Liberal Democrats (Germany)
The Liberal Democrats - the social Liberals - (German: Liberale Demokraten - die Sozialliberalen -), abbreviated to LD, is a minor social liberal party in Germany, founded in 1982 and currently led by Bernd Grothkopp.
Liberale Demokraten - die Sozialliberalen - | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Bernd Grothkopp |
| Founded | 28 November 1982 |
| Headquarters | Leonberg |
| Membership | 60 |
| Ideology | Social liberalism Progressivism |
| Colours | Orange |
| Bundestag | 0 / 709
|
| State Parliaments | 0 / 1,821
|
| European Parliament | 0 / 96
|
| Website | |
| liberale-demokraten | |
History
The party was founded on 28 November 1982 mainly by former members of the Free Democratic Party, after the FDP had left the social-liberal coalition led by Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and formed a new government with the right-wing Christian Democratic Union.[1]
On 21 March 2017, the Party held a joint press conference along with the Pirate Party Germany, the Party of Humanists, the New Liberals, the Transhuman Party Germany, and the youth organization of The Left to announce a "social liberal proclamation" (German: Sozialliberale Erklärung) and better cooperation among the participating organizations.[2] The proclamation was followed by a joint press statement with the New Liberals in early 2020, declaring an intent of embracing a close cooperation between the parties in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.[3]
Leadership
The current federal committee of the Liberal Democrats consists of five members:[4]
- Bernd Grothkopp (Party Leader)
- Michael Dycker (Deputy Chair)
- Michael Kaiser (Deputy Chair)
- Christiane Pröhl (Deputy Chair)
- Ingo Grothkopp (Treasurer)
Federal state parties
| Federal state party | Chairman | Election participation |
|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | Bernd Grothkopp | none |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | Michael Kaiser | 2017 North Rhine-Westphalia state election |
