Christian Democrats (Sweden)
|
Christian Democrats
Kristdemokraterna |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Abbreviation | KD |
| Leader | Ebba Busch Thor |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Headquarters | Munkbron 1, |
| Ideology |
Christian democracy Conservatism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| National affiliation | The Alliance |
| European affiliation | European People's Party |
| International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International |
| European Parliament group | European People's Party |
| Colours | Blue, white |
| Riksdag |
16 / 349
|
| European Parliament |
1 / 20
|
| County councils |
81 / 1,597
|
| Municipal councils |
515 / 12,780
|
| Website | |
| http://www.kristdemokraterna.se/ | |
The Christian Democrats (Swedish: Kristdemokraterna, KD) is a Christian democraticpolitical party in Sweden. It was founded in 1964. It first entered parliament in 1985, through electoral cooperation with the Centre Party, and in 1991 broke through to win seats by itself. The party leader since 25 April 2015 has been Ebba Busch Thor. She succeeded Göran Hägglund, who had been leader since 2004. The four most important issues for the party are:
The party name was for a long time abbreviated KDS until 1996, when the abbreviation became KD as the name changed from the Christian Democratic Unity to the Christian Democrats.
The KD was a minor party in the centre-right Alliance coalition government led by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt until his resignation in 2014.
The party had its roots in a movement against the Swedish government's decision in 1963 to remove religious education from the elementary school syllabus. An organisation called "Christian Social Responsibility", which would later become the Christian Democratic Unity, organised several marches against the decision, one of which became one of the largest in Swedish modern history. Despite the public outcry and over 2.1 million protest signatures, the decision went through. The group that had worked in the campaign felt it was a sign that Swedish politics needed a Christian Democratic Party.
It should be noted that the political and social origins of the Swedish Christian Democrats clearly differ from those of the European continental Christian Democratic parties (as in Italy or Germany). In those countries, Christian Democracy represented the mainstream of the social-conservative political forces and was closely tied to majoritarian religious practice. In Sweden, however, Christian Democracy emerged as a minority grouping amongst the center-right forces and was tied to minority-religious tendencies in society (particularly among voters associated with the Free Churches) and likeminded Lutherans.
...
Wikipedia