The Free Conservatives ( da, De Frikonservative) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country'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 ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, with significant influence in the political life of the country in the early 20th century, especially during the J. C. Christensen cabinet.1065-1066 (Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 35. Supplement. Cambrai - Glis)
/ref> The main leader of the party was Count Mogens Frijs-Frijsenborg. Other prominent figures were

Tage Reedtz-Thott Kjeld Thor Tage Otto, Friherre Reedtz-Thott (13 March 1839 – 27 November 1923), was a Danish politician, landowner and member of the Højre political party. He was Council President of Denmark from 1894 to 1897 as the leader of the Reedtz ...

Hans Nicolai Hansen Hans Nicolai Hansen (12 March 1835 – 11 January 1910) was a Danish politician, lawyer, and speaker of the Landsting, a chamber of the parliament. Hansen became a supreme court lawyer in 1863, and in 1873 he left this position to become ...

and

Christian Michael Rottbøll Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. The party opposed

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

but it founders could not reconcile with the political line of the main conservative party ''

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

'' under the leadership of Jacob Estrup. The Free Conservatives worked for unity between

Folketinget The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), 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 a ...

and

Landstinget Landstinget was the upper house of the Rigsdag (the parliament of Denmark), from 1849 until 1953, when the bicameral system was abolished in favour of unicameralism. Landstinget had powers equal to the Folketing, which made the two houses of parl ...

.Engelstoft, Povl/Wendt, Frantz Wilhelm. ''Haandbog i Danmarks politiske Historie fra Freden i Kiel til vore Dage''. Gyldendal. 1934.

Founding

The founders of the Free Conservatives, originally eight Landsting members from ''Højre'', had tried to forge unity between the moderate sectors of ''Højre'' and '' Venstre'' around a new tax reform. The plans of a new unified party failed, and 'the eight' came to function as a separate faction. The tax reform proposal, which 'the eight' and ''Venstre'' had agreed upon, was adopted by Folketinget in 1900. However, in Landstinget ''Højre'' launched a counterproposal. As a result, 'the eight' broke away from ''Højre'' and formed a separate party with nine Landsting members. Informally, the name of the new party was 'the Free Conservatives'. The name was formally adopted by the party in 1902.

Relations with ''Venstre''

Between 1901 and 1912, the Free Conservatives had considerable influence over the policies of the Venstre governments. The party was able to bar

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

to be introduced in the ''

amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' council elections. The party was also participant in the fall of

Peter Adler Alberti Peter Adler Alberti (10 June 1851, in Copenhagen – 14 June 1932, in Copenhagen) was a Danish politician and swindler, known for the Alberti scandal of 1908. Family life On 6 October 1876 in the Church of Holmen the 25-year-old barrister (ove ...

in 1908. However, in 1912 ''Venstre'' presented a proposal for a democratic constitution for Denmark. This caused a split between ''Venstre'' and the Free Conservatives. After the new constitution was introduced in 1915, the Free Conservatives reunified with ''Højre'', forming the Conservative People's Party. Internal disagreements in the Conservative People's Party resulted in the Free Conservatives being restored in 1917 but they lost their last seat in Landstinget in 1920.

References

{{Danish political parties Political parties established in 1900 Organizations disestablished in 1915 1915 disestablishments in Denmark Defunct political parties in Denmark Liberal conservative parties Conservative parties in Denmark 1900 establishments in Denmark