Free Democratic Party of Switzerland

The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal

Classical liberalism

Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....

political party in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Switzerland

The Liberal Party of Switzerland was a party with economically liberal policies. It was known as a party of the upper class. On 1 January 2009 it merged with the larger Free Democratic Party to establish FDP.The Liberals....

, to form FDP.The Liberals

FDP.The Liberals

FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....

on 1 January 2009.

The FDP was formed in 1894 from the Radicals

Liberalism and radicalism in Switzerland

This article gives an overview of liberalism and radicalism in Switzerland. It is limited to liberal and radical parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme...

, who had dominated Swiss politics since
the 1830s, standing in in opposition to the Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

conservatives

Conservatism

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...

, and who from the creation of the federal state

Switzerland as a federal state

The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on September 12, 1848, with the creation of a federal constitution, which was created in response to a 27-day civil war in Switzerland, the Sonderbundskrieg...

in 1848 until 1891 formed the federal government

Swiss Federal Council

The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....

.

The FDP remained dominant until the introduction of proportional representation

Proportional representation

Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...

in 1919. From 1945 to 1987, it alternated with the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Switzerland

The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

to be the largest party. In 1959, the party took two seats in the magic formula

Magic formula

In Swiss politics, the magic formula is an arithmetic formula for dividing the seven executive seats of the Swiss Federal Council between the four ruling parties. The formula was first applied in 1959...

. The party declined in the 1990s and 2000s, as it was put under pressure by the Swiss People's Party

Swiss People's Party

The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...

. In response, the party formed closer relations with the smaller Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Switzerland

, leading to their formal merger in 2009.

History

The elements 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,...

, radical

Radicalization

Radicalization is the process in which an individual changes from passiveness or activism to become more revolutionary, militant or extremist. Radicalization is often associated with youth, adversity, alienation, social exclusion, poverty, or the perception of injustice to self or others.-...

and 'free-thinking' in the party's name originate from the conflicts during the period of Restoration (Switzerland) between the Catholic-conservative cantons and the liberal cantons. This conflict led to the foundation of the Swiss federal state in 1848 after the victory of the Protestant-liberal cantons in the Sonderbund war.

From 1848 until 1891, the Federal Council

Swiss Federal Council

The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....

was composed entirely of Radicals. The radical movement of the restoration was radical

Radicalism (historical)

The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...

, and stood in opposition to the conservative

Conservatism

Catholic Conservative Party

Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland

The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...

. They were otherwise heterogeneous, including and classical liberal

Classical liberalism

'Liberals', federalist

Federalism

Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...

'Radicals', and social liberal

Social liberalism

Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...

'Democrats': placing the radical movement on the 'left' of the political spectrum

Political spectrum

A political spectrum is a way of modeling different political positions by placing them upon one or more geometric axes symbolizing independent political dimensions....

. It was not until the rise of the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Switzerland

The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

in the early 20th century that the FDP found itself on the centre-right.

The FDP was the dominant party until the 1919 election, when the introduction of proportional representation

Proportional representation

led to a leap in the representation of the Social Democrats. In 1959, the Free Democrats joined the other major parties in agreeing the 'magic formula

Magic formula

' to divide up the seats of the Federal Council

Swiss Federal Council

The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....

, with the FDP permanently receiving two of the seven seats.

After the federal election 2003

Swiss federal election, 2003

Legislative elections in the Swiss Confederation were held on 19 October 2003. Although in Switzerland's peculiar political system, in which all four major parties form a coalition, it is very difficult to achieve a change of government, this election produced an upset in the strong showing of the...

FDP and Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Switzerland

formed a common faction in the Federal Assembly. In June 2005, they strengthened their cooperation by founding Radical and Liberal Union They merged on 1 January 2009 to form FDP.The Liberals

FDP.The Liberals

Popular support

In 2003, it held 36 mandates (out of 200) in the Swiss National Council (first chamber of the Swiss parliament); 14 (out of 46) in the second chamber and 2 out of 7 mandates in the Swiss Federal Council

Swiss Federal Council

The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....

(executive body). By 2005, it held 27,2% of the seats in the Swiss Cantonal governments and 19,7% in the Swiss Cantonal parliaments (index "BADAC", weighted with the population and number of seats). At the last legislative elections

Elections in Switzerland

Elections in Switzerland gives information on election and election results in Switzerland.Switzerland elects on national level a head of state - the Federal Council - and a legislature. The Federal Assembly has two chambers...

, 22 October 2007, the party won 15.6 % of the popular vote and 31 out of 200 seats.

List of party Presidents

	Canton	Years
1^st	Basel-Stadt	1894–1896
2^nd	Basel-Stadt	1896–1897
3^rd	Zurich Canton of Zürich The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...	1897–1898
4^th	Bern	1898–1903
5^th	Basel-Stadt	1904–1906
6^th	Zurich Canton of Zürich The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...	1907–1910
7^th	Vaud Vaud Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...	1911–1912
8^th	Vaud Vaud Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...	1912–1913
9^th	Bern	1914–1918
10^th	Solothurn Canton of Solothurn Solothurn is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn.-History:The territory of the canton comprises land acquired by the capital...	1919–1923
11^th	Zurich Canton of Zürich The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...	1923–1929
12^th	Bern	1929–1934
13^th	Neuchâtel Canton of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel is a canton of French speaking western Switzerland. In 2007, its population was 169,782 of which 39,654 were foreigners. The capital is Neuchâtel.-History:...	1934–1940
14^th	Luzern	1940–1948
15^th	Ticino Ticino Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...	1948–1954
16^th	Basel-Stadt	1954–1960
17^th	Ticino Ticino Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...	1960–1964
18^th	Fribourg Canton of Fribourg The Canton of Fribourg is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the west of the country. The capital of the canton is Fribourg. The name Fribourg is French, whereas is the German name for both the canton and the town.-History:...	1964–1968
19^th	Geneva Canton of Geneva The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland, surrounded on almost all sides by France. As is the case in several other Swiss cantons The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland,...	1968–1974
20^th	Zurich Canton of Zürich The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...	1974–1977
21^st	Neuchâtel Canton of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel is a canton of French speaking western Switzerland. In 2007, its population was 169,782 of which 39,654 were foreigners. The capital is Neuchâtel.-History:...	1978–1984
22^nd	Aargau Aargau Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...	1984–1989
23^rd	Uri Canton of Uri Uri is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and a founding member of the Swiss Confederation. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territory covers the valley of the Reuss River between Lake Lucerne and the St. Gotthard Pass. German is the primary language spoken in Uri...	1989–2001
24^th	Schaffhausen Canton of Schaffhausen The Canton of is a canton of Switzerland. The principal city and capital of the canton is Schaffhausen.- History:Schaffhausen was a city-state in the Middle Ages, documented to have struck its own coins starting in 1045. It was then known as Villa Scafhusun. Around 1049 Count Eberhard von...	2001–2002
25^th	Vaud Vaud Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...	2002–2004
26^th	Zug Canton of Zug The Canton of Zug is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. It is located in central Switzerland and its capital is Zug. With 239 km² the canton is one of the smallest of the cantons in terms of area. It is not subdivided into districts.- History :The earlier history of the canton is...	2004
28^th	Appenzell Innerrhoden Appenzell Innerrhoden Appenzell Innerrhoden is the smallest canton of Switzerland by population and the second smallest by area, Basel-City having less area.-Foundation:...	2004–2005
28^th	Ticino	2005–2009

External links

fdp.ch in German
prd.ch in French
plrt.ch in Italian
Young Liberals Switzerland official site of the youth branch, called jungfreisinnige schweiz (in German/French)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.