left"). In 1905, social liberal factions split from the party and formed Radikale Venstre (also known as the Danish Social Liberal Party), and in 1910 Venstrereformpartiet and Det Moderate Venstre reunited again under the name Venstre.

1910–2009

With the decreasing numbers of farms and the growing urbanisation, membership and voter support dropped in the 1950s. During the 1960s the party gradually evolved from being a traditional farmers' party to a more general liberal party. In 1984

Uffe Ellemann-Jensen Uffe Ellemann-Jensen (; 1 November 1941 – 18 June 2022) was a Danish politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark in the Det Konservative Folkeparti, Conservative-led Poul Schlüter Administration from 1982 to 1993. He was ...

was elected chairman, and by profiling the liberal ideology in sharp confrontation to the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

, for example by campaigning for a reduction of the public sector, increasing market management and privatisation, and by being pro-EU, the party returned to its historical position as the biggest liberal party in the 1990s. After a disappointing 1998 general election, Ellemann-Jensen resigned as chairman and

Anders Fogh Rasmussen Anders Fogh Rasmussen (; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the prime minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became ...

was elected in his place. He immediately changed the party's usual confrontational strategy, instead appealing to the political centre. In the 2001 general elections the party campaigned for tighter immigration policies and a "tax stop", which proved successful and the party once again became the biggest in parliament, winning 31.2% of the vote and 56 seats. Venstre formed a coalition government with the Conservative People's Party and the

Danish People's Party The Danish People's Party (DPP; , DF) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Denmark. It was formed in 1995 by former members of the Progress Party (FrP). The party saw a period of significant growth after its founding a ...

. For the first time since 1929 a liberal government was no longer dependent on the centre parties. Despite a small decline in both the 2005 general elections (29% and 52 seats) and the 2007 general elections (26.2% and 46 seats), the party remained the biggest and the coalition government continued. On 5 April 2009, Fogh Rasmussen resigned as chairman, instead serving as

Secretary General of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance with 32 member states. The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinat ...

. In his place

Lars Løkke Rasmussen Lars Løkke Rasmussen (; born 15 May 1964) is a Danish politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. He was Leader of the Ve ...

was elected.

2009–present

In the 2011 general elections, the party gained 26.7% of the vote and 47 seats, but was not able to form a government, instead leading the opposition against Prime Minister

Helle Thorning-Schmidt Helle Thorning-Schmidt (; born 14 December 1966) is a Danish retired politician who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each p ...

's Social Democratic coalition. Even though the party lost voter support in the 2015 general elections, only gaining 19.5% of the vote, the party formed a minority government. This government was short-lived, and in 2016 Løkke Rasmussen invited the Conservative People's Party and the Liberal Alliance to form a coalition government instead. During the campaign of the 2019 general elections, Løkke Rasmussen published an autobiography, in which he opened up for the possibility of forming a government with the Social Democrats. This was seen as controversial in the liberal "blue bloc", and Social Democratic leader

Mette Frederiksen Mette Frederiksen (; born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician who has been the Prime Minister of Denmark, prime minister of Denmark since June 2019, and Social Democrats (Denmark)#Leaders of the Social Democrats, leader of the Social Democr ...

immediately declined the proposition. Following internal fighting in the party, Løkke Rasmussen and vice chairman

Kristian Jensen Kristian Jensen (born 21 May 1971 in Middelfart) is a Danish politician who was Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark from 2015 to 2016, Minister of Finance from 2016 to 2019 and Minister of Taxation from 2004 to 2010. Jensen is a member of ...

both resigned on 31 August 2019. On 21 September 2019, political spokesman and former Minister for Environment and Food

was elected the party's next chairman. Following the 2022 general election, in which Venstre suffered its worst result since 1988, Venstre joined a

grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political party, political parties of opposing political spectrum, political ideologies unite in a coalition government. Causes of a grand coali ...

government led by Social Democrat leader Mette Frederiksen, and also comprising the

Moderates Moderate is an ideological category which entails Centrism, centrist views on a liberal-conservative spectrum. It may also designate a rejection of radical politics, radical or extremism, extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religi ...

