The Christian People's Party ( et, Kristlik Rahvaerakond, KRE) was a political party in
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
between 1919 and 1931.
History
The party had its roots in the campaign for the
1918 Constituent Assembly elections, which was contested by a group known as the "Independent Christians".
[Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, p374 ] The Christian Democratic Party (''Kristlik Demokraatlik Partei'', KDP) was established the following year by the Independent Christians and some defectors from the
Estonian People's Party
The Estonian People's Party ( et, Eesti Rahvaerakond, ER) was a centre-right political party in Estonia.
History
The party was established in March 1919 by a merger of the Estonian Democratic Party and the Estonian Radical Democratic Party.Vin ...
.
[ The new party won five seats in the Constituent Assembly elections that year.]Dieter Nohlen
Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...
& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p581
The KDP went on to win seven seats in the 1920 elections, and joined Konstantin Päts
Konstantin Päts (; – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president in 1938–1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades pri ...
' Farmers' Assemblies
The Farmers' Assemblies ( et, Põllumeeste Kogud) was a conservative political party in Estonia. Led by Konstantin Päts, it was one of the ruling parties during most of the interwar period.
History
The Rural League (''Maarahva Liit'') was forme ...
-led the government on 5 January 1921, being given the Education ministry post. However, the following year it caused a split in the government by introducing a bill to provide religious education in state schools, funded by the state. Although the proposal was rejected by 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 Chief Just ...
, the party forced a referendum on the issue in early 1923, which resulted in a "yes" vote. As this was considered to be a vote of confidence on the rest of the government, the Riigikogu was subsequently dissolved and fresh elections called.[
In the 1923 elections the party won eight seats, and were part of a minority government headed by its leader ]Friedrich Akel
Friedrich Karl Akel ( in Kaubi Manor, Kaubi Parish (now in Pornuse village, Mulgi Parish) – 3 July 1941 in Tallinn) was an Estonian diplomat and politician, a member of the International Olympic Committee, and Head of State of Estonia ...
between March and December 1924. Prior to the 1926 elections the party was renamed as the Christian People's Party, but was reduced to five seats. It later suffered a further reduction to four seats in the 1929 elections.
In October 1931, the party merged with the Estonian People's Party to form the United Nationalists Party. The following year the Estonian Labour Party
The Estonian Labour Party ( et, Eesti Tööerakond, ETE) was a political party in Estonia. It was formed in 1919 by a merger of the Radical Socialist Party and the Social Travaillist Party, and ceased to exist in 1932, when it merged with other ce ...
joined the merged party, which became the National Centre Party.[McHale, p384]
References
{{Authority control
1919 establishments in Estonia
1931 disestablishments in Estonia
Conservative parties in Estonia
Defunct Christian political parties
Defunct political parties in Estonia
Political parties disestablished in 1931
Political parties established in 1919