Free Democratic Party (Germany) - Definition and Overview

This article is part of the series Politics of Germany

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The Free Democratic Party (FDP - Freie Demokratische Partei) is a free market liberal party in Germany. The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.

The FDP has traditionally been composed mainly of middle- and upper-class Protestants, who consider themselves "independents" and heirs to the European liberal tradition. Although the party is relatively weak, yielding between 5 and 10 % of the votes in elections, it has participated in all but three postwar federal governments in coalitions with the CDU (conservatives) and SPD (social-democratic) and has spent only eight years out of government since 1949.

The party took 6.2% of the vote and returned 43 deputies to the Bundestag in 1998. In 2001, Guido Westerwelle replaced Wolfgang Gerhardt as party chairman. In the 2002 election, they took 7.4% of the vote.

The party was involved into quite some controversy after declaring itself to be the "party of the well-to-do people". A lot of people thought this meant the party was opposed to the interests of poorer people. Still, the party tends to do especially well in areas where people are more well off, and in times when the CDU is not popular among the voters.

Chairmen of the Free Democratic Party, 1948-present

• Theodor Heuss 1948-1949
• Franz Blücher 1949-1954
• Thomas Dehler 1954-1957
• Reinhold Maier 1957-1960
• Erich Mende 1960-1968
• Walter Scheel 1968-1974
• Hans-Dietrich Genscher 1974-1985
• Martin Bangemann 1985-1988
• Otto Graf Lambsdorff 1988-1993
• Klaus Kinkel 1993-1995
• Wolfgang Gerhardt 1995-2001
• Guido Westerwelle 2001-

See also

• Liberalism in Germany
• Politics of Germany
• List of political parties in Germany
• Bundestag (Federal Assembly of Germany)
• Jürgen Möllemann
• Friedrich Naumann Foundation
• Junge Liberale (Young Liberals)

External link

• Official web site (http://www.fdp.de/)

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