Reformed Political League
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Reformed Political League
Gereformeerd Politiek Verbond |
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|---|---|
| Founded | 1948 |
| Dissolved | 2003 |
| Merged into | Christian Union |
| Youth wing | Gereformeerd Politiek Jongeren Contact |
| Membership (2000) | 12,940 |
| Ideology |
Christian democracy Social conservatism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Religion | Orthodox Protestant |
The Reformed Political League (GPV; Gereformeerd Politiek Verbond ) was a orthodox Protestant political party in the Netherlands. The GPV is one of the predecessors of the Christian Union. The party was a testimonial party.
The GPV was founded in 1948 as the result of a theological conflict within the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which led to the creation of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated). In 1944 a group of orthodox Protestants left the Reformed Church, because they disagreed with Abraham Kuyper's view that God had created multiple branches of Christianity (Catholicism, Protestantism etc.), each with their own sphere.
In 1948 adherents of the Reformed Church in the Netherlands (Liberated) left the Anti Revolutionary Party, the party linked to the Reformed Church in the Netherlands. On April 1, 1948 they founded the GPV during a congress Amersfoort. Former ARP MP Albertus Zijlstra chaired the congress, and also led the party in its early years.
The party was specifically linked to the liberated Reformed Church. Membership of the church was a pre-requisite for membership of the party. This dogmatic position isolated the party.
The party participated, without success in the 1948, 1952 and 1956 general elections. After the 1956 elections the number of seats in parliament was extended, therefore the number of votes needed to obtain a seat was decreased from one percent of vote to two-thirds of one percent of vote. In the 1959 general election it appeared that the GPV had won a seat. Its sole MP, Laning, was asked to visit the queen to advise her on the formation of a new cabinet. After the results were calculated exactly it became clear that the GPV had obtained too few votes for a seat.
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