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Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party

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This article is about the European political party. For related organisations with similar names, see Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (disambiguation).

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE Party) is a European political party composed of 76 national-level parties from across Europe, mainly active in the European Union. The ALDE Party is affiliated with Liberal International and a recognised European political party, incorporated as a non-profit association under Belgian law.[12]

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party
AbbreviationALDE Party
PresidentSvenja Hahn (DE)[1]
Secretary-GeneralDidrik de Schaetzen (BE)
Founded26 March 1976; 48 years ago (1976-03-26)
HeadquartersRue d'Idalie 11 - box 2,
1050 Brussels, Belgium
Think tankEuropean Liberal Forum
Youth wingEuropean Liberal Youth
IdeologyLiberalism[2]
Pro-Europeanism
Political positionCentre[6] to centre-right[11]
European Parliament group
International affiliationLiberal International
Colours  Blue
  Magenta
  Yellow (customary)
European Parliament
51 / 720
European Council
2 / 27
European Commission
5 / 27
European
Lower Houses
754 / 6,312
European
Upper Houses
248 / 1,498
Website
aldeparty.eu

It was founded on 26 March 1976 in Stuttgart as a confederation of national political parties under the name "Federation of Liberal and Democrat Parties in Europe" and renamed "European Liberals and Democrats" (ELD) in 1977 and "European Liberal Democrats and Reformists" (ELDR) in 1986. On 30 April 2004, the ELDR was reformed as an official European party, the "European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party" (ELDR Party).[13]

On 10 November 2012, the party chose its current name ALDE Party, taken from its then-European Parliament group, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), which had been formed on 20 July 2004 in conjunction with the European Democratic Party (EDP). Prior to the 2004 European election, the European party had been represented through its own group, the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Group (ELDR) Group. In June 2019, the ALDE group was succeeded by Renew Europe.

As of 2024, ALDE Party is represented in European Union institutions, with 51 MEPs and five members of the European Commission. Of the 27 EU member states, there are two with ALDE-affiliated Prime Ministers: Kristen Michal (Estonian Reform Party) in Estonia and Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) in Belgium. ALDE Party members are also in governments in ten other EU member states: Cyprus, France, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Germany and the Netherlands. Charles Michel, former Belgian prime minister, is the current president of the European Council.

ALDE's think tank is the European Liberal Forum, led by Hilde Vautmans MEP, and gathers 46 member organisations. The youth wing of ALDE is the European Liberal Youth (LYMEC), which is predominantly based upon youth and student liberal organisations but contains also a small number of individual members. LYMEC is led by Ines Holzegger.

In 2011, ALDE Party became the first pan-European party to create the status of individual membership. Since then, between 1000 and close to 3000 members (the numbers fluctuate annually) maintained direct membership in the ALDE Party from several EU countries. Over 40 coordinators mobilised liberal ideas, initiatives and expertise across the continent under the leadership of the steering committee, which was first chaired by Julie Cantalou. The ALDE Party took a step further in the direction of becoming a truly pan-European party when granting voting rights to individual members’ delegates at the Party Congress. Individual membership was eventually discontinued in 2023.

Structure

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Bureau

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The day-to-day management of the ALDE Party is handled by the Bureau, the members of which are:[14]

Office Name State member Party member
President Svenja Hahn MEP   Germany FDP
Vice-presidents
Yoko Alender   Estonia Reform
Malik Azmani MEP   Netherlands VVD
Dan Barna MEP   Romania USR
Baroness Sal Brinton   United Kingdom LibDem
Rik Daems   Belgium Open VLD
Eva Kjer Hansen   Denmark Venstre
Yevheniia Kravchuk MP   Ukraine Servant of the People
Jouni Ovaska MP   Finland Keskusta
Lucia Plaváková MP   Slovakia Progressive Slovakia
Treasurer David Burke   Ireland FF
Ex officio members
Office Name State member Party member
ALDE Party Secretary-General Didrik de Schaetzen   Belgium MR- Open VLD - DP
President of Liberal International Hakima El Haite   Morocco MP
ALDE Group Chair in the PACE Iulian Bulai   Romania USR
President of the Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament Valérie Hayer MEP   France Renaissance
Leader of the Renew Europe Group in the European Committee of the Regions François Decoster   France Renaissance
President of the European Liberal Forum Jan-Christoph Oetjen   Germany FDP
President of the European Liberal Youth Ines Holzegger   Austria NEOS

Presidents

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History of pan-European liberalism

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Main article: History of pan-European liberalism
 
ELDR Party logo (2009–2012).

