Schleswig Party

The Schleswig Party (Danish: Slesvigsk Parti, German: Schleswigsche Partei) is a regional political party in Denmark representing the North Schleswig Germans.

Schleswig Party Slesvigsk Parti
German name	Schleswigsche Partei
Leader	Carsten Leth Schmidt
Founded	1920
Headquarters	Vestergade 30 6200 Aabenraa
Ideology	Regionalism
Colours	Yellow
Regions:	0 / 205
Municipal councils	10 / 2,432
Election symbol
S
Website
www.slesvigsk-parti.dk
Politics of Denmark Political parties Elections

History

The party was established in August 1920 as the Schleswig Voters Club (German: Schleswigscher Wählerverein) following the Schleswig Plebiscites and the ceding of Northern Schleswig from Germany to Denmark.[1] It ran in the September 1920 Folketing elections, winning a single seat taken by Johannes Schmidt.[1] The party maintained its single seat in elections in 1924, 1926, 1929, 1932 and 1935, but lost its parliamentary representation in the 1939 elections.[2]

The party did not run in the 1943 or 1945 elections, but returned to contest the 1947 elections,[3] in which it failed to win a seat.[2] The party remained seatless until the September 1953 elections, retaining its seat in 1957 and 1960. The 1964 elections saw the party lose its single seat, and it did not contest the 1966 elections.

The party returned to run in the 1968 elections, but failed to win a seat. After failing to win a seat in the 1971 elections, the party has not contested any further national elections, although it continues to participate in local politics in North Schleswig.

Between 1973 and 1979 the party was represented in Parliament by Jes Schmidt, a candidate elected through an electoral agreement with the Centre Democrats. After his death in 1979, the agreement between the two parties stopped because the SP proposed a candidate with a Waffen-SS past, thus unacceptable for the CD.[4]

Leaders

• Johannes Schmidt (1920–35)
• Hans Christian Jepsen (1983–91)
• Peter Bieling (1991–99)
• Gerhard Mammen (1999–2010)
• Marit Jessen Rüdiger (2010–12)
• Carsten Leth Schmidt (2012–)

Election results

Folketing

Election	Votes			Seats
	#	%	± pp	#	±
1920 (Sep)	7,505	0.6%	New	1 / 179	New
1924	7,715	0.6%	0.0	1 / 179	0
1926	10,422	0.8%	+0.2	1 / 179	0
1929	9,787	0.7%	–0.1	1 / 179	0
1932	9,868	0.6%	–0.1	1 / 179	0
1935	12,617	0.8%	+0.2	1 / 179	0
1939	15,016	0.9%	+0.1	0 / 179	1
1943–1945	Did not run
1947	7,464	0.4%	+0.4	0 / 179	0
1950	6,406	0.3%	–0.1	0 / 179	0
1953 (Apr)	8,438	0.4%	+0.1	0 / 179	0
1953 (Sep)	9,721	0.5%	+0.1	1 / 179	1
1957	9,202	0.4%	–0.1	1 / 179	0
1960	9,058	0.4%	0.0	1 / 179	0
1964	9,274	0.4%	0.0	0 / 179	1
1966	Did not run
1968	6,831	0.2%	+0.2	0 / 179	0
1971	6,743	0.2%	0.0	0 / 179	0
1973–	Did not run

Landsting

Election	Votes	Seats
1928	6,736	0 / 76
1932	Did not run
1936	8,868	0 / 76
1939	11,122	0 / 76
1943–1953	Did not run

Local elections

Municipal elections Election Seats # ± 1937 1943 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 42 / 10,005 1970 20 / 4,677 22 1974 16 / 4,735 4 1978 14 / 4,759 2 1981 12 / 4,769 2 1985 14 / 4,773 2 1989 9 / 4,737 5 1993 9 / 4,703 0 1997 8 / 4,647 1 2001 7 / 4,685 1 2005 4 / 2,522 3 2009 6 / 2,468 2 2013 9 / 2,444 3 2017 10 / 2,432 1

Regional elections Date Votes Seats # ± 1935 4737 6 / 299 New 1943 6 / 299 0 1946 1 / 299 5 1950 3123 2 / 299 1 1954 3912 3 / 299 1 1958 4069 3 / 303 0 1962 3860 2 / 301 1 1966 3837 3 / 303 1 1970 7501 1 / 366 2 1974 6454 2 / 370 1 1978 6508 1 / 370 1 1981 6285 1 / 370 0 1985 5593 1 / 374 0 1981 4877 0 / 374 1 1993 5115 1 / 374 1 1997 4538 1 / 374 0 2001 4417 1 / 374 0 2005-2013 Did not run 2017 0 / 205 0

References

1. The Schleswig Party after 1920 Schleswig Party (in German)
2. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, pp552–553 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
3. Nohlen & Stöver, p540
4. Hans Schultz Hansen,Sønderjyllands historie siden 1945

External links

• Party website