The Lithuanian Labour Federation ( lt, Lietuvos darbo federacija, LDF), also known as the Christian Labour Party in 1934–1942, is a

national trade union center A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. It was founded in 1919, but was subsequently dissolved at the time of the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

occupation. It was recreated in 1991. The LDF is affiliated with the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation w ...

, and the

European Trade Union Confederation The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and n ...

History

The party was established on 28 September 1919 during the

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

convention of the Lithuanian Christian Workers Association.Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, p476 It won 15 seats in the 1920 elections and became part of the Christian Democratic Bloc alongside the

Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party The Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party ( lt, Lietuvos krikščionių demokratų partija, LKDP) was a Christian-democratic political party in Lithuania. History Russian Empire and Republic of Lithuania A Christian Democratic movement was es ...

and the

Farmers' Association The Farmers' Association ( lt, Ūkininkų Sąjunga, ŪS) was a political party in inter-war Lithuania. Its leaders included Aleksandras Stulginskis, Vytautas Petrulis and Kazys Jokantas. A political party, established in 1989 under the same nam ...

.McHale, p477 Together the Bloc held a majority in the

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas), or simply the Seimas (), is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendmen ...

, and formed a government with the

Peasant Union The Peasant Union ( lt, Valstiečių sąjunga, VS) was a political party in Lithuania. History The party was formed by younger members of the Lithuanian Democratic Party following the Revolution of 1905.Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political partie ...

.McHale, p487 The DF won 11 seats in the 1922 elections, with the Bloc just short of a majority. After governing with the support of independents, early elections were held in 1923 which saw the DF win 12 seats and the Bloc gain a parliamentary majority, allowing it to govern alone. The 1926 elections saw a significant loss of support for the DF, as its vote share fell from 15% in 1923 to 8%, with the party winning just five seats. As a result, the Christian Democratic Bloc lost its majority and control of the government. Following the 1926 coup, the DF joined the opposition to the

Antanas Smetona Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual and journalist and the first President of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1926 to 1940, before its occupation by the Soviet Union. He was one of the m ...

government. It was subsequently dissolved by decree in 1932. It was later resurrected as a non-partisan organisation under the name Association of Christian Workers on 15 April 1934, and grew to have 6,000 members by 1938.

References

* Political parties established in 1919 Political parties established in 1991 Trade unions in Lithuania International Trade Union Confederation European Trade Union Confederation Organizations based in Vilnius Trade unions established in 1991 1991 establishments in Lithuania 1919 establishments in Lithuania {{Lithuania-stub