, a Venstre splinter formed by former Prime Minister

Ideology

Venstre is categorised as

on the

political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different Politics, political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more Geometry, geometric Coordinate axis, axes that represent independent political ...

, although it has been also described as

centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

and

. Ideologically, it has been described as conservative-liberal,

liberal-conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

, liberal,

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

classical-liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econ ...

, and agrarian. Additionally, Venstre takes a nativist stance regarding immigration and asylum-seeking; they had also said that "immigrants should learn Danish and understand and respect Danish culture and traditions". Venstre is an

party within the Nordic agrarian tradition, and today is notably more pro–

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

than its sister parties. Since the elections in 2001, Venstre has enacted a so-called "tax stop" in order to halt the growth in taxes seen during the previous eight years under the

. This tax stop has been under heavy fire from the parties on the left bloc of Danish politics, allegedly for being "asocial" and "only for the rich."

Organization

Name and terms

The fact that the major centre-right political party in a country calls itself 'Left' is often confusing to foreign (and sometimes Danish) observers. The name has, however, its historical explanation. At the time of its foundation, ''Venstre'' affirmed then-progressive ideas in the Danish parliament. Their opponents, ''Højre'' (Right), the forerunner of the present-day Conservative People's Party, advocated for established interests, particularly the

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church ( , or unofficially ; ), sometimes called the Church of Denmark, is the established, state-supported church in Denmark. The supreme secular authority of the church is composed of ...

and the landed gentry. In current Danish politics there is a clear distinction between the concepts of ''Venstre'' (Left, i.e., the party bearing that name) and ''venstrefløj'' (left wing, i.e., socialist and other left-leaning parties). The use of the word for "left" in the name of the Danish political party '' Radikale Venstre'' (literally: "

Radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

Left") and the Norwegian party '' Venstre'' is meant to refer to

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 not

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. Members of the party are referred to as ''venstremænd'' and ''venstrekvinder'', respectively "Venstre men" and "Venstre women" (singular: -mand, -kvinde).

Leadership

Prime ministers

Johan Henrik Deuntzer Johan Henrik Deuntzer (20 May 1845 – 16 November 1918) was a Danish professor and politician who served as a member of the Liberal '' Venstre'' party until 1905 where he joined the Danish Social Liberal Party. He was Council President ...

(July 24, 1901January 14, 1905) *

Jens Christian Christensen Jens Christian Christensen (21 November 1856 – 19 December 1930), most often called J. C. Christensen with the 'J' pronounced as an 'I', was a Denmark, Danish politician. Biography Christensen was born into a West Jutland peasant family a ...

(January 14, 1905October 12, 1908) *

Niels Neergaard Niels Thomasius Neergaard (27 June 1854 – 2 September 1936) was a Danish historian and political figure, a member of the Liberal Moderate Venstre and since 1910 of Venstre. He served as Council President of Denmark between 1908 and 1909 ...

(October 12, 1908August 16, 1909) *

Ludvig Holstein-Ledreborg Count Johan Ludvig Carl Christian Tido of Holstein-Ledreborg (10 June 1839 – 1 March 1912), was a Danish politician who was Minister of State of Denmark. He was Council President of Denmark for two months, from 16 August to 28 October 190 ...

(August 16, 1909October 28, 1909) *

Klaus Berntsen Klaus Berntsen (12 June 1844 – 27 March 1927) was a Danish politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the ...

(July 5, 1910June 21, 1913) *

(May 5, 1920April 23, 1924) *

Thomas Madsen-Mygdal Thomas Madsen-Mygdal (24 December 1876 – 23 February 1943) was a Danish politician from Venstre (Denmark), Venstre who served as the prime minister of Denmark from 1926 to 1929. He was also minister for agriculture from 1920 to 1924 and again ...

(December 14, 1926April 30, 1929) *

Knud Kristensen Knud Kristensen (26 October 1880 – 28 September 1962) was Prime Minister (Denmark), Prime Minister of Denmark from 7 November 1945 to 13 November 1947 in the first elected government after the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. ...