Pan-European liberalism has a long history dating back to the foundation of Liberal International in April 1947. On 26 March 1976, the Federation of Liberal and Democrat Parties in Europe was established in Stuttgart. The founding parties of the federation were the Free Democratic Party of Germany, Radical Party of France, Venstre of Denmark, Italian Liberal Party, Dutch People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and Democratic Party of Luxembourg.[15] Observer members joining later in 1976 were the Danish Social Liberal Party, French Radical Party of the Left and Independent Republicans, British Liberal Party, and Italian Republican Party.[15] In 1977, the federation was renamed European Liberals and Democrats, in 1986, European Liberal Democrats and Reformists.

It evolved into the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR Party) in 2004, when it was founded as an official European party under that name and incorporated under Belgian law at an extraordinary Congress in Brussels, held on 30 April 2004 the day before the enlargement of the European Union. At the same time the matching group in the European Parliament, the European Liberal Democrats and Reformists Group allied with the members of the newly elected European Democratic Party, forming the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) with a matching ALDE Group in the European Parliament.

On 10 November 2012, the ELDR Party adopted the name of the alliance between the two parties, to match the parliamentary group and the alliance.

On 12 June 2019, the ALDE group was succeeded by a new enlarged group, Renew Europe, which primarily consists of ALDE and EDP member parties and France's La République En Marche! (LREM).[16]

European Commissioners

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ALDE Member Parties contribute five out of the 27 members of the European Commission:

State Commissioner Portfolio Political party Portrait
  Denmark Margrethe Vestager A Europe Fit for the Digital Age,

Executive Vice President

Competition,

Commissioner

RV  
  Czech Republic Věra Jourová Values and Transparency,

Vice President

ANO  
  Slovenia Janez Lenarčič Crisis Management,

Commissioner

Ind.[a]  
  Belgium Didier Reynders Justice,

Commissioner

MR  

Elected representatives of member parties

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European institutions

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Organisation Institution Number of seats
  European Union European Parliament
51 / 720
European Commission
5 / 27
European Council
(Heads of Government)
2 / 27
Council of the EU
(Participation in Government)
10 / 27
Committee of the Regions
  Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
28 / 306

European Council

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Member State Title Representative Political party Member of the Council since Photo
  European Union President Charles Michel MR 1 December 2019  
  Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo Open VLD 27 October 2019  
  Estonia Prime Minister Kristen Michal Estonian Reform Party 23 July 2024  

National parliaments of European Union member states

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Country Institution Number of seats Member parties Status
  Austria National Council
Lower house
15 / 183
 NEOS Opposition
Federal Council
Upper house
1 / 61
 NEOS Opposition
  Belgium Chamber of Representatives
Lower house
26 / 150
 MR
14 / 26
 Government
Open Vld
12 / 26
 Government
Senate
Upper house
11 / 60
 MR
6 / 11
 Government
Open Vld
5 / 11
 Government
  Bulgaria National Assembly
34 / 240
 MRF Opposition
  Croatia Sabor
9 / 151
 HNS
1 / 9
 Confidence and supply
HSLS
2 / 9
 Confidence and supply
Glas
1 / 9
 Opposition
IDS-DDI
2 / 9
 Opposition
Centre
2 / 9
 Opposition
Focus
1 / 9
 Opposition
  Cyprus House of Representatives
4 / 56
 Democratic Alignment Government
  Denmark Folketing
30 / 175
 RV
7 / 30
 Opposition
V
23 / 30
 Government
  Estonia Riigikogu
39 / 101
 Reform Government
  Finland Parliament
41 / 200
 Kesk
31 / 41
 Opposition
SFP
10 / 41
 Government
  France National Assembly
Lower house
11 / 577
 UDI
6 / 11
 Opposition
PR
6 / 11
 Government
Senate
Upper house
48 / 348
 UDI
38 / 48
 Opposition
PR
10 / 48
 Government
  Germany Bundestag
92 / 735
 FDP Government
  Hungary Országgyűlés
10 / 199
 Momentum Opposition
  Ireland Dáil
Lower house
37 / 160
 FF Government
Seanad
Upper house
21 / 60
 FF Government
  Italy Chamber of Deputies
Lower house
12 / 400
 A
10 / 12
 Opposition
RI, +E
2 / 12
 Opposition
Senate of the Republic
Upper house
4 / 205
 A Opposition
  Lithuania Seimas
23 / 141
 LRLS
13 / 23
 Government
LP
10 / 23
 Government
  Latvia Saeima
0 / 100
 A/Par! Extra-parliamentary
  Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies
12 / 60
 DP Government
  Netherlands House of Representatives
Lower house
33 / 150
 VVD
24 / 33
 Government
D66
9 / 33
 Opposition
Senate
Upper house
15 / 75
 VVD
10 / 15
 Government
D66
5 / 10
 Opposition
  Poland Sejm
Lower house
38 / 460
 PL2050
32 / 38
 Government
.N
6 / 38
 Government
Senate
Upper house
5 / 100
 PL2050
5 / 5
 Government
.N
0 / 5
 Extra-Parliamentary
  Portugal Assembly of the Republic
8 / 230
 IL Opposition
  Romania Chamber of Deputies
Lower house
55 / 330
 USR Opposition
Senate
Upper house
25 / 136
 USR Opposition
  Slovakia National Council
32 / 150
 PS Opposition
  Spain Congress of Deputies
Lower house
0 / 350
 Cs Extra-parliamentary
Senate
Upper house
0 / 266
 Cs
  Sweden Riksdag
40 / 349
 C
24 / 40
 Opposition
L
16 / 40
 Government


