The Centre Party ( , C) is a liberal political party in Sweden, founded in 1913. The party focuses on the national economy, the environment, political decentralisation and social integration. It is represented in all of the Riksdag's parliamentary committees, currently holding 25 seats.
Traditionally part of the Nordic agrarian family of political parties, the Centre Party has increasingly switched focus towards economic liberalism, environmental protection, equality of the sexes and decentralisation of governmental authority. The party describes itself as liberal feminist, campaigning for policies which enhance gender equality on an individualist basis. Its environmental policies stress the importance of consent and voluntary action, including working with foresters and private landowners to promote biodiversity within a mutually agreeable framework.
The Centre Party has produced two prime ministers of Sweden: Axel Pehrsson who held the prime minister post for three months in 1936 and Thorbjörn Fälldin who held the post for a total of five years, from 1976 to 1978 and then again from 1979 to 1982. It is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, the Liberal International and Renew Europe. It was originally named the Farmers' League ( ; B).
History
The party was founded in 1913 as the Farmers' League (, B). In 1921, it merged with the National Agrarian Union. It adopted the name Centre Party in 1958. It was a coalition partner of the centre-left Swedish Social Democratic Party between 1936 and 1945 as well as between 1951 and 1957. However, it later revised this strategy in order to establish a closer long-term alliance between the centre-right borgerlig ("bourgeois" or "non-socialist") parties that achieved power between 1976 and 1982, 1991 and 1994, as well as between 2006 and 2014.
Centre Party leader Axel Pehrsson served as prime minister of Sweden for three months in 1936. The party held the prime minister post a second time with Thorbjörn Fälldin who served as prime minister from 1976 until 1982, except for a short interregnum between 1978 and 1979 led by People's Party leader Ola Ullsten. Following the 1991 general election, the Centre Party joined another centre-right government, led by Moderate Party leader Carl Bildt. During the leaderships of Maud Olofsson and Annie Lööf in the 2000s, the party positioned itself clearly on the political right as a small-business-friendly party, advocating market liberal policies and viewing the Social Democrats as its main opponent."Guide: Centerpartiets historia och ideologi ", DN, 2011-04-18"'The Centre Party is a confused party': expert ", The Local, 14 January 2013 Between 2006 and 2014, it was a member of the centre-right Reinfeldt cabinet. It provided confidence and supply for the Social Democratic led Löfven II cabinet between 2019 and 2021. Since 2022, it is in opposition against the right-wing Kristersson cabinet because of the cabinet's collaboration with the nationalist Sweden Democrats.
In 2005, the Centre Party sold the newspaper group it owned, Centertidningar AB, for 1.8 billion SEK, which made it the richest political party in the world at the time.Privata Affärer – Centern blir världens rikaste politiska parti
Ideology and political position The Centre Party sits on the centre to centre-right, even right-wing, of the political spectrum. The party has also described as economically and socially liberal, and "ecological-liberal". It describes itself as a green-liberal party, while it has been traditionally associated with agrarianism and the Nordic agrarian party family.
National economy The party has been described as one of Sweden's most market liberal parties in liberal, socialist and conservative media. It describes itself as "a party with a green, social and decentralised liberalism". The party advocates lower taxes, greatly reduced employer contributions, a freer market and an increased . The party is a major supporter of the interests of small businesses, farmers and entrepreneurs. It also favours investments in infrastructure and transportation, to allow employees to work in bigger cities but still live in the rural areas and vice versa. On economic policy, it views the Social Democrats and the Sweden Democrats as its opponents, though it supported a government led by the Social Democrats till 2022.
Immigration The party is liberal on immigration, seeking to combine a generous immigration policy with an initially more restrictive contribution policy to the immigrants. After the European migrant crisis, the party proposed to replace the existing establishment grants with establishment loans, similar to the Swedish student loans.
The balance of the state responsibility of accepting refugees with their responsibility for integration into Swedish society is at the core of the party policy. In January 2016, the party for example proposed to give all immigrants compulsory civic education in both rights and expectations from the society.
European Union The party is a decentralist pro-European party that considers the European Union important for the preservation of peace, freedom and trade in Europe. The party also advocates a smaller but sharper European Union focused on promoting democracy, peace, free movement, free trade, vigorous action against climate change and collaboration against organized crime, while also believing that Sweden should stay outside the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union and keep the krona as its currency.
The party is a member of the ALDE Party and its affiliated European Parliament group Renew Europe. In the European Committee of the Regions, the Centre Party sits with the Renew Europe CoR group with one full and one alternate member for the 2025-2030 mandate.
Publications The Centre Party owned a media consortium called Centertidningar AB. It included newspapers that the party had either started on their own or brought from competitors. It included Hallands Nyheter, Södermanlands Nyheter, Länstidningen i Södertälje, Nynäshamns Posten, Norrtelje Tidning, Lidingö Tidning, Ljusdalsposten, Östersunds-Posten, Hälsingekuriren and Hudiksvalls Tidning. The consortium was split in 2005 and sold to Mittmedia, Stampen Group and VLT for a total of 1.815 billion Swedish kronor.
