Centre ( no, Centrum) was a

political party in Norway This article lists political parties in Norway. Norway has a multi-party system with numerous political parties, in which no party can easily gain a majority of the 169 legislative seats. Parties may cooperate to form coalition governments. His ...

founded in 1893 and led by

Frits Hansen Frits Hansen (31 January 1841 – 8 June 1911) was a Norwegian educator, newspaper editor, biographer and politician. Hansen was born at Larvik, in Vestfold, Norway. He was the son of Magistrate Frederik Christian Hansen (1799-1860) and Albine ...

."Partihistorie: Centrum"
''Norsk samfunnsvitenskapelig datatjeneste''. It positioned itself as a moderate middle party between the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and the radical

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

History

Centre was founded by eastern moderates who had been politically homeless since the 1888 Liberal split, and it was often characterised as the

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region o ...

parallel to the

Moderate Liberal Party The Moderate Liberal Party ( no, Moderate Venstre, literally "Moderate Left") was a political party in Norway that emerged from the moderate and religious branches of the Liberal Party in 1888. The party's turn towards cooperation with the Conserv ...

(based in the south-west). While informally known as the "Moderate Party of Eastern Norway", it remained an independent party-organisation despite talks of a possible merger. Their common goal was to work against the Liberals' policy of challenging the union with Sweden, expanding voting rights, and taxes. Presenting itself as a rural agrarian party with its base among farmers, Centre largely adopted the protectionist program of the

Norwegian Agrarian Association The Norwegian Agrarian Association ( no, Norges Bondelag) is the largest Norwegian interest organization for farmers. It functions both as a labour union and as a trade union. It negotiates with the Norwegian Farmers and Smallholders Union and ...

from 1895/96. The party was otherwise ideologically closely connected to the conservative Christian section of the

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;'' ...

movement. Along with Frits Hansen, an educator himself, another co-founder was the priest and fellow educator

Christopher Bruun Christopher Arndt Bruun (23 September 1839 – 17 July 1920) was a Norwegian priest and educator. Biography He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was a son of jurist Johan Peter Bruun (1810–1843) and Line Stenersen (1816–1901). Af ...

. In elections the party cooperated with the Conservative Party. After declining support, some members joined the Conservative Party around 1900, and when the Coalition Party was formed in 1903 Centre was absorbed into the alliance.

References

{{reflist Political parties established in 1893 1893 establishments in Norway Political parties disestablished in 1903 1903 disestablishments in Norway Moderate Liberal Party Nordic agrarian parties Defunct political parties in Norway Centrist parties in Norway