The Free-minded National Association () was a liberal political party and national organization in Sweden, active from 1902 to 1934. It was founded to organize liberal political forces at the national level and became associated with the Liberal Coalition Party in the Swedish Parliament. During the early twentieth century, the association participated in parliamentary and local elections and was linked to politicians including Karl Staaff, Nils Edén, and Carl Gustaf Ekman. Following internal disagreements over prohibition policy, the organization split in 1923. In 1934, it merged with the Liberal Party of Sweden to form the Liberal People's Party.
History The Free-minded National Association was formed at a meeting in Stockholm on 22–24 February 1902, as a national organization corresponding to the Liberal Coalition Party, which had been created in Parliament in 1900. According to its statutes, its purpose was "to unite the politically liberal-minded citizens of the country for common work and action; to promote the election to Parliament of men and women who support the program presented by the association in general elections; to promote the election of liberal representatives to county councils as well as city, municipal, and local councils; and otherwise to encourage sound democratic development within the state and municipalities."
The organization was based partly on local associations united into constituency federations, and partly on members directly affiliated with the association's main office in Stockholm (so-called supporting members). The constituency federations elected representatives to the association's council of confidence and to the national convention (the Free-minded National Convention), which the association held every other year in Stockholm. Leadership was exercised by an executive committee, within which a smaller working delegation could be appointed. The party headquarters, the office of the Free-minded National Association, was located in Stockholm. The association reached its peak in 1914, when it counted around 1,250 local branches with more than 50,000 members. After the party's electoral defeat that same year, the organization declined to around 450 local branches.
The Free-minded National Association achieved its greatest political success in the 1911 elections to the Second Chamber. The party won 101 seats in the Second Chamber, after which Karl Staaff formed . The association took an active part in the defence disputes of 1913–1914, but the party suffered major losses in both elections of 1914. In the 1917 general election, as well as in the , the party once again achieved success. This strength was also reflected in the fact that Nils Edén served as prime minister in the Liberal–Social Democratic government from 1917 to 1920.
However, forces of division began to emerge within the party. The wedge issue was the temperance question. At an extraordinary national convention on 27 May 1923, the prohibitionist faction gained the upper hand. This led to the split of the Free-minded National Association. Most representatives of the minority faction immediately left the association, and in October of the same year the Liberal Party of Sweden was formed. The Free-minded National Association thus continued, but now as the national organization of the Free-minded liberals under the leadership of Carl Gustaf Ekman.
Before the split, the Free-minded National Association had 530 local associations with 21,000 members; afterward, it had 297 associations with 10,777 members. The organization was later reorganized under the leadership of the secretary G. Hammarlund and by 1931 had around 13,500 members in approximately 400 local branches. In the elections of 1932, it attracted 244,577 voters. Until 1932, Carl Gustaf Ekman served as chairman of both the executive committee and the council of confidence.
From 1924 onward, a separate women's organization existed alongside the Free-minded National Association, the Women's Group of the Free-minded People's Party (Frisinnade folkpartiets kvinnogrupp), and from 1928 likewise a youth organization, the , both of which worked in close cooperation with the main organization. In the press, the views of the Free-minded National Association and the were represented by around 20 major newspapers, whose editors were united in the Swedish Free-minded Press Association (Sveriges frisinnade pressförening). In 1934, the Liberal People's Party was formed through the merger of the Free-minded National Association and the Liberal Party of Sweden.
Leaders 1900–1905: Sixten von Friesen 1905–1915: Karl Staaff 1915–1918: Daniel Persson 1918–1924: Nils Edén 1924–1932: Carl Gustaf Ekman 1932–1935: Felix Hamrin
Election results + Riksdag Date Votes Seats Position Size No. % ± pp No. ± 1902 92,503 51.24 New New 1st 1905 98,287 45.23 6.01 2 2nd 1908 144,426 46.83 1.6 4 1st1911 242,795 40.20 6.63 3 1st March 1914 245,107 32.24 7.96 31 3rd September 1914 196,493 26.87 5.37 14 3rd1917 202,936 27.57 0.7 5 2nd 1920 143,355 21.78 5.79 15 3rd 1921 325,608 18.69 3.09 6 3rd 1924 228,913 12.97 5.72 12 3rd 1928 303,995 12.89 0.8 1 3rd 1932 244,577 9.80 3.09 8 4th
See also Liberalism and centrism in Sweden
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