The Free-minded Liberal Party ( no, Frisinnede Venstre) was a political party in Norway founded in 1909 by the conservative-liberal faction of the Liberal Party. The party cooperated closely with 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 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 ( no, Frisinnede Folkeparti) 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 Peter Christian Hersleb Kjerschow Michelsen (15 March 1857 – 29 June 1925), better known as Christian Michelsen, was a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman. He was the first prime minister of independent Norway and Norway's 9th prime minis ...

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 Abraham Theodor Berge (20 August 1851 – 10 July 1936) was the 15th prime minister of Norway from 1923 to 1924. He was a teacher and civil servant who represented the Liberal Party, the social liberal party, and later Free-minded Liberal Party, a ...

Wollert Konow (SB) Wollert Konow (16 August 1845 – 15 March 1924) was the 12th prime minister of Norway from 1910 to 1912. He was the leader of a coalition cabinet. Konow's time as Prime Minister saw the extension of accident insurance to seamen in 1911. Ba ...

Sofus Arctander Sofus Anton Birger Arctander (22 January 1845 - 20 August 1924) was a politician with the Liberal Party who served as acting Prime Minister of Norway during 1905. Background Sofus Arctander was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the ...

Harald Bothner Harald Bothner (30 November 1850 – 24 October 1924) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party, born in Halden. He was a district stipendiary magistrate by profession. From 1878 to 1880 he worked as a solicitor in Sarpsborg, before moving ...

, Magnus Halvorsen,

Ernst Sars Johan Ernst Welhaven Sars (11 October 1835 – 27 January 1917) was a Norwegian professor, historian, author and editor. His main work was ''Udsigt over den norske Historie'', four volumes issued from 1873 to 1891. He co-edited the magazines ...

Ola Thommessen Ola Thommessen (23 September 1851 – 10 February 1942) was a Norwegian newspaper editor. He was the long-time editor of ''Verdens Gang'' and ''Tidens Tegn''. Early and personal life Olaus Anthon Thommessen Holtan was born in Borre as the s ...

and

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 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, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

. The party initiated a close cooperation with the

, 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'' in a speech to the Agrarian Youth Association, during the height of the Norwegian language conflict. The speech caused an uproar among militant '' Riksmål''-supporters, especially among the Conservatives, but also in his own party, eventually leading to Konow's replacement as Prime Minister (by Conservative

Jens Bratlie Jens Kristian Meinich Bratlie (17 January 1856 – 15 September 1939) was a Norwegian attorney and military officer. He served as an elected official representing the Conservative Party. He was the 13th prime minister of Norway from 1912 to 1913. ...

). Notably individualist in orientation, the party emphasised intellectual freedom. The first woman meeting as a parliamentary representative in Norwegian history was the Free-minded's

Anna Rogstad Anna Georgine Rogstad (26 July 1854 – 8 November 1938) was a Norwegian politician, women's rights activist and educator. A member of the conservative-liberal Liberal Left Party, she was Norway's first female Member of Parliament. A teacher b ...

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 in the 1933 election. It contested its last election in 1936 in electoral cooperations with the Fatherland League and Nasjonal Samling (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 Hans Fredrik Dahl (born 16 October 1939) is a Norwegian historian, journalist and media scholar, best known in the English-speaking world for his biography of Vidkun Quisling, a Nazi collaborationist and Minister President for Norway during the ...

has described the Progress Party as a spiritual successor to the party.

,
Til høyre for Høyre
, ''Dagbladet'', 13-10-2014

Party leaders

The party leaders were

(1909–1910), Magnus Halvorsen (1910–1912),

William Martin Nygaard William Martin Nygaard (6 February 1865 – 19 December 1952) was a Norwegian publisher and politician. Personal life Nygaard was born in Kristiansand as the son of educator and linguist Marius Nygaard (1838–1912) and his wife Elisabeth "Elise ...

(1912–1915), Erik Enge (1915–1918), Bernt Holtsmark (1918–1922),

Oluf Christian Müller Oluf Christian Müller (19 October 1876 – 7 January 1938) was a Norwegian businessperson and politician for the Liberal Left Party. He was born in Sunndalen as a son of vicar Christian Høy Müller (1834–1882) and Mathea Herlofine Herlofse ...

(1922–1924),

Karl Wefring Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

(1924–1925),

P. A. Holm P. is an abbreviation or acronym that may refer to: * Page (paper), where the abbreviation comes from Latin ''pagina'' * Paris Herbarium, at the ''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'' * ''Pani'' (Polish), translating as Mrs. * The ''Pacific Repo ...

(1925–1930),

Anton Wilhelm Brøgger Anton Wilhelm Brøgger (11 October 1884 – 29 August 1951) was a Norwegian archaeologist. Personal life He was born in Stockholm as a son of professor of geology Waldemar Christofer Brøgger (1851–1940) and Antonie Scheel Siewers (1854–1 ...

(acting, 1930–1931) Einar Greve (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, represe ...

(1933–1936), Rudolf Ræder (1936–1937) and Trygve Swensen (1937–1939).

Election results

* * Results from joint lists with the Conservative Party. Vote indicated here is shared between the parties, while seats indicated represent the Free-minded Liberal Party's share alone (including seats won by the party on separate lists). * ** Results from separate lists of the Free-minded Liberal Party, contested in some constituencies. * *** Results from joint lists with the Fatherland League and Nasjonal Samling.

References

{{Reflist Political parties established in 1909 1909 establishments in Norway Political parties disestablished in 1945 1945 disestablishments in Norway Liberal parties in Norway National liberal parties Defunct political parties in Norway Conservative liberal parties