Homeland Union (Conservatives, Political Prisoners and Deportees, Christian Democrats)
Encyclopedia
The Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats , before 2008 Homeland Union (Conservatives, Political Prisoners and the Exiled, Christiani Democrats) or TS, is a centre-right
Centre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...

 political party 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 the largest party in Lithuania, with 18,000 members and 44 of 141 seats in the Seimas
Seimas
The Seimas is the unicameral Lithuanian parliament. It has 141 members that are elected for a four-year term. About half of the members of this legislative body are elected in individual constituencies , and the other half are elected by nationwide vote according to proportional representation...

.

It is the main centre-right party, with a particularly liberal conservative
Liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism also known as progressive conservatism is a variant of political conservatism which incorporates liberal elements. As "conservatism" and "liberalism" have had different meanings over time and across countries, the term "liberal conservatism" has been used in quite different...

 and Christian democratic
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...

, but also nationally oriented ideology. Its current leader is Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Lithuania
The Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of the executive arm of Lithuania's government, and is chosen by the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas. The modern office of Prime Minister was established in 1990, although the official title was "Chairperson of the Council of Ministers" until 25...

 Andrius Kubilius
Andrius Kubilius
Andrius Kubilius is a Lithuanian politician who has been Prime Minister of Lithuania since 2008. He previously served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000. He is the leader of the conservative political party Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats.- Biography :Kubilius was born at Vilnius...

. It is a member of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...

 (EPP) and the International Democrat Union
International Democrat Union
The International Democrat Union, abbreviated to IDU, is a centre-right international alliance of conservative and liberal-conservative political parties. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, the IDU comprises 45 full or associate members...

 (IDU).

History

It was founded in May 1993 by the right wing of the Reform Movement of Lithuania
Sajudis
Sąjūdis initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania, is the political organization which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was established on June 3, 1988 and was led by Vytautas Landsbergis...

, led by Vytautas Landsbergis
Vytautas Landsbergis
Professor Vytautas Landsbergis is a Lithuanian conservative politician and Member of the European Parliament. He was the first head of state of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union, and served as the Head of the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas...

, who had led Lithuania to independence. In the 1996 national elections
Lithuanian parliamentary election, 1996
A parliamentary election was held in Lithuania in two stages on 20 October and 10 November 1996. The first round of this parliamentary election was held concurrently with a referendum to amend Articles 55, 57 and 131 of the constitution, and a referendum on the use of proceeds from privatization...

, it secured 40% of the vote and returned 70 deputies to the Seimas
Seimas
The Seimas is the unicameral Lithuanian parliament. It has 141 members that are elected for a four-year term. About half of the members of this legislative body are elected in individual constituencies , and the other half are elected by nationwide vote according to proportional representation...

, but, in 2000
Lithuanian parliamentary election, 2000
More than 58 per cent of the 2.6 million eligible voters turned out in the 8 October 2000 Lithuanian parliamentary election to choose from among the 1,180 candidates contesting the 70 seats allocated in the Seimas via proportional representation lists, and some 700 candidates competing for the 71...

, it was reduced to 8.6% and 9 deputies.

After Lithuania's admission to 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...

 in 2004, it won two seats in the election to the
European Parliament election, 2004 (Lithuania)
The European Parliament election of 2004 in Lithuania was the election of MEP representing Lithuania constituency for the 2004-2009 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 2004 European election. The vote took place on June 13.-Results:...

 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...

, one of whom was Vytautas Landsbergis
Vytautas Landsbergis
Professor Vytautas Landsbergis is a Lithuanian conservative politician and Member of the European Parliament. He was the first head of state of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union, and served as the Head of the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas...

, who sit in the EPP-ED Group. At the 2004 election to the Seimas
Lithuanian parliamentary election, 2004
Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania on 10 October 2004. They were won by the newly founded Labour Party and the ruling coalition of Social Democratic Party of Lithuania and New Union ....

, the party won 14.6% of the popular vote and 25 out of 141 seats.

Until the merger with Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees
Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees
The Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees was a political party in Lithuania during 1990-2004.-History and cativities:The organization was established on July 30, 1988 under the name "Tremtinio klubas", "Club of the Exiled". Later it became a political party.On October 7, 2004 it...

 and Right Union of Lithuania), it was known just as Homeland Union (Lithuanian Conservatives). The last change of the name was a result of the merger with the Lithuanian National Union on 11 March 2008, and the Lithuanian Christian Democrats
Lithuanian Christian Democrats
The Lithuanian Christian Democrats or LKD was a Christian-democratic political party in Lithuania. Originally established in 1905, it was closely associated with the Roman Catholic Church...

 on 17 May 2008, after which the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats became Lithuania's largest party with more than 18,000 members.

At the 2008 legislative election
Lithuanian parliamentary election, 2008
A parliamentary election was held in Lithuania in two stages on 12 and 26 October 2008. A failed referendum on extending the operation of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant was held at the same time, despite the fact that Lithuania is obliged to close down Ignalina per its treaty of accession to the...

, Homeland Union gained 19.69% of the national vote and 45 seats in the Seimas
Seimas
The Seimas is the unicameral Lithuanian parliament. It has 141 members that are elected for a four-year term. About half of the members of this legislative body are elected in individual constituencies , and the other half are elected by nationwide vote according to proportional representation...

: 20 more than in 2004. Becoming the largest party in the Seimas, it formed a coalition government with the Liberal Movement and National Resurrection Party
National Resurrection Party
National Resurrection Party was a centre-right political party in Lithuania. Founded in 2008, the party merged into the Liberal and Centre Union in 2011...

. Together, they held a majority of 72 out of 141 seats in the Seimas, and the Homeland Union's leader, Andrius Kubilius
Andrius Kubilius
Andrius Kubilius is a Lithuanian politician who has been Prime Minister of Lithuania since 2008. He previously served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000. He is the leader of the conservative political party Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats.- Biography :Kubilius was born at Vilnius...

, became Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Lithuania
The Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of the executive arm of Lithuania's government, and is chosen by the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas. The modern office of Prime Minister was established in 1990, although the official title was "Chairperson of the Council of Ministers" until 25...

for a second time.
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