Free-minded Liberal Party

Free-minded Liberal Party Frisinnede Venstre
Founded	3 March 1909
Dissolved	1945
Split from	Liberal Party
Merged into	Conservative Party
Ideology	Conservatism Liberalism
Political position	Centre-right to Right-wing
Politics of Norway Political parties Elections

The Liberal Left Party (Norwegian: Frisinnede Venstre) was a political party in Norway founded in 1909 by a conservative, moderate-liberal faction of the Liberal Party. The Liberal Left cooperated closely with the Conservative Party and became part of several governments, including two headed by Liberal Left Prime Ministers. In the 1930s the party changed its name to the Liberal People's Party (Norwegian: Frisinnede Folkeparti) and initiated cooperation with nationalist groups, which only fueled the party's decline. The party was not reorganised after 1945.

History

The Liberal Left Party, sometimes referred to as the "moderate liberals" or the "national liberals", was founded on 3 March 1909, under influence of the former Prime Minister Christian Michelsen. Most of the party had its background from the radical-liberal Liberal Party, consisting of a moderate-liberal, conservative faction.

The party had a close cooperation with the Conservative Party during the 1910s and the 1920s, and was part of multiple governments, including Konow's Cabinet, Bratlie's Cabinet, Bahr Halvorsen's First and Second Cabinet, Berge's Cabinet and Lykke's Cabinet. Both Abraham Berge and Wollert Konow (SB) were Prime Ministers from the party. The first female elected as Member of Parliament in Norwegian history was Anna Rogstad of the Liberal Left in 1911, two years before full suffrage for women was granted in Norway. From the mid-1920s the party gradually became more independent, and ran lists separately of its joint lists with the Conservative Party.

The party won 26 representatives in the Storting (Parliament) in the 1909 election, but the numbers diminished, and by the 1933 election the party was without seats. In 1932 the party changed its name to the Liberal People's Party. Part of the explanation for the defeat in the 1933 election has been credited to its electoral cooperation with Nasjonal Samling (NS). After the defeat the party leaned closer towards NS, which gave even worse results in the 1936 elections. By then most members had joined the Conservatives, and the party was not reorganised after 1945. Among the politicians who remained members of the Liberal People's Party until 1945 were later Conservative Prime Minister John Lyng.

The party leaders were Abraham Berge (1909–1910), Magnus Halvorsen (1910–1912), William Martin Nygaard (1912–1915), Erik Enge (1915–1918), Bernt Holtsmark (1918–1922), Oluf Christian Müller (1922–1924), Karl Wefring (1924–1925), P. A. Holm (1925–1930), Anton Wilhelm Brøgger (acting, 1930–1931) Einar Greve (1931–1933), Rolf Thommessen (1933–1936), Rudolf Ræder (1936–1937) and Trygve Swensen (1937–1939).

Election results

Date	Votes	Seats		Position	Size	Notes
	%	#	±
1909	41.5%*	23 / 123	23	Opposition	3rd	government from 1910
1912	33.2%*	4 / 123	19	Government	5th	opposition from 1913
1915	29.0%*	1 / 123	3	Opposition	5th
1918	30.4%*	10 / 126	9	Opposition	4th
1921	33.3%*	15 / 150	5	Opposition	5th	government in 1923
1924	32.5%*	11 / 150	4	Opposition	5th	government from 1926
1927	18.6%*/1.4%**	2 / 150	9	Government	6th	opposition from 1928
1930	9.9%*/2.6%**	5 / 150	3	Opposition	5th
1933	4.8%*/1.6%***	1 / 150	4	Opposition	5th
1936	1.3%***	0 / 150	1

• * Results from joint lists with the Conservative Party. Vote indicated here is shared between the parties, while seats indicated represent the Liberal Left Party's share alone (including seats won by the party on separate lists).
• ** Results from separate lists of the Liberal Left Party, contested in some constituencies.
• *** Results from joint lists with Nasjonal Samling in 1933, and with the Fatherland League in 1936.