The Liberal Party ( bg, Либерална партия, ''Liberalna partiya''), also known as the Radoslavists ( bg, радослависти) was a political party in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

from 1887 until 1920.

History

The party was established by Vasil Radoslavov as a splinter from the

People's Liberal Party The People's Liberal Party ( bg, Народнолиберална партия, ''Narodnoliberalna partiya'', NLP) was a political party in Bulgaria. History One of the four factions to emerge from the old Liberal Party, the party was establishe ...

(PLP) in 1887,RJ Crampton (2007) ''Bulgaria'', Oxford University Press, p451 going on to lose to the PLP in the elections that year."The Bulgarian Question", ''The Times'', 12 October 1887 The 1894 elections saw the party win 27 seats. During 1899 the party briefly merged with the PLP to form the United Liberal Party, but the two separated again later in the year. In April 1899 it won an absolute majority in the National Assembly with 89 of the 169 seats.

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 exp ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p384 However, the party was reduced to just five seats in the 1901 elections. It won seven seats in

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world' ...

and nine in

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having bee ...

. In 1904 a group of members were expelled after trying to remove Radoslavov as party leader, and went on to form the

Young Liberals Party The Young Liberals Party ( bg, Младолиберална партия, ''Mladoliberalna partiya'', MLP) was a political party in Bulgaria during the early 20th century. History The party was established in 1904 by Dimitar Tonchev after a grou ...

. The 1908 elections saw the party reduced to five seats. In the 1911 Constitutional Assembly elections it won 6 of the 410 seats, before going on to win seven seats in the

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

later in the year. For the 1913 elections the party allied with the

and the

to form the Liberal Concentration, with the alliance emerging as the largest faction in the National Assembly, holding 88 of the 204 seats. The Liberal Party was the largest of the three groups in the alliance with 54 seats, and Vasil Radoslavov became Prime Minister for a second time. The alliance was continued for the 1914 elections, which saw the Liberal Concentration win an absolute majority and Radoslavov remain Prime Minister. Radoslavov was dismissed after Bulgaria's defeat in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and the party did not contest the 1919 elections.Nohlen & Stöver, p379 In the 1920 elections the party ran in an alliance with the Young Liberals Party and the Genadiev faction of the PLP, but failed to win a seat. The three merged in the same year to form the National Liberal Party.

References

{{Bulgarian political parties Defunct political parties in Bulgaria Liberal parties in Bulgaria Political parties established in 1887 Political parties disestablished in 1920