The Latvian Farmers' Union (, LZS) is an
agrarian political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
.
Initially formed in 1917 during the period of
Latvian War of Independence
The Latvian War of Independence (), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invade ...
(as ), it was banned in 1934. It was re-established in 1990. It is positioned in the
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
on the political spectrum
and it has expressed
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
and
nationalistic rhetoric.
Since 2002, the party has been a part of the
Union of Greens and Farmers
The Union of Greens and Farmers (, ZZS) is an agrarian political alliance in Latvia. It is made up of the Latvian Farmers' Union, Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party, and For Latvia and Ventspils.
It is positioned in the centre on the ...
(ZZS).
It was formerly a member of the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; , ADLE) was a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Democratic Party. ALDE had political ...
.
History
Founded in 1917, the party was the most influential
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
party in Latvia in the period from
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
in 1918 until the
self-coup
A self-coup, also called an autocoup () or coup from the top, is a form of coup d'état in which a political leader, having come to power through legal means, stays in power illegally through the actions of themselves or their supporters. The le ...
led by Kārlis Ulmanis in 1934, and the second most popular party overall after the
Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party
The Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party (, LSDSP) is a Social democracy, social-democratic list of political parties in Latvia, political party in Latvia and the second oldest existing Latvian political party after the Latvian Farmers' Uni ...
.
Ulmanis, who was a member of the party, banned all political parties after his coup, including the LZS. As Latvia was subsequently
occupied during the course of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the party was dormant until it reformed in 1990 when
Latvia regained its independence. Immediately after the restoration of independence, there existed several groups competing at elections to claim the legacy of the pre-war LZS.
Since 2002 it has been part of the
Union of Greens and Farmers
The Union of Greens and Farmers (, ZZS) is an agrarian political alliance in Latvia. It is made up of the Latvian Farmers' Union, Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party, and For Latvia and Ventspils.
It is positioned in the centre on the ...
(''ZZS'') coalition, which it formed along with the
Latvian Green Party. The coalition also included the
For Latvia and Ventspils
For Latvia and Ventspils (, LuV) is a regionalist political party in Latvia that mainly operates as a localist party in Ventspils. It is mostly known for its chairman, Aivars Lembergs, who has been mayor of Ventspils between 1988 until his arre ...
and the
Liepāja Party, who had cooperation agreements with the party allowing their members to be elected to the
Saeima
The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the p ...
on the list of the Union of Greens and Farmers.
From
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
to
2019
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
the party had one
member of the European Parliament
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
,
Iveta Grigule
Iveta is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
People
*Iveta Apkalna (born 1976), Latvian organist
*Iveta Bartošová
Iveta Bartošová (8 April 1966 – 29 April 2014) was a Czech people, Czech singer, actress and celebrity, three ...
, who ultimately sat with the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats group, having previously sat with the
Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD or EFD²) was a Eurosceptic and populist political group in the European Parliament. The EFDD group was a continuation for the Eighth European Parliament of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) ...
group and as a
Non-Attached Member.
The Green Party and the Liepāja Party left the ZZS in June 2022, but were replaced by the
Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party
The Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party (, LSDSP) is a Social democracy, social-democratic list of political parties in Latvia, political party in Latvia and the second oldest existing Latvian political party after the Latvian Farmers' Uni ...
.
Election results
Legislative elections
European Parliament elections
Symbols and logos
File:Latvian Farmers Union logo.png, Old logo
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Agrarian parties in Latvia
Centrist parties in Latvia
Conservative parties in Latvia
Formerly banned political parties
Political parties of the Russian Revolution
Pro-independence parties in the Soviet Union