Democratic Party of Germany
Demokratische Partei Deutschlands |
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Founded | March 17, 1947 October 29, 1995 (new foundation) June 20, 2009 (new foundation) |
The Democratic Party of Germany (German: Demokratische Partei Deutschlands, DPD) was founded in 1947 as a German liberal party and is the forerunner of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in the current Federal Republic of Germany.
On October 29, 1995 and June 20, 2009 new parties were founded by the same name, all three of them are now disbanded.
Shortly after the end of World War II, bourgeois-liberal organizations were founded, which referred mainly to the traditions of the Deutsche Demokratische Partei, the Deutsche Volkspartei and the württembergische Demokratische Volkspartei. These liberal parties, which appeared initially at the local and national level, took in July 1946 the decision to establish an all-German coordination committee. The committee first met in November 1946 in Coburg to prepare the foundation of an all-German Liberal Party.
As a consequence the DPD was founded on March 17, 1947 at a conference in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, attended by liberal politicians from all four zones. The leaders were Theodor Heuss (Deutsche Demokratische Partei) and William Külz (Liberal-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands). The headquarters of the party were in Frankfurt am Main and Berlin. After Külz died in April 1948 the DPD dissolved itself.
In October 1995 the DPD was newly founded in Berlin as a party "for the interests of foreigners who are living in Germany". The DPD took part in the 1998 federal election. After the election the DPD dissolved itself.
At the suggestion of the voluntary association Bundesbanner "Schwarz-Rot-Gold" – Bund der Demokraten e.V. it was decided on May 2, 2009 in Frankfurt am Main to form a new democratic party. Due to this decision a new German Democratic Party was founded on June 20, 2009 in Darmstadt. On August 28, 2009 the DPD was formally acknowledged as a political party.