Liberal Democratic Party (Czechoslovakia) Explained

Country:Czechoslovakia
Liberal Democratic Party
Native Name:Liberálně demokratická strana
Foundation:1990
Dissolution:1992
Ideology:Liberalism
Merged:Civic Democratic Alliance
Colorcode:
  1. ffc528

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]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Liberálně demokratická strana. 2017-07-23. 2016-11-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20161110050438/https://leporelo.info/liberalne-demokraticka-strana-1. dead.
  2. Book: Kopeček. Michal. Thinking Through Transition: Liberal Democracy, Authoritarian Pasts, and Intellectual History in East Central Europe After 1989. 118. 10 November 2015. Central European University Press. 9789633860854. 23 July 2017.
  3. Book: Kopeček. Michal. Thinking Through Transition: Liberal Democracy, Authoritarian Pasts, and Intellectual History in East Central Europe After 1989. 10 November 2015. Central European University Press. 111. 9789633860854. 23 July 2017.
  4. Book: Hanley. Sean. The New Right in the New Europe: Czech Transformation and Right-Wing Politics, 1989–2006. 7 August 2007. Routledge. 95. 9781134295654. 23 July 2017.