Venstres Ungdom
| Venstres Ungdom | |
|---|---|
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| Chairman | |
| Headquarters | Nørre Voldgade 82, 4. 1358 København K |
| Membership | 2568 (January 2014) |
| Ideology | Classical liberalism |
| European affiliation | European Liberal Youth (LYMEC) |
| Website | |
Venstres Ungdom (literally: Youth of the Left) is the youth wing of the Danish Liberal Party Venstre. The ideology of Venstre is centre-right. Venstres Ungdom is, in some matters, on the left, supporting such concepts as free migration and a completely secular state (the Evangelical-Lutheran Church is an integrated part of the Danish state), however also following a classical liberal line of concepts such as small government, low taxes, and personal freedom
The first branch of Venstres Ungdom was founded in Kolding in 1908, and the nationwide organization was established in 1912. This makes the youth wing older than the mother party, Venstre, which was established in its current form in 1910.
When Venstres Ungdom was founded, Denmark had a bicameral parliament, and suffrage to one of the houses (Landstinget) was reserved for men no younger than 35. Consequently, Venstres Ungdom was intended as an organization for Liberals younger than 35. When turning 35, a member became entitled to transfer his membership to the "real" political party Venstre. When Landstinget was abolished in 1953 this distinction became irrelevant, and members are now free to choose if they wish to belong to Venstres Ungdom, Venstre or both organizations. Most members transfer their membership from Venstres Ungdom to Venstre when they approach the age of 30.
Venstres Ungdom is one of the largest political youth organization in Denmark. As of 31 December 2009, it had 1,730 members. Members play a major role in the election campaigns of Venstre. Other activities include organizing seminars and debates. The nationwide organization has a committee corresponding to each cabinet department headed by a Venstre politician. These committees hold regular meetings with the relevant cabinet ministers. A VU spokesman is elected to represent the organization for each major area. As of January 2006, the number of spokesmen is fourteen.
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