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Free Democratic Party Freie Demokratische Partei | |
|---|---|
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| Abbreviation | FDP |
| Chairman | Christian Lindner (outgoing) |
| General Secretary | Vacant |
| Parliamentary leader | Christian Dürr |
| Founded | 12 December 1948 |
| Merger of | |
| Headquarters | Hans-Dietrich-Genscher-Haus Reinhardtstraße 14 10117 Berlin |
| Newspaper | fdplus |
| Youth wing | Young Liberals |
| Women's wing | Liberal Women |
| University wing | Federal Associations of Liberal College Groups |
| Foundation | Friedrich Naumann Foundation |
| Membership (November 2024) |  70,000 [1] |
| Ideology | Liberalism (German) |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
| European Parliament group | Renew Europe |
| International affiliation | Liberal International |
| Colours | |
| Bundestag | 0 / 733
|
| Bundesrat | 3 / 69
|
| State Parliaments | 66 / 1,891 |
| European Parliament | 5 / 96 |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| www | |
The Free Democratic Party (German: Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP, German pronunciation: [ɛfdeːˈpeː] ⓘ) is a liberal political party in Germany.[3][4] The FDP was founded in 1948 by members of former liberal political parties in Germany before World War II, namely the German Democratic Party and the German People's Party. For most of the second half of the 20th century, particularly from 1961 to 1982, the FDP held the balance of power in the Bundestag.[5] It has been a junior coalition partner to both the CDU/CSU (1949–1956, 1961–1966, 1982–1998, and 2009–2013) and Social Democratic Party (SPD; 1969–1982 and 2021–2024).
In the 2013 federal election, the FDP failed to win any directly elected seats in the Bundestag and came up short of the 5 percent threshold to qualify for list representation, being left without representation in the Bundestag for the first time in its history.[6] In the 2017 federal election, the FDP regained its representation in the Bundestag, receiving 10.6% of the vote. From the 2021 federal election to the 2024 German government crisis, the FDP was part of governing Scholz cabinet in a "traffic light coalition" with the SPD and the Greens. In the 2025 federal election, the party again failed to win any directly elected seats and came up short of the 5 percent threshold to qualify for list representation, leaving the party with no seats in the Bundestag.[7]
Apart from a brief progressive and social liberal period in the 1970s (Freiburger Thesen), the FDP has traditionally been located in the centre-right of the political spectrum.[8] Since the 1980s, the party, consistently with its ordoliberal tradition, has pushed economic liberalism and has aligned itself closely to the promotion of free markets and privatization. The FDP is a member of the Liberal International, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, and Renew Europe.
- ^ welt.de (November 2024). ""Neuer Rekord" – Grüne freuen sich über viele neue Mitglieder - WELT". Welt (in German).
- ^ "Freie Demokratische Partei. Gestaltungsfreiheiten".
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Markswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Breukerswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Mark N. Franklin; Thomas T. Mackie; Henry Valen (2009). Electoral Change: Responses to Evolving Social and Attitudinal Structures in Western Countries. ECPR Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-955-82031-1.
- ^ "Ergebnisse der FDP bei den jeweils letzten Landtagswahlen in den Bundesländern bis 2021". Statista.
- ^ "Results Germany - The Federal Returning Officer". The Federal Returning Officer. Federal Government of Germany. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
- ^
- Hornsteiner, Margret; Saalfeld, Thomas (2014). "Parties and the Party System". In Padgett, Stephen; Paterson, William E.; Zohlnhöfer, Reimut (eds.). Developments in German Politics 4. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-137-30164-2.[permanent dead link]
- Stefuriuc, Irina (2013). Government Formation in Multi-Level Settings: Party Strategy and Institutional Constraints. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-137-30074-4.
- Boswell, Christina; Hough, Dan (2013). "Politicizing Migration: opportunity or liability for the centre-right in Germany?". In Bale, Tim (ed.). Immigration and Integration Policy in Europe: Why Politics and the Centre-Right Matter. Routledge. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-317-96827-6.
- Hertner, Isabelle; Sloam, James (2014). "The Europeanisation of the German party system". In Külahci, Erol (ed.). Europeanisation and Party Politics: How the EU affects Domestic Actors, Patterns and Systems. ECPR Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-907301-84-1.
- Stephen Padgett (1989). "The Party System". In Gordon Smith; William E. Paterson; Peter H. Merki (eds.). Developments in West German Politics. Springer. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-349-20346-8.
- Ugesh A. Joseph (2016). The 'Made in Germany' Champion Brands: Nation Branding, Innovation and World Export Leadership. Routledge. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-317-02503-0.
- David F. Patton (2023). "The Free Democratic Party and the 2021 Federal Election: The Road Back to Power". In Ross Campbell; Louise K. Davidson-Schmich (eds.). The 2021 German Federal Election. Springer Nature. p. 134. ISBN 978-3-03138-930-6.
- Rudy B. Andeweg (2011). "The consequence of representatives' role orientations: attitudes, behaviour, perspections". In Magnus Blomgren; Olivier Rozenberg (eds.). Parliamentary Roles in Modern Legislatures. Routledge/ECPR. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-415-57568-3.
- Amanda Bittner (2011). Platform Or Personality?: The Role of Party Leaders in Elections. Oxford University Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-19-959536-5.
- Shawn Donnelly (2004). Reshaping Economic and Monetary Union: Membership Rules and Budget Policies in Germany, France and Spain. Manchester University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-719-06850-8.