The Free Democrats is a political organization formed by former members of the Progress Party of Norway in 1994.

The 1993 election

Norwegian parliamentary election, 1993

A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 13 September 1993. The Labour Party won a plurality of seats, and Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland remained in office. The Centre Party was particularly successful, gaining 21 seats....

 saw the support of the Progress Party (6.3 percent and 10 representatives) halved. After the 1994 Progress Party national convention

1994 Progress Party national convention

The 1994 national convention of the Progress Party of Norway was held from 15 April to 17 April at the hotel Bolkesjø Turisthotell in Bolkesjø, Telemark...

 several representatives of the "libertarian

Libertarianism

Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...

 wing" broke out and founded a party more ideologically consistently libertarian, the Free Democrats. Four of the defectors were MPs, and formed an independent group in Parliament of Norway.

Its first leader Ellen Christine Christiansen

Ellen Christine Christiansen

Ellen Christine Christiansen is a Norwegian politician representing the Conservative Party and formerly the Progress Party....

 was among the four MPs, and also served in Oslo city council until 1995.

In the Norwegian county elections, 1995

Norwegian local elections, 1995

Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1995. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:...

 the party received 1,932 votes, 0.09% of the votes. The Free Democrats no longer participate in elections and function merely as a think tank and organization for Norwegian libertarians, regardless of their political allegiance. People associated with the Free Democrats also founded the online newspaper

Online newspaper

An online newspaper, also known as a web newspaper, is a newspaper that exists on the World Wide Web or Internet, either separately or as an online version of a printed periodical....

 Liberaleren.

Issues

According to its webpage, its main policies are:

• End conscription
  Conscription
  Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
  
  
• Full free trade
  Free trade
  Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
  
  
• Separation of church and state
  Separation of church and state
  The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
  
  
• Legalization of drugs
• Free immigration
  Immigration
  Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
  
  

Presidents of the Free Democrats

• 1994–1996 : Ellen Christine Christiansen
  Ellen Christine Christiansen
  Ellen Christine Christiansen is a Norwegian politician representing the Conservative Party and formerly the Progress Party....
  
  
• 1996–1998 : Heidi Nordby Lunde
• 1998–1999 : Bent Johan Mosfjell
• 1999–2000 : Kristian Norheim
  Kristian Norheim
  Kristian Norheim is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. He is currently an advisor for the parliamentary group of the party, and an international secretary.Norheim was born in Porsgrunn...
  
  
• 2000–2003 : Hans Jørgen Lysglimt
• 2003–2005 : Sverre Berg

See also

• Liberal People's Party
  Liberal People's Party (Norway)
  The Liberal People's Party was a political party in Norway, established because of a split in the Liberal Party over the issue of Norway's accession to the European Economic Community in 1972...
  
  , a party with a similar ideology