Liberal Youth League
Encyclopedia
The Liberal Youth of Sweden is the youth wing
of the Swedish
Liberal People's Party
.
The Liberal Youth of Sweden has a long tradition of international cooperation and is a full member of the International Federation of Liberal Youth
(IFLRY) and the European Liberal Youth
(LYMEC). They have published the magazine Liebling - Liberal Youth since 1961.
, a radical student organisation founded in 1882 by Karl Staaff
, the future prime minister and leader of the Liberal Coalition Party
. In 1910 the Swedish Freeminded Youth League was formed as the youth wing of the Freeminded National Association, Sweden's first grassroots liberal organisation, with Eric Festin as its first chairperson. The youth league was active during the First World War, but lost members afterwards. In 1923 the Freeminded National Association split over the prohibition of alcohol
, and though the youth league tried to stay together it too split in 1927.
The two liberal parties reunited in August 1934 as the People's Party
. The youth league was reunited in the same year as the Youth League of the People's Party with Bertil Ohlin
as its first chairperson. When it was founded it had 1000 members in about 100 local associations, but many new members soon joined. In the 1930s FPU campaigned on issues such as the abolition of school fees, and in the 1950s began to demand that a proportion of GDP should go to aid. FPU also campaigned for Sweden to join NATO and for the TV and radio monopolies to be abolished. In the 1960s FPU became prominent under the leadership of among others Per Ahlmark
and Ola Ullsten
and influenced its mother party in a radical direction. However, a time of internal battles followed in the early 1970s, culminating in the chairmanship election of 1971 where the incumbent Per Gahrton
was defeated by Lars Leijonborg
by one vote's margin.
At the congress in 1991 the youth league changed its name to the Liberal Youth of Sweden after the People's Party had renamed itself the Liberal People's Party
the previous year. LUF was (and is) noted for its support of Swedish membership of the European Union
, which Sweden joined in 1995. After the mother party's success in the general election of 2002
the membership of LUF increased significantly.http://luf.se.loopiadns.com/liberalism/avdelning/liberal-historia/
.
Youth wing
A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous or independently-allied front of a larger organization that is formed in order to rally support and allegiance for that organization's campaigns from members and potential members of a younger age...
of the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Liberal People's Party
Liberal People's Party (Sweden)
The Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006...
.
The Liberal Youth of Sweden has a long tradition of international cooperation and is a full member of the International Federation of Liberal Youth
International Federation of Liberal Youth
The International Federation of Liberal Youth is an international liberal youth organization. It consists of a global membership of national youth organizations. These are often but not exclusively affiliated with political parties that are members of Liberal International.IFLRY continues the...
(IFLRY) and the European Liberal Youth
European Liberal Youth
European Liberal Youth is an international organisation of Liberal youth movements - mostly the youth wings of members of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party....
(LYMEC). They have published the magazine Liebling - Liberal Youth since 1961.
History
The Liberal Youth of Sweden traces its roots back to VerdandiVerdandi
In Norse mythology, Verðandi , sometimes anglicized as Verdandi or Verthandi, is one of the norns...
, a radical student organisation founded in 1882 by Karl Staaff
Karl Staaff
Karl Albert Staaff was a Swedish liberal politician and lawyer. He was chairman of the Liberal Coalition Party and served twice as Prime Minister of Sweden ....
, the future prime minister and leader of the Liberal Coalition Party
Liberal Coalition Party
The Liberal Coalition Party was a political party in Sweden represented in the Swedish parliament from 1900 to 1924. The party was in government from 1905 to 1906 and from 1911 to 1914 under the leadership of Karl Staaff, and from 1917 to 1920 under the leadership of Nils Edén.In 1924 the party...
. In 1910 the Swedish Freeminded Youth League was formed as the youth wing of the Freeminded National Association, Sweden's first grassroots liberal organisation, with Eric Festin as its first chairperson. The youth league was active during the First World War, but lost members afterwards. In 1923 the Freeminded National Association split over the prohibition of alcohol
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, and though the youth league tried to stay together it too split in 1927.
The two liberal parties reunited in August 1934 as the People's Party
Liberal People's Party (Sweden)
The Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006...
