European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (European Parliament group)
Encyclopedia
The Group of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party was a liberal
political group with seats in the European Parliament
between 1994 and 2004. The group comprised the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
and its constituent national-level parties.
Its predecessors have existed since 23 June 1953, then under the name of Liberals and Allies Group. In 1976, the name was changed to Liberal and Democratic Group (LD), and on 13 December 1985 to Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group (LDR).
The group was replaced after the 2004 European elections
by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group, which comprised both the ELDR party and European Democratic Party
.
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,...
political group with seats in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
between 1994 and 2004. The group comprised the 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...
and its constituent national-level parties.
Its predecessors have existed since 23 June 1953, then under the name of Liberals and Allies Group. In 1976, the name was changed to Liberal and Democratic Group (LD), and on 13 December 1985 to Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group (LDR).
The group was replaced after the 2004 European elections
European Parliament election, 2004
Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...
by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group, which comprised both the ELDR party and European Democratic Party
European Democratic Party
The European Democratic Party is a centrist European political party in favour of European integration. It was initiated on April 16, 2004 and formally founded on December 9 in Brussels...
.
Chairmen
- 1979-1984: Martin BangemannMartin BangemannMartin Bangemann is a German politician and a former leader of the FDP . He studied Law in Tübingen and Munich, earned a Dr. jur. in 1962, and qualified as an attorney in 1964...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(FDPFree Democratic Party (Germany)The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
) - 1984-1989: Simone VeilSimone VeilSimone Veil, DBE is a French lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Health under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the European Parliament and member of the Constitutional Council of France....
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(UDFUnion for French DemocracyThe Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
) - 1989-1991: Valéry Giscard d'EstaingValéry Giscard d'EstaingValéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
, France (UDF-PRRepublican Party (France)The Republican Party was a French right-wing political party founded in 1977. It replaced the National Federation of the Independent Republicans that was founded in 1966. It was created by former President of France Valéry Giscard d'Estaing...
) - 1992-1994: Yves GallandYves GallandYves Galland, born on 8 March 1941 in Paris, is a French politician and entrepreneur.- Biography :After his studies in law, Yves Galland started his career in the world of business before also starting his political career...
, France (UDF-Rad) - 1994-1998: Gijs de VriesGijs de VriesGijs M. de Vries is a Dutch Democrats 66 politician. He was deputy Interior Minister between 1998 and 2002, and was the European Union's anti-terrorism co-ordinator from 25 March 2004 to March 2007...
, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(VVDPeople's Party for Freedom and DemocracyThe People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
) - 1998-2002: Pat CoxPat CoxPat Cox is an Irish politician and former television current affairs presenter. He was President of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2004 and served as a member of the European Parliament from 1989–2004....
, IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(independent) - 2001-2004: Graham WatsonGraham WatsonSir Graham Robert Watson is a European politician from the United Kingdom. He has served as a Member of the European Parliament for South West England since 1994 and was leader of the liberal group in Parliament for seven years between 2002 and 2009.-Early life:Graham Watson was born in Rothesay...
, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(Lib DemLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
)
Presidents of the European Parliament from the Liberal Groups
- 1962-1964: Gaetano MartinoGaetano MartinoGaetano Martino was an Italian politician and university teacher.A native of Messina, Sicily, he was a member of Italian Liberal Party. Gaetano Martino was one of the participants of the Messina Conference in 1955, which would lead to the Treaty of Rome in 1957...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(PLIItalian Liberal PartyThe Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution...
) - 1973-1975: Cornelis BerkhouwerCornelis BerkhouwerCornelis Berkhouwer was a Dutch-European politician.He was a Member of the European Parliament between 1964 and 1984, for the Dutch People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, which sat as part of the Liberal Democrat group in the Parliament. Between 13 March 1973 and 10 March 1975, he served as...
, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(VVDPeople's Party for Freedom and DemocracyThe People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
) - 1979-1981: Simone VeilSimone VeilSimone Veil, DBE is a French lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Health under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the European Parliament and member of the Constitutional Council of France....
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(UDFUnion for French DemocracyThe Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
) - 2002-2004: Pat CoxPat CoxPat Cox is an Irish politician and former television current affairs presenter. He was President of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2004 and served as a member of the European Parliament from 1989–2004....
, IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(independent)
Represented parties
| Country |
National Party |
years |
|---|---|---|
| Party for Freedom and Progress Party for Freedom and Progress The Party for Freedom and Progress was a liberal party in Belgium which existed from 1961 until 1992 and was the successor of the Liberal Party, which had roots dating back to 1846. It was succeeded in Flanders by the Flemish Liberals and Democrats and in Wallonia by the Parti Réformateur... |
1979-1992 | |
| Liberal Reformist Party Liberal Reformist Party The Parti Réformateur Libéral was a Belgian liberal party active in Wallonia and Brussels. It grew out of the unitiarian PVV-PLP and has since become part of the Mouvement Réformateur.-PVV-PLP:* Omer Vanaudenhove 1961 - 1968... |
1979-2002 | |
| Flemish Liberals and Democrats | 1992-2004 | |
| Democratic Front of the Francophones | 1994-1999 | |
| Reformist Movement Reformist Movement The Reformist Movement is a French-speaking liberal political party in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region until the 2004 regional elections... |
2002-2004 | |
| Union for French Democracy Union for French Democracy The Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's... |
1979-1994 | |
| National Centre of Independents and Peasants National Centre of Independents and Peasants The National Centre of Independents and Peasants is a liberal-conservative and conservative-liberal political party in France, founded in 1949 by the merger of the National Centre of Independents with the... |
1989-1994 | |
| Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... |
1979-1984; 1989-1999 | |
| Italian Liberal Party Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution... |
1979-1989 | |
| Italian Republican Party Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini... |
1979-2001 | |
| Lega Nord | 1994-1997 | |
| The Democrats | 1999-2002 | |
| European Republicans Movement | 2001-2004 | |
| Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy | 2002-2004 | |
| Democratic Party Democratic Party (Luxembourg) The Democratic Party , abbreviated to DP, is the major liberal political party in Luxembourg. One of the three major parties, the DP sits on the centre-right, holding moderate market liberal views combined with a strong emphasis on civil liberties, human rights, and internationalism.Founded in... |
1979-2004 | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in... |
1979-2004 | |
| Democrats 66 Democrats 66 Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an... |
1989-2004 | |
| Venstre - Liberal Party Venstre (Denmark) VenstreThe party name is officially not translated into any other language, but is in English often referred to as the Liberal Party. Similar rules apply for the name of the party's youth wing Venstres Ungdom. , full name Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti , is the largest political party in Denmark... |
1979-2004 | |
| Danish Social Liberal Party | 1994-2004 | |
| Progressive Democrats Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats , commonly known as the PDs, was a pro-free market liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland.Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Malley and other politicians who had split from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats took liberal positions on... |
1989-1994 | |
| Independents | 1979-2004 | |
| Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the... |
1994-2004 | |
| Social Democratic Party Social Democratic Party (Portugal) The Social Democratic Party , is a centre-right liberal conservative political party in Portugal. It is commonly known by its initials, PSD; on ballot papers, its initials appear as PPD/PSD, with the first three letters coming from the party's original name, Democratic People's Party... |
1987-1996 | |
| Democratic and Social Centre | 1987-1994 | |
| Democratic Convergence of Catalonia Democratic Convergence of Catalonia The Democratic Convergence of Catalonia is a political party in Catalonia, Spain. Together with Democratic Union of Catalonia, it forms part of the Convergence and Union coalition. It is affiliated with the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party and with the Liberal International... |
1987-2004 | |
| Canarian Coalition Canarian Coalition The Canarian Coalition , abbreviated to CC, is a Canarian nationalist and liberal political party in the Canary Islands of Spain. The party aim is for greater autonomy for the islands, but short of independence. The party has governed the Canary Islands since 1993... |
1999-2004 | |
| 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... |
1995-2004 | |
| Centre Party Centre Party (Sweden) The Centre Party is a centrist political party in Sweden. The party maintains close ties to rural Sweden and describes itself as "a green social liberal party". The ideology is sometimes called agrarian, but in a European context, the Centre Party can perhaps best be characterized as social... |
1995-2004 | |
| Centre Party Centre Party (Finland) The Centre Party is a centrist and Nordic agrarian political party in Finland. It is one of the four largest political parties in the country, along with the Social Democratic Party , the National Coalition Party and the True Finns , and currently has 35 seats in the Finnish Parliament... |
1996-2004 | |
| Swedish People's Party | 1996-2004 |