The National Agrarian Union (, abbreviated JR) was a political party in Sweden, one of the fore-runners of the present-day Centre Party.

History and political platform

JR was founded on 6 February 1915, the anniversary of the 1914 Farmers' March. Among the founders of JR were several of the 1914 Farmers' March participants. Soon after the foundation of the party, the Swedish Farmers' League and the Scanian Farmers' League merged into it. Johannes Nilsson i Gårdsby became the party chairman. ''Vårt land och folk'' ('Our country and people'), with as its editor, became the party press organ. Member of parliament Nils Johansson i Brånalt became a prominent leader of the party. JR was mainly concentrated in

Skåne Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne C ...

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

, as well as to a lesser extent, Värmland and

Jämtland Jämtland (; no, Jemtland or , ; Jamtish: ''Jamtlann''; la, Iemptia) is a historical province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the north a ...

.Florence Edith Janson.
The Background of Swedish Immigration, 1840–1930
'. University of Chicago Press, 1931. p. 438 Compared to the other agrarian party, the Farmers' League, JR was politically further to the right and represented larger estate owners. Later Centre Party historiography has sought to downplay differences between the two parties, but JR and the Farmers' League were rivals for the rural vote. JR had a nationalist outlook with racial overtones (including a fierce opposition to Jewish immigration). Both parties opposed female suffrage and introduction of equal voting rights for local elections (although the Farmers' League revised its policy on local elections by 1918). In the 1917 elections, the Farmers' League won 9 seats and JR 5 seats. After the election, JR began calling for unity between the two parties but the Farmers' League initially resisted the proposition. JR proposed forming a joint parliamentary faction, but after the Farmers' League declined the offer JR established the 'Free Agrarian Group' in the parliament on 17 January 1918, with Olof Olsson i Kullenbergstorp as the chairman of the new parliamentary faction.
Sveriges Riksdag; historisk och statsvetenskaplig framställning
', Volume 17. V. Pettersons bokindustriaktiebolag, 1931. p. 269 The two parties merged in 1921, keeping the name of the Farmers' League (which in the 1950s took the name 'Centre Party').

References

{{reflist Defunct political parties in Sweden Nationalist parties in Sweden Nordic agrarian parties Political parties established in 1915 Political parties disestablished in 1921