The Radical People's Party ( no, Radikale Folkeparti), founded as the Labour Democrats (Norwegian: ''Arbeiderdemokratene''), was a radical political party in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

mainly active from 1906 to 1936, targeting workers and smallholders. The party was founded by

Johan Castberg Johan Castberg (21 September 1862 – 24 December 1926) was a Norwegian jurist and politician best known for representing the Radical People's Party (Labour Democrats). He was a government minister from 1908 to 1910 and 1913 to 1914, and also s ...

, who led the party until his death in 1926.

History

The party was a successor to the United Norwegian Workers' Association (Norwegian: ''De forenede norske Arbeidersamfund'', DFNA), a labour organisation associated with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, which due to conflicts with the mother party fielded Johan Castberg as a parliamentary candidate in the 1900 election. Castberg in turn founded a new party, the Labour Democrats in 1906. The party took part in its first election in 1906, and in 1912 and 1915 it won six parliamentary representatives. For most of its history, the party cooperated with the Liberal Party. The party had its strongest support among small-scale farmers and landless agricultural labourers, based in a non-socialist ideology. In 1921 the party changed its name to the Radical People's Party (although its members continued to be referred to as "Labour Democrats"). The party eventually went into a steady decline. Only in

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The c ...

did the party retain some influence. In the 1918 election, the party was reduced to one representative. At the election in 1936, it fell out of parliament altogether. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the party had effectively merged into the Liberal Party, although formally the parties had joint lists in Oppland until 1957. The party was formally dissolved in 1965.

References

{{reflist Political parties established in 1906 1906 establishments in Norway Political parties disestablished in 1965 1965 disestablishments in Norway Liberal parties in Norway Labour parties Radical parties Defunct political parties in Norway