The Norwegian Front (, NF) was a

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xe ...

extraparliamentary political party in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

founded in 1975, led by

Erik Blücher Erik Blücher or Tor Erik Nilsen (born 29 May 1953) is a Norwegian former neo-Nazi activist. A former party leader in Norway, he later became central in neo-Nazi networks in Scandinavia. In 1975 Erik Blücher founded the national political party ...

as ''fører''. Following a bomb attack by an activist from the party, the NF was dissolved in 1979 and succeeded by the National People's Party (''Nasjonalt Folkeparti'', NF), which itself was dissolved in 1991 after several leading members had received long prison sentences following another bomb attack. The NF had around 1,400 members at its peak.

History

Norwegian Front

The NF was founded in 1975 as a successor to the minor National Youth League (''Nasjonal Ungdomsfylking'', NUF), affiliated with former members of

Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...

. It was founded by a young generation of

neo-Nazis Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), to att ...

nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

and

anti-communists Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

, and areas of focus included

opposition to immigration Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, is a political position that seeks to restrict immigration. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory in ...

, fight against the Workers' Communist Party as well as "American finance capital", and

Holocaust denial Historical negationism, Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazi Party, Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: ...

. After being prevented from registering publicly as a political party, and following repeated attacks from

anti-fascists Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

, the group turned towards violence and terrorism which garnered much media attention. The party had links to the French National Front and the

World Anti-Communist League The World League for Freedom and Democracy (WLFD) is an international non-governmental organization of anti-communist politicians and groups. It was founded in 1954 as the Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League (APACL) under the initiative of C ...

(WACL). The 12th WACL general conference in

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

in 1979 was attended by a delegate from the party, whose journey was reportedly subsidised by the leader of the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

delegation Sheikh Ahmed Salah Jamjoom. Some members of the party reportedly fought for

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

in the

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also known as the Rhodesian Civil War, Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Independence, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country U.D.I. ...

. The NF was dissolved in 1979 after an activist from the group threw a homemade bomb against the annual

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

demonstration, leaving two people wounded.

National People's Party

Not long after, the party was succeeded by the National People's Party; the two parties effectively the same. Opposition to immigration became its main focus. Blücher however stepped down as leader in 1981 to pursue extreme-right connections abroad. On 13 June 1985, a young activist from the party detonated a bomb outside an

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

mosque. Several of the party's leading members received prison sentences in the aftermath of the bombing for various activist offences. The party was dissolved in 1991, and remaining members were encouraged to join the Fatherland Party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norwegian Front 1975 establishments in Norway 1991 disestablishments in Norway Anti-communist parties Defunct political parties in Norway Far-right political parties in Norway Holocaust denial in Norway Nationalist parties in Norway Neo-fascist terrorism Neo-Nazi organizations Neo-Nazism in Norway Political parties established in 1975 Political parties disestablished in 1991 Terrorism in Norway