. The youth league was reunited in the same year as the Youth League of the People's Party with Bertil Ohlin
Bertil Ohlin
Bertil Gotthard Ohlin was a Swedish economist and politician. He was a professor of economics at the Stockholm School of Economics from 1929 to 1965. He was also leader of the People's Party, a social-liberal party which at the time was the largest party in opposition to the governing Social...
as its first chairperson. When it was founded it had 1000 members in about 100 local associations, but many new members soon joined. In the 1930s FPU campaigned on issues such as the abolition of school fees, and in the 1950s began to demand that a proportion of GDP should go to aid. FPU also campaigned for Sweden to join NATO and for the TV and radio monopolies to be abolished. In the 1960s FPU became prominent under the leadership of among others Per Ahlmark
Per Ahlmark
Per Axel Ahlmark is a Swedish writer and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal People's Party from 1975 to 1978, and Minister for Employment and Deputy Prime Minister in the Swedish government from 1976 to 1978...
and Ola Ullsten
Ola Ullsten
Stig Kjell Olof Ullsten is a Swedish liberal politician, former Prime Minister of Sweden and former leader of the Swedish Liberal People's Party.-Background and early career:...
and influenced its mother party in a radical direction. However, a time of internal battles followed in the early 1970s, culminating in the chairmanship election of 1971 where the incumbent Per Gahrton
Per Gahrton
Carl Per Gunnar Gahrton is a Swedish politician. He was a Member of Parliament, holding a seat for the Liberal Party from 1976 to 1979, and for the Green Party from 1988 to 1991, and again in 1994-95...
was defeated by Lars Leijonborg
Lars Leijonborg
Lars Erik Ansgar Leijonborg is a Swedish politician, Minister for Higher Education and Research 2006-2009 and Head of the Ministry of Education and Research 2006-2007...
by one vote's margin.
At the congress in 1991 the youth league changed its name to the Liberal Youth of Sweden after the People's Party had renamed itself the Liberal People's Party
Liberal People's Party (Sweden)
The Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006...
the previous year. LUF was (and is) noted for its support of Swedish membership of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, which Sweden joined in 1995. After the mother party's success in the general election of 2002
Swedish general election, 2002
The Swedish general election of 2002 was held on Sunday 15 September to elect the 349 members to the Parliament of Sweden. This election was hels along with other elections in Sweden to the Municipalities and the County Councils. 5,385,430 of the 6,722,152 eligible to vote voted in this election .-...
the membership of LUF increased significantly.http://luf.se.loopiadns.com/liberalism/avdelning/liberal-historia/
Organisation
LUF has 21 districts, the three largest being Stockholm, Väst and Skåne. The highest decisionmaking authority is the congress, which is held every year. 99 congress delegates are elected by the districts, with one seat for each district and the remainder allocated in proportion to their number of members. Once every two years the congress discusses and amends the Liberal Youth's policy programme. The most recent such congress was held in 2009 in NässjöNässjö
Nässjö is a locality and the seat of Nässjö Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 16,463 inhabitants in 2005.-History:Nässjö was for a long time only a rural village with agriculture as the dominant occupation. The turning point was the construction of the Swedish railway system. The southern...
.
Districts
- BlekingeBlekinge' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , situated in the south of the country. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea.The name "Blekinge" comes from the adjective bleke, which corresponds to the nautical term for "dead calm"....
- DalarnaDalarna', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....
- GotlandGotlandGotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
- Gävleborg
- HallandHalland' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
- JämtlandJämtlandJämtland or Jamtland is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders to Härjedalen and Medelpad in the south, Ångermanland in the east, Lapland in the north and Trøndelag and Norway in the west...
/HärjedalenHärjedalen' is a historical province or landskap in the centre of Sweden. It borders the country of Norway as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jämtland... - JönköpingJönköping-Notable people:*Lillian Asplund, RMS Titanic survivor*John Bauer, illustrator, painter*Amy Diamond, singer*Agnetha Fältskog, ABBA*Carl Henrik Fredriksson, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Eurozine*Anders Gustafsson, kayaker, Olympian...
- KalmarKalmarKalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...
- Kronoberg
- NorrbottenNorrbottenNorrbotten is a Swedish province in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland.- Administration :...
- Skåne
- StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
(covers Greater Stockholm area) - SödermanlandSödermanland', sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea.In Swedish, the province name is...
- UppsalaUppsala- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
- VärmlandVärmland' is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland and Närke. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are Vermelandia and Wermelandia. Although the province's land originally was Götaland, the...
- Väst (covers Västra Götaland and KungsbackaKungsbackaKungsbacka is a locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 17,784 inhabitants in 2005.It is one of the most affluent parts of Sweden, in part due to its simultaneous proximity to stunning countryside and the large city of Gothenburg..-History:The first records...
municipality) - VästerbottenVästerbotten', English exonym: West Bothnia, is a province or landskap in the north of Sweden. It borders Ångermanland, Lapland, Norrbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is famous for the cheese with the same name as the province.- Administration :...
- Västernorrland
- VästmanlandVästmanland' is a historical Swedish province, or landskap, in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland.The name comes from "West men", referring to the people west of Uppland, the core province of early Sweden.- Administration :...
