Liberal Democrats (Germany)
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 | |
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.
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 |
