Liberalism in Lithuania
Encyclopedia
This article gives an overview of liberalism in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

. It is limited to liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 parties
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in that scheme. For inclusion in this scheme it isn't necessary so that parties labeled themselves as a liberal party.

Background

Liberalism was a major force in Lithuania since 1902. Next to the urban citizens, agrarian liberal parties became active.

History

After the restoration of independence in 1990 liberal parties arose again. Currently, the Liberal Movement is a centre-right liberal party and the Liberal and Centre Union
Liberal and Centre Union
The Liberal and Centre Union , abbreviated to LiCS, is a centre-right, liberal and conservative liberal political party in Lithuania. The party has thirteen seats in the Seimas, making it the fourth-largest party in the legislature....

 (Liberalų ir centro sąjunga) is a center liberal party. Both parties are the members of European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party is a European political party mainly active in the European Union, composed of 56 national-level liberal and liberal-democratic parties from across Europe...

.

Lithuanian Democratic Party

  • 1902: Liberal intellectuals and dissident social democrats formed the Lithuanian Democratic Party
    Lithuanian Democratic Party
    Lithuanian Democratic Party or LDP , established on October 17, 1902, was the second-oldest political party in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire. It published newspapers Lietuvos ūkininkas and Lietuvos žinios . During World War I, the democratic party split into several other parties and...

    (Lietuvių Demokratų Partija).
  • 1905: The LDP sponsored the forming of the ⇒ Lithuanian Peasants Union
  • 1914: The LDP is renamed into Democratic Party of Lithuania
    Lithuanian Democratic Party
    Lithuanian Democratic Party or LDP , established on October 17, 1902, was the second-oldest political party in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire. It published newspapers Lietuvos ūkininkas and Lietuvos žinios . During World War I, the democratic party split into several other parties and...

    (Lietuvos Demokratų Partija)
  • 1917: A left wing faction formed the Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party
    Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party
    Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party or LSLDP was a political party in interwar Lithuania. It was established in 1917 and in 1922 it was merged with another party...

     and a moderate faction formed the ⇒ Democratic National Freedom League.
  • 1920: The party is dissolved

From Lithuanian Peasants' Union top Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union

  • 1905: The ⇒ Lithuanian Democratic Party sponsored the foundation of the Lithuanian Peasants' Union (Lietuvos Valstiečių Sąjunga), a party working under supervision of the LDP
  • 1920: The party became an independent party
  • 1922: The party merged with the ⇒ Lithuanian Socialist Popular Democratic Party into the Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union (Lietuvos Valstiečių Liaudininkų Sąjunga) under the leadership of Mykolas Sleževičius
    Mykolas Sleževicius
    Mykolas Sleževičius was a Lithuanian lawyer, political figure, and journalist, who served as Prime Minister of Lithuania on two occasions.- Early life :...

     and Kazys Grinius
    Kazys Grinius
    Kazys Grinius was the third President of Lithuania, and held that office from 7 June 1926 to 17 December 1926.When Grinius was born in Selema, near Marijampolė, Lithuania was part of the Russian empire. He studied medicine at the University of Moscow and became a physician...

  • 1935: The party is banned, but continued in exile
  • 1990: As a pure agrarian party it is refounded

Lituanian Socialist Popular Democratic Party

  • 1917: A left wing faction of the ⇒ Lithuanian Democratic Party formed the Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party
    Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party
    Lithuanian Popular Socialist Democratic Party or LSLDP was a political party in interwar Lithuania. It was established in 1917 and in 1922 it was merged with another party...

    (Lietuvos Socialistų Liaudininkų Demokratų Partija)
  • 1922: The party merged with the ⇒ Lithuanian Peasants' Union into the ⇒ Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union

From Democratic National Freedom League to Farmers Party

  • 1917: A moderate faction of the ⇒ Lithuanian Democratic Party formed the Democratic National Freedom League (Demokratinė Tautos Laisvės Santara)
  • 1925: The party is renamed into the Farmers Party (Ūkininkų Partija)
  • 1928: The party is banned, but continued in exile

From Lithuanian Liberal Union to Liberal and Centre Union

  • 1990: In newly independent Lithuania liberals formed the Lithuanian Liberal Union (Lietuvos Liberalų Sąjunga)
  • 2002: A populist faction formed the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberalų Demokratų Partija)
  • 2003 : The party merged with the ⇒ Lithuanian Centre Union and the Modern Christian Democratic Union into the Liberal and Centre Union
    Liberal and Centre Union
    The Liberal and Centre Union , abbreviated to LiCS, is a centre-right, liberal and conservative liberal political party in Lithuania. The party has thirteen seats in the Seimas, making it the fourth-largest party in the legislature....

    (Liberalų ir centro sąjunga)

Lithuanian Centre Union

  • 1993: The Lithuanian Centre Union (Lietuvos Centro Sąjunga) is founded
  • 2003: The party merged into the ⇒ Liberal and Centre Union

New Union Social Liberals

  • 1998: Artūras Paulauskas launched the New Union Social Liberals (Naujoji Sąjunga-socialliberalai)
  • 2011: The party merged into the ⇒ Labour Party

Liberal Movement

  • 2006: The Liberals' Movement of the Republic of Lithuania was formed by the dissident members of the Liberal and Centre Union

Liberal leaders

  • Jonas Vileišis
    Jonas Vileišis
    Jonas Vileišis was a Lithuanian lawyer, politician, and diplomat.-Early life and career:Vileišis was born in Mediniai, near Pasvalys. In 1892 he graduated from the Šiauliai gymnasium. During 1892-1894, he studied physics and mathematics at Saint Petersburg University. Later he transferred to the...

     - Mykolas Sleževičius
    Mykolas Sleževicius
    Mykolas Sleževičius was a Lithuanian lawyer, political figure, and journalist, who served as Prime Minister of Lithuania on two occasions.- Early life :...

     - Kazys Grinius
    Kazys Grinius
    Kazys Grinius was the third President of Lithuania, and held that office from 7 June 1926 to 17 December 1926.When Grinius was born in Selema, near Marijampolė, Lithuania was part of the Russian empire. He studied medicine at the University of Moscow and became a physician...

     - Petras Auštrevičius

See also

  • History of Lithuania
    History of Lithuania
    The history of Lithuania dates back to at least 1009, the first recorded written use of the term. Lithuanians, a branch of the Baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring lands, establishing the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the 13th century the short-lived Kingdom of Lithuania. The Grand Duchy...

  • Politics of Lithuania
    Politics of Lithuania
    Politics of Lithuania takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of government, and of a multi-party system....

  • List of political parties in Lithuania
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