- ÖrebroÖrebro-Sites of interest:Örebro's old town Wadköping is located on the banks of Svartån . It contains many 18th and 19th century wooden houses, along with museums and exhibitions....
- ÖstergötlandÖstergötlandÖstergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...
List of chairpersons
- Bertil OhlinBertil OhlinBertil Gotthard Ohlin was a Swedish economist and politician. He was a professor of economics at the Stockholm School of Economics from 1929 to 1965. He was also leader of the People's Party, a social-liberal party which at the time was the largest party in opposition to the governing Social...
, 1934–1939 - Lennart Hartman, 1939–1945
- Gunhild Palmqvist, 1945–1948
- Nils Schön, 1948–1950
- Sven WedénSven WedénSven Wedén was a Swedish politician. He was the leader of the Swedish People's Party from 1967 to 1969....
, 1950–1952 - Gunnar HelénGunnar HelénGunnar Helén, was a Swedish liberal politician. He was party leader of Liberal People's Party 1969-1975, Governor of Kronoberg County 1965-1970 and of Stockholm County 1977-1984....
, 1952–1954 - Bengt Johnson, 1954–1957
- Sven H. Åsbrink, 1957–1959
- Göran C.-O. Claesson, 1959–1960
- Per AhlmarkPer AhlmarkPer Axel Ahlmark is a Swedish writer and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal People's Party from 1975 to 1978, and Minister for Employment and Deputy Prime Minister in the Swedish government from 1976 to 1978...
, 1960–1962 - Ola UllstenOla UllstenStig Kjell Olof Ullsten is a Swedish liberal politician, former Prime Minister of Sweden and former leader of the Swedish Liberal People's Party.-Background and early career:...
, 1962–1964 - Gustaf Lindencrona, 1964–1966
- Thomas HammarbergThomas HammarbergThomas Hammarberg is a Swedish diplomat and human rights defender.He is currently the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg...
, 1966–1969 - Per GahrtonPer GahrtonCarl Per Gunnar Gahrton is a Swedish politician. He was a Member of Parliament, holding a seat for the Liberal Party from 1976 to 1979, and for the Green Party from 1988 to 1991, and again in 1994-95...
, 1969–1971 - Lars LeijonborgLars LeijonborgLars Erik Ansgar Leijonborg is a Swedish politician, Minister for Higher Education and Research 2006-2009 and Head of the Ministry of Education and Research 2006-2007...
, 1971–1973 - Johan Schück, 1973–1974
- Billy Olsson, 1974–1975
- Bonnie Bernström, 1975–1977
- Christer Nilsson, 1977–1979
- Peter Örn, 1979–1983
- Maria LeissnerMaria LeissnerMaria Leissner is a Swedish politician and former party leader of the Swedish Liberal People's Party . Between 2000-2004 she was Sweden's ambassador to Guatemala. In January 2007 she was appointed Ambassador-at-Large for Democracy.-External links:*...
, 1983–1985 - Torbjörn Pettersson, 1985–1987
- Lars Granath, 1987–1989
- Lotta Edholm, 1989–1991
- Fredrik Malmberg, 1991–1995
- Karin Karlsbro, 1995–1997
- Erik UllenhagErik UllenhagErik Jörgen Carl Ullenhag is a Swedish jurist and politician with the Liberal People's Party. Ullenhag was chairman for the Liberal Youth of Sweden between 1997 and 1999 and a Member of the Riksdag between 2002 and 2006...
, 1997–1999 - Birgitta OhlssonBirgitta OhlssonEva Birgitta Ohlsson is a Swedish politician, currently serving as Minister for European Union Affairs in the Swedish government. She is a war-mongering, anti-Cuban and USA-loyal member of the Liberal People's Party....
, 1999–2002 - Fredrik MalmFredrik MalmCarl Fredrik Malm is a Swedish politician and Member of Parliament for the Liberal People's Party. He was chairperson of the Liberal Youth of Sweden from 2002 to 2006....
, 2002–2006 - Frida Johansson MetsoFrida Johansson MetsoFrida Maria Johansson Metso is a Swedish politician and was chairperson of the Liberal Youth of Sweden from 2006 to 2009. She currently lives in Uppsala, where she was studying psychology at Uppsala University until she took a sabbatical from her studies on being elected...
, 2006–2009 - Adam CwejmanAdam CwejmanAdam Michael Cwejman is a Swedish politician and the current chairman of the Liberal Youth of Sweden. He is the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants....
, 2009-present
External links
- Liberala ungdomsförbundet (in Swedish)