For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK
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For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK (Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK) is a national conservative political party in Latvia.
The roots of the party are in the Latvian independence movement of the late 1980s, namely, the more radical part of the movement, which insisted on full independence for Latvia and the legal continuity with the Republic of Latvia which existed until 1940 when it was annexed by Soviet Union. Both of those ideas were later adopted by the mainstream independence movement.
The present party was established in 1993 under the name Tēvzemei un Brīvībai. In 1997, it merged with LNNK (Latvijas Nacionālās Neatkarības Kustība, Latvian National Independence Movement) party and adopted Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK as its official name.
In the 1990s, Tēvzemei un Brīvībai fought for strict language and citizenship laws. It was the leading force behind two referendum proposals (in 1994 and 1998) to make Latvian citizenship laws stricter. In 1994, the proposition did not gather the necessary number of voter signatures. In 1998, the proposal was defeated in a referendum, by a relatively small margin (45% of voters supporting the change and 52% rejecting it). At the end of the 1990s and the early 2000s, the party shifted its focus to economic issues, as the language and citizenship issues were largely resolved.
Tēvzemei un Brīvībai has been represented in the Latvian parliament since 1993. It has had
- 15 seats for LNNK and 6 seats for Tēvzemei un Brīvībai in the 1993 election.
- 14 seats for Tēvzemei un Brīvībai and 7 seats for LNNK in the 1995 election.
- 17 seats in the 1998 election.
- 7 seats in the 2002 election.
- 8 seats in the 2006 election.
Tēvzemei un Brīvībai was a part of coalition governments from December 1995 to February 2004. From 1997 to 1998, its representative, Guntars Krasts, was the prime minister. From February 2004 until November 2006, the party was in the opposition. Though it only gained 8 seats in the 2006 elections, the party was invited to become part of the ruling coalition, and it agreed to join. [1]
Tēvzemei un Brīvībai is a part of the Union for a Europe of Nations in the European Parliament. It campaigned as a strong supporter of Latvia's national interests and opponent of a federal Europe. Tēvzemei un Brīvībai won 29% of vote and 4 of Latvia's 9 seats in the 2004 European Parliament elections.