National parliaments outside the European Union

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Country Institution Number of seats Member parties
  Andorra General Council
14 / 28
 DA, LA
  Armenia National Assembly
0 / 107
 ANC, Bright Armenia
  Azerbaijan National Assembly
0 / 125
 Musavat
  Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives
2 / 42
 Our Party
  Georgia Parliament
5 / 150
 Lelo, SA, Republicans, Girchi MF, FD
  Iceland Althing
4 / 63
 Viðreisn
  Moldova Parliament
0 / 101
 PL
  Montenegro Assembly
1 / 81
 LPCG
  Norway Storting
8 / 169
 Venstre
  Serbia National Assembly
3 / 250
 PSG
  Switzerland National Council
Lower house
45 / 200
 FDP, GLP
Council of States
Upper house
12 / 46
 FDP
  Ukraine Verkhovna Rada
261 / 450
 Servant of the People, Voice
  United Kingdom House of Commons
Lower house
72 / 650
 Liberal Democrats, Alliance
House of Lords
Upper house
94 / 775
 Liberal Democrats
Gibraltar Parliament
unicameral
3 / 17
 Libs

Membership

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  States with full and/or associate member parties

The ALDE party has 59 full members and 18 affiliated members from EU and non-EU countries.[17]

Only delegates from full members of the ALDE Party and its youth wing LYMEC, together with the delegates of the ALDE Party Supporters and ALDE Party Bureau members, are permitted to vote at the ALDE Congress and Council. Affiliated member parties have non-voting delegates.[18]

Full members

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Country or Region Party MEPs[b]
  Andorra Action for Andorra
Acció per Andorra		 Not in EU
Liberals of Andorra
Liberals d'Andorra
Democrats for Andorra

Demòcrates per Andorra

  Austria NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum
NEOS – Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum
2 / 20
  Belgium Reformist Movement
Mouvement Réformateur
3 / 8
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats
Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten
1 / 13
  Bosnia and Herzegovina Our Party
Naša stranka		 Not in EU
  Bulgaria Movement for Rights and Freedoms
Движение за права и свободи
Dvizhenie za prava i svobodi
3 / 17
  Croatia Centre
Centar
0 / 12
Focus
Fokus
0 / 12
Istrian Democratic Assembly
Istarski demokratski sabor
Dieta democratica istriana
0 / 12
  Cyprus Democratic Alignment
Δημοκρατική Παράταξη
Dimokratiki Parataxi
0 / 6
United Democrats
Ενωμένοι Δημοκράτες
Enomenoi Dimokrates
0 / 6
  Denmark Social Liberal Party
Radikale Venstre
1 / 15
Venstre
Venstre
2 / 15
  Estonia Estonian Reform Party
Eesti Reformierakond
1 / 7
  Finland Centre Party
Suomen Keskusta
2 / 15
Swedish People's Party of Finland
Svenska folkpartiet i Finland
Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue
1 / 15
  France Radical Party
Parti radical
0 / 81
Union of Democrats and Independents
Union des démocrates et indépendants
1 / 81
  Georgia Lelo for Georgia
ლელო საქართველოსთვის
lelo sakartvelostvis		 Not in EU
Strategy Aghmashenebeli
სტრატეგია აღმაშენებელი
st'rat'egia aghmashenebeli
Girchi — More Freedom
გირჩი — მეტი თავისუფლება
girchi — met'i tavisupleba
  Germany Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei
5 / 96
  Hungary Hungarian Liberal Party
Magyar Liberális Párt
0 / 21
Momentum Movement
Momentum Mozgalom
0 / 21
  Iceland Reform Party
Viðreisn		 Not in EU
  Ireland Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party
Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach
4 / 14
  Italy Action
Azione
0 / 76
European Liberal Democrats
Liberali Democratici Europei
0 / 76
Italian Radicals
Radicali Italiani
0 / 76
More Europe
Più Europa
0 / 76
  Kosovo Democratic Party of Kosovo
Partia Demokratike e Kosovës		 Not in EU
New Kosovo Alliance
Aleanca Kosova e Re
  Latvia For Latvia's Development
Latvijas attīstībai
1 / 9
Movement For!
Kustība Par!
0 / 9
  Lithuania Freedom Party
Laisvės partija
1 / 11
Liberals' Movement
Liberalų sąjūdis
1 / 11
  Luxembourg Democratic Party
Demokratesch Partei
Parti Démocratique
Demokratische Partei
1 / 6
  Moldova Coalition for Unity and Wellbeing
Coaliția pentru Unitate si Bunăstare		 Not in EU
  Montenegro Liberal Party of Montenegro
Либерална партија Црне Горе
Liberalna partija Crne Gore		 Not in EU
  North Macedonia Liberal Democratic Party
Либерално-демократска партија
Liberalno-demokratska partija		 Not in EU
  Netherlands Democrats 66
Democraten 66
3 / 31
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie
4 / 31
  Norway Liberal Party
Venstre		 Not in EU
  Portugal Liberal Initiative
Iniciativa Liberal
2 / 21
  Romania Save Romania Union
Uniunea Salvați România
2 / 33
  Russia Yabloko
Я́блоко		 Not in EU
  Serbia Movement of Free Citizens
Покрет слободних грађана
Pokret slobodnih građana		 Not in EU
  Slovakia Progressive Slovakia
Progresívne Slovensko
6 / 15
  Spain Citizens
Ciudadanos
0 / 61
  Sweden Centre Party
Centerpartiet
2 / 21
Liberals
Liberalerna
1 / 21
  Switzerland FDP.The Liberals
FDP. Die Liberalen
PLR. Les Libéraux-Radicaux
PLR. I Liberali Radicali
PLD. Ils Liberals		 Not in EU
Green Liberal Party of Switzerland
Grünliberale Partei der Schweiz
Parti vert'libéral
Partito verde liberale
Partida verda-liberala
  Ukraine Servant of the People
Слуга народу
Sluha narodu		 Not in EU
Voice
Голос
Holos
European Party of Ukraine
Європейська партія України
  United Kingdom Liberal Democrats Not in EU