(November 7, 1945November 13, 1947) *

Erik Eriksen Erik Eriksen (20 November 1902 – 7 October 1972) was a Danish politician, who served as the prime minister of Denmark from 1950 to 1953 and as the president of the Nordic Council in 1956. Eriksen was leader of the Danish Liberal party '' Ve ...

(October 30, 1950September 30, 1953) *

Poul Hartling Poul Hartling (14 August 1914 – 30 April 2000) was a Danish politician and diplomat. He was leader of Venstre from 1965 to 1977, and served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1973 to 1975. Prior to that, he served as foreign minister from 1968 ...

(December 19, 1973February 13, 1975) *

(November 27, 2001April 5, 2009) *

(April 5, 2009October 3, 2011; June 28, 2015June 27, 2019)

Youth and student wings

* Venstres Ungdom * Liberal Students of Denmark ''(Danmarks Liberale Studerende)''

European affiliation and representation

In the

, Venstre sits in the Renew Europe group with four MEPs. In the

European Committee of the Regions The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...

, Venstre sits in the Renew Europe CoR group, with three full and two alternate members for the 2020–2025 mandate.

Election results

ImageSize = width:1100 height:240 PlotArea = width:1000 height:160 left:75 bottom:60 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:40 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:0 PlotData= bar:% color:blue width:15 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S bar:1910 from:start till:34.1 text:34.1 bar:1913 from:start till:29.0 text:29.0 bar:1918 from:start till:29.7 text:29.7 bar:1920 from:start till:34.4 text:34.4 bar:1920-2 from:start till:36.2 text:36.2 bar:1920-3 from:start till:34.0 text:34.0 bar:1924 from:start till:28.3 text:28.3 bar:1926 from:start till:28.3 text:28.3 bar:1929 from:start till:28.3 text:28.3 bar:1932 from:start till:24.7 text:24.7 bar:1935 from:start till:17.9 text:17.9 bar:1939 from:start till:18.2 text:18.2 bar:1943 from:start till:18.7 text:18.7 bar:1945 from:start till:23.4 text:23.4 bar:1947 from:start till:26.1 text:26.1 bar:1950 from:start till:21.3 text:21.3 bar:1953 from:start till:22.1 text:22.1 bar:1953-2 from:start till:23.1 text:23.1 bar:1957 from:start till:25.1 text:25.1 bar:1960 from:start till:21.1 text:21.1 bar:1964 from:start till:20.8 text:20.8 bar:1966 from:start till:19.3 text:19.3 bar:1968 from:start till:18.6 text:18.6 bar:1971 from:start till:15.6 text:15.6 bar:1973 from:start till:12.3 text:12.3 bar:1975 from:start till:23.3 text:23.3 bar:1977 from:start till:12.0 text:12.0 bar:1979 from:start till:12.5 text:12.5 bar:1981 from:start till:11.3 text:11.3 bar:1984 from:start till:12.1 text:12.1 bar:1987 from:start till:10.5 text:10.5 bar:1988 from:start till:11.8 text:11.8 bar:1990 from:start till:15.8 text:15.8 bar:1994 from:start till:23.3 text:23.3 bar:1998 from:start till:24.0 text:24.0 bar:2001 from:start till:31.2 text:31.2 bar:2005 from:start till:29.0 text:29.0 bar:2007 from:start till:26.3 text:26.3 bar:2011 from:start till:26.7 text:26.7 bar:2015 from:start till:19.5 text:19.5 bar:2019 from:start till:23.4 text:23.4 bar:2022 from:start till:13.3 text:13.3

Parliament

Local elections

European Parliament

Notes

References

External links

*
Venstre
official site
Denmark's Liberal Party
presentation in English *
Party Profile from the newspaper Politiken

Venstre Reform Party program of 1909
(from Danish Wikisource) {{Danish political parties 1870 establishments in Denmark Liberal parties in Denmark Political parties established in 1870 Classical liberal parties Conservative liberal parties Liberal conservative parties

Neoliberal parties Agrarian parties in Denmark Pro-European political parties in Denmark Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party member parties