Election results
Riksdag Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Status Sep 1914 1,507 0.2 (#4) 1917 39,262 5.3 (#5) 9 1920 52,318 7.9 (#4) 11 1921 Johan Andersson 192,269 11.0 (#4) 9 1924 190,396 10.8 (#4) 2 1928 Olof Olsson 263,501 11.2 (#4) 4 1932 321,215 14.1 (#3) 9 1936 Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp 418,840 14.4 (#3) 1940 344,345 12.0 (#3) 8 1944 421,094 13.6 (#3) 7 1948 480,421 12.4 (#3) 5 1952 Gunnar Hedlund 406,183 10.7 (#4) 4 1956 366,612 9.5 (#4) 7 1958 486,760 12.7 (#4) 13 1960 579,007 13.6 (#4) 2 1964 559,632 13.2 (#4) 1 1968 757,215 15.7 (#2) 3 1970 991,208 19.9 (#2) 32 1973 Thorbjörn Fälldin 1,295,246 25.1 (#2) 19 1976 1,309,669 24.1 (#2) 4 1979 984,589 18.1 (#3) 22 1982 859,618 15.5 (#3) 8 1985 490,999 8.8 (#4) 13 1988 Olof Johansson 607,240 11.3 (#4) 1 1991 465,356 8.5 (#4) 11 1994 425,153 7.7 (#3) 4 1998 Lennart Daléus 269,762 5.1 (#5) 9 2002 Maud Olofsson 328,428 6.2 (#6) 4 2006 437,389 7.9 (#3) 7 2010 390,804 6.6 (#5) 6 2014 Annie Lööf 370,834 6.1 (#5) 1 2018 557,500 8.6 (#4) 9 2022 434,945 6.7 (#5) 7 2026 Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist 475,780 7.03 (#5) 1
European Parliament Election List leader Votes % Seats +/– EP Group 1995 Karl Erik Olsson 192,077 7.16 (#5) New ELDR 1999 151,442 5.99 (#7) 1 2004 Lena Ek 157,258 6.26 (#6) ALDE 2009 173,414 5.47 (#7) 2014 Kent Johansson 241,101 6.49 (#6) 2019 Fredrick Federley 447,641 10.78 (#5) 1 RE 2024 Emma Wiesner 306,227 7.29 (#6)
Voter base
Traditionally, most of the party's voters come from rural areas and include farmers and agricultural producers. Since the takeover of Maud Olofsson in recent years, the party has been attracting liberal voters from urban areas in central Sweden. It is believed that voters from the Liberals have been moving to the Centre Party due to changes in both parties."Towards a two-party system? The Swedish parliamentary election of September 2006", Nicholas Aylott and Niklas Bolin, West European Politics, 2007 forthcoming
Leaders of the Centre Party The Leader of the Centre Party is its highest political and organisational officer, its president in the National Executive Board and representative of the party in the media, in public and with other parties. The party leader has often held an important cabinet portfolio when the party has been part of a coalition.
Name Portrait Period Notes Erik Eriksson 1916–1920 Johan Andersson 1920–1924 Johan Johansson 1924–1928 Olof Olsson 1928–1934 Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp 1934–1949 Prime Minister of Sweden from 19 June 1936 to 28 September 1936.Minister of Agriculture from 1936 to 1945. Gunnar Hedlund 1949–1971 Minister of the Interior from 1951 to 1957. Thorbjörn Fälldin 1971–1985 Two-time Prime Minister of Sweden from 1976 to 1978, and 1979 to 1982. Karin Söder 1985–1987 First woman in Sweden to be elected the leader of a major political party.One of the first female foreign ministers in the world.Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1976 to 1978.Minister for Health and Social Affairs from 1979 to 1982. Olof Johansson 1987–1998 Minister for Energy from 1976 to 1978.Minister for the Environment from 1991 to 1994. Lennart Daléus 1998–2001 Maud Olofsson 2001–2011 Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden from 2006 to 2010.Minister for Business and Industry from 2006 to 2011. Annie Lööf 2011–2023 Minister for Business and Industry from 2011 to 2014. Muharrem Demirok 2023–2025 Anna-Karin Hatt 2025 Minister for Energy from 2011 to 2014. Minister for Digital Development from 2011 to 2014. Minister for Regions from 2010 to 2011. Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist 2025–
Current Members of the Swedish Parliament Current Members of the Swedish Parliament: Daniel Bäckström, parliamentary leader, spokesperson for rural affairs, member for Värmland Ulrika Heie, first deputy parliamentary leader and spokesperson for infrastructure policy, member for Västra Götalands läns östra Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist, second deputy parliamentary leader, spokesperson for enterprise, member for Stockholms stad Anders W. Jonsson, spokesperson för healthcare policy, member for Gävleborg Alireza Akhondi, spokesperson for housing, member for Stockholms län Anders Karlsson, member for Jönköpings län Anders Ådahl, spokesperson for science and higher education, member for Västra götalands läns västra Anna Lasses, spokesperson for international aid, member for Stockholms län Anne-Li Sjölund, spokesperson for sports, member for Västernorrland Catarina Deremar, spokesperson for culture, member for Uppsala län Christofer Bergenblock, spokesperson for elderly care and disability rights, member for Halland Helena Lindahl, spokesperson for taxation, member for Västerbotten Helena Vilhelmsson, spokesperson for gender equality, member for Örebro län Jonny Cato, spokesperson for employment, member for Skåne läns västra Kerstin Lundgren, third deputy speaker of the Riksdag, spokesperson for foreign policy, member for Stockholms län Malin Björk, spokesperson for constitutional affairs, member for Stockholms stad Martin Ådahl, spokesperson for economic policy, member for Stockholms stad Martina Johansson, spokesperson for social security, member for Södermanland Mikael Larsson, spokesperson for defence, member for Västra Götalands läns södra Muharrem Demirok, member for Östergötland Niels Paarup-Petersen, spokesperson for education policy, member for Malmö Rickard Nordin, spokesperson for energy and climate policy, member for Gothenburg Stina Larsson, spokesperson for environmental policy, member for Skåne läns södra Ulrika Liljeberg, spokesperson for legal policy, member for Dalarna
Substitutes: Mona Smedman (January - May 2024), for Daniel Bäckström