Affiliated members

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Former members

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Election results

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European Parliament

Year Lead Candidate Seats % Seats Status Ref
2024 Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann 7.2 (#4)
52 / 720
 Coalition [19][20]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Independent on the national level but affiliated with ALDE at the EU level
  2. ^ The number of MEPs listed below may not match the total number of MEPs of the European party, as it does not include MEPs who join as individual members.

References

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  1. ^ "Svenja Hahn elected ALDE Party president". Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE). 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE)". Clean Energy Wire. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  3. ^ Wolfs, Wouter (6 April 2022). European Political Parties and Party Finance Reform: Funding Democracy?. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-030-95175-7.
  4. ^ Woods, Judith (10 May 2019). "Guy Verhofstadt sprinkles his centrist stardust on the perfect Lib Dem launch". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  5. ^ Hublet, François; Lanoë, Mattéo; Schleyer, Johanna (June 2023). "Spelling out the European center-right's dilemma: Renewal of the Grand coalition or National-Conservative Alliance?". Groupe d'études géopolitiques. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  6. ^ [3][4][5]
  7. ^ Kazanoğlu, Nazlı (3 May 2021). The Politics of Europeanisation: Work and Family Life Reconciliation Policy. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-37249-6.
  8. ^ Francesco, Corti (14 January 2022). The Politicisation of Social Europe: Conflict Dynamics and Welfare Integration. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-80088-526-4.
  9. ^ Mamede, Anna Paula Ribeiro Araujo; Anastasia, Fátima (31 August 2016). "Instituições democráticas, crise econômica e resultados políticos no Parlamento Europeu: as políticas migratória e ambiental (2009-2014)". Carta Internacional (in Portuguese). 11 (2): 126–151. doi:10.21530/ci.v11n2.2016.488. ISSN 2526-9038.
  10. ^ "With 5 months to go before elections, Europe's political". agenceurope.eu. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  11. ^ [7][8][9][10]
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "European Liberal Democrats change party name to ALDE Party | ALDE Party". Eldr.eu. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  14. ^ "ALDE-party Bureau". Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  15. ^ a b Dimitri Almeida (2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. Taylor & Francis. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-1-136-34039-0.
  16. ^ "Macron-Liberal alliance to be named Renew Europe". Politico. 12 June 2019.
  17. ^ "ALDE Member Parties". aldeparty.eu. ALDE Party. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  18. ^ "ALDE Party Member Parties Congress and Council delegations" (PDF). nationbuilder.com. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Provisional list of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) as of 17 July 2024". Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Projected composition: Members of the European Parliament". Europe Elects. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
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