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The party headquarters
The 'Norwegian Labour Party' (
Norwegian: 'Det norske Arbeiderparti' (DNA) or 'Arbeiderpartiet' (AP) is a
social democratic
political party in
Norway.
It was founded in
1887 and first ran in elections to the
Storting (
parliament) in
1894. It finally entered parliament in
1903 and steadily increased its vote until
1927, when it became the largest party--a position it has retained ever since, often with an absolute majority of parliamentary seats. In the
election in 2001 it reached a low point of 24.3% of the popular vote, but was still the biggest party in the Storting. In the
election of 2005 the party regained support and got 32.7% of the popular vote. It is the leading partner in the centre-left
Red-Green Coalition, which won a majority in the 2005 elections. Labour leader
Jens Stoltenberg became
prime minister and leads a coalition government, the first one that the Norwegian Labour Party has entered. He was previously prime minister from
2000 to 2001.
From its roots as a radical alternative to the political establishment, the party grew to its current dominance through several eras:
The party experienced a split in
1921 caused by a decision made two years earlier to join the
Communist International, and the
Social Democratic Labour Party of Norway was formed. In
1923 the party left the Communist International, while a significant minority of its members left the party to form the
Communist Party of Norway. In
1927, the social democrats were reunited with Labour.
The first Labour government, led by
Christopher Hornsrud, was formed in
1928, lasting only two weeks. During the early
1930s Labour abandoned its revolutionary profile and set for a reformist course. Labour then returned to government in
1935 and remained in power until
1965 (except for the exile period between
1940-
1945 and one month in
1963). Other periods in government have been
1971-
1972,
1973-
1981,
1986-
1989,
1990-
1997 and
2000-
2001. It has been in power most of this time and is largely through their efforts that the modern
welfare state in Norway has been created.
The Labour Party is still officially a
social democratic party committed to liberal democratic ideals. During the last 20 years, the party has included more
market liberalist principles in its policy, allowing for privatization of government-held assets and services and reducing progression in the income tax structure, following the liberal wave of the 1980s. However, recently it has tightened its ties to the traditional left.
The Labour Party profiles itself as a progressive party that subscribes to cooperation on a national as well as international level.
The party's youth organization is known as the
AUF (''Arbeidernes Ungdomsfylking'').
Party leaders
★
Anders Andersen (1887-1888)
★
Hans G. Jensen (1888-1889)
★
Christian Holtermann Knudsen (1889-1890)
★
Carl Jeppesen (1890-1892)
★
Ole Georg Gjøsteen (1892-1893)
★
Gustav A. Olsen Berg (1893-1894)
★
Carl Jeppesen (1894-1897)
★
Ludvig Meyer (1897-1900)
★
Christian Holtermann Knudsen (1900-1903)
★
Christopher Hornsrud (1903-1906)
★
Oscar Nissen (1906-1911)
★
Christian Holtermann Knudsen (1911-1918)
★
Kyrre Grepp (1918-1922)
★
Emil Stang jr. (1922-1923)
★
Oscar Torp (
1923-
1945)
★
Einar Gerhardsen (
1945-
1965)
★
Trygve Bratteli (
1965-
1975)
★
Reiulf Steen (
1975-
1981)
★
Gro Harlem Brundtland (
1981-
1992)
★
Thorbjørn Jagland (
1992-
2002)
★
Jens Stoltenberg (
2002-present)
Labour Prime Ministers
★
Christopher Hornsrud (
1928:
26 January –
15 February)
★
Johan Nygaardsvold (
1935–
1945)
★
Einar Gerhardsen (
1945–
1951)
★
Oscar Torp (
1951–
1955)
★
Einar Gerhardsen (
1955–
1965)
★
Trygve Bratteli (
1971–
1972, (
1973–
1976)
★
Odvar Nordli (
1976–
1981)
★
Gro Harlem Brundtland (
4 February –
14 October 1981,
1986–
1989,
1990–
1996)
★
Thorbjørn Jagland (
1996–
1997)
★
Jens Stoltenberg (
2000–
2001,
2005 – present)
Parliamentary election results
| Year | % of votes | Members of the Storting |
|---|
| 1894 | 0.3 | 0 out of 114 |
| 1897 | 0.6 | 0 out of 114 |
| 1900 | 5.2 | 0 out of 114 |
| 1903 | 12.1 | 4 out of 117 |
| 1906 | 15.9 | 11 out of 123 |
| 1909 | 21.5 | 11 out of 123 |
| 1912 | 26.2 | 23 out of 123 |
| 1915 | 32.0 | 19 out of 123 |
| 1918 | 31.6 | 18 out of 126 |
| 1921 | 21.3 | 29 out of 150 |
| 1924 | 18.4 | 24 out of 150 |
| 1927 | 36.8 | 59 out of 150 |
| 1930 | 31.4 | 47 out of 150 |
| 1933 | 40.1 | 69 out of 150 |
| 1936 | 42.5 | 70 out of 150 |
| 1945 | 41.0 | 76 out of 150 |
| 1949 | 45.7 | 85 out of 150 |
| 1953 | 46.7 | 77 out of 150 |
| 1957 | 48.3 | 78 out of 150 |
| 1961 | 46.8 | 74 out of 150 |
| 1965 | 43.1 | 68 out of 150 |
| 1969 | 46.5 | 74 out of 150 |
| 1973 | 35.3 | 62 out of 155 |
| 1977 | 42.3 | 76 out of 155 |
| 1981 | 37.1 | 65 out of 155 |
| 1985 | 40.8 | 71 out of 157 |
| 1989 | 34.3 | 63 out of 165 |
| 1993 | 36.9 | 67 out of 165 |
| 1997 | 35.0 | 65 out of 165 |
| 2001 | 24.3 | 43 out of 165 |
| 2005 | 32.7 | 61 out of 169 |
External links
★
Arbeiderpartiet - Official site
★
Labour Party - Information in English