Liberal Democratic Party (Czechoslovakia)

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Liberal Democratic Party
Liberálně demokratická strana
Founded1990
Dissolved1992
Merged intoCivic Democratic Alliance
IdeologyLiberalism

The Liberal Democratic Party (Czech: Liberálně demokratická strana; LDS), originally known as the Czechoslovak Democratic Initiative, was a Czechoslovak liberal political party formed on 31 January 1990,[1] shortly after the Velvet Revolution, by Emanuel Mandler (born 1932) and his political group,[2] inspired by the political ideas of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk.[3]

LDS was initially active in the Civic Forum, before splitting from the party after the June 1990 parliamentary elections to work as an separate party.[2] At this point the party had two representatives in the Federal Assembly, five in the Czech National Council, and 25 local branches with a membership of between 1300 and 5000.[4] However, the party struggled to survive outside of Civic Forum, and was dependent on support from the German Free Democratic Party.[4] The party elected a new leader, Viktorie Hradská (born 1944), in November 1991, but soon split, with Hradská's faction soon merging with the Civic Democratic Alliance.[4]

The party was liquidated in 1992.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Liberálně demokratická strana".
  2. ^ a b Kopeček, Michal (10 November 2015). Thinking Through Transition: Liberal Democracy, Authoritarian Pasts, and Intellectual History in East Central Europe After 1989. Central European University Press. p. 118. ISBN 9789633860854. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  3. ^ Kopeček, Michal (10 November 2015). Thinking Through Transition: Liberal Democracy, Authoritarian Pasts, and Intellectual History in East Central Europe After 1989. Central European University Press. p. 111. ISBN 9789633860854. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Hanley, Sean (7 August 2007). The New Right in the New Europe: Czech Transformation and Right-Wing Politics, 1989–2006. Routledge. p. 95. ISBN 9781134295654. Retrieved 23 July 2017.