Liberal International

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Liberal International logo

Liberal International is a political international for liberal parties. Its headquarters are located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the strengthening of liberalism around the world. The Oxford Manifesto describes the basic political principles of the Liberal International.

Aims

The Liberal International Constitution (2005) gives its purposes as

"to win general acceptance of Liberal principles which are international in their nature throughout the world, and to foster the growth of a free society based on personal liberty, personal responsibility and social justice, and to provide the means of co-operation and interchange of information between the member organisations, and between men and women of all countries who accept these principles."

The principles that unite member parties from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe are: respect for human rights, free and fair elections and multiparty-democracy, social justice, tolerance, free market economy, free trade, environmental sustainability and a strong sense of international solidarity.

The aims of Liberal International are also set out in a series of seven manifestos, written between 1946 and 1997 and are furthered by a variety of bodies including a near yearly conference for liberal parties and individuals from around the world.

Bureau

The president of Liberal International is Hans van Baalen, leader of the delegation and spokesperson on foreign affairs and Defense for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the European Parliament. Immediate past President is Lord Alderdice, a British Liberal Democrat peer who was leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. Other members of the bureau include Deputy President Juli Minoves Triquell, Vice Presidents Jelko Kacin, Dzhevdet Chakarov, Wolfgang Gerhardt, Cristian David, Hsiao Bi-Khim, Robert Woodthorpe Browne, and treasurers Josep Soler and Silver Meikar. The secretary general is Emil Kirjas, a former president of the International Federation of Liberal Youth. Former Presidents of Liberal International include Dutch politician and former European Commissioner Frits Bolkesteinand German politican Otto Graf Lambsdorff.

Publications

Liberal International has two main publications. The first, LI-news^[1] is a weekly dossier of news items that are relevant to the organization's member parties or cooperating organizations. The second, Liberal Matters, is a magazine published several times a year highlighting a particular liberal theme.

Members

Ruling parties in bold.

Full members

•  Andorra - Partit Liberal d'Andorra
•  Angola - Partido Liberal Democrático
•  Austria - Liberales Forum
•  Belgium
  • Mouvement Réformateur
  • Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten
•  Bulgaria -
  • Dvizhenie za prava i svobodi
  • Natsionalno dvizhenie za stabilnost i vazhod
•  Canada - Liberal Party/Parti libéral
•  Costa Rica - Partido Movimiento Libertario
•  Côte d'Ivoire - Rassemblement des Republicains
•  Croatia - Hrvatska Socijalno Liberalna Stranka
•  Cuba -
  • Partido Liberal de Cuba
  • Partido Solidaridad Democrática
  • Unión Liberal Cubana
•  Denmark -
  • Det Radikale Venstre
  • Venstre
•  Equatorial Guinea - Unión Democrática Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial
•  Estonia - Eesti Reformierakond
•  Finland -
  • Keskusta
  • Svenska Folkpartiet
•  Germany -
  • Deutsche Gruppe der LI
  • Freie Demokratische Partei
•  Gibraltar - Liberal Party
•  Honduras - Partido Liberal
•  Hungary - Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége
•  Iceland - Framsóknarflokkurinn
•  Israel - Israeli Liberal Group
•  Latvia - Latvijas Pirmā Partija/Latvijas Ceļš
•  Lithuania - Liberal and Centre Union
•  Luxembourg - Demokratesch Partei
•  Macedonia - Liberalnо Demokratska Partija
•  Malawi - United Democratic Front
•  Montenegro - Liberalna Partija Crne Gore
•  Morocco -
  • Constitutional Union (Morocco)
  • Popular Movement
•  Netherlands -
  • Democraten 66
  • Nederlandse Groep
  • Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie
•  Norway - Venstre
•  Paraguay - Partido Liberal Radical Auténtico
•  Philippines - Partido Liberal ng Pilipinas (Liberal Party)
•  Romania - Partidul Naţional Liberal
•  Russia - Yabloko
•  Senegal - Parti Démocratique Sénégalais
•  Serbia - Liberali Srbije
•  Slovakia - Aliancia Nového Občana
•  Slovenia - Liberalna Demokracija Slovenije
•  South Africa - Democratic Alliance
•  Spain -
  • Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya
  • Unió Mallorquina
•  Sri Lanka - Liberal Party
•  Sweden -
  • Folkpartiet liberalerna
  • Centerpartiet
•  Switzerland -
  • Freisinnig Demokratische Partei
  • Liberale Partei der Schweiz
•  Republic of China - Democratic Progressive Party
•  Tanzania - Civic United Front
•  United Kingdom -
  • Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
  • Liberal International British Group
  • Liberal Democrats

Observer parties

•  Argentina - Recrear para el Crecimiento (Recrear)
•  Brazil - Brazilian Group of Liberal International
•  Democratic Republic of the Congo - Alliance Nationale des Démocrates pour la Reconstruction
•  Costa Rica - Partido Movimiento Libertario - (President: Otto Guevara; Harvard, LL.M. '87)
•  Croatia - Hrvatska narodna stranka – Liberalni Demokrati
•  Georgia - Republican Party of Georgia
•  Guatemala - Movimiento Reformador
•  Italy -
  • Radicali Italiani
  • Gruppo italiano dell'Internazionale Liberale
  • Federazione dei Liberali Italiani
•  Kenya - Liberal Democratic Party of Kenya
•  Kosovo - Partia Liberale e Kosoves
•  Lithuania - Naujoji sąjunga (socialliberalai)
•  Mexico - Nueva Alianza
•  Moldova - Partidul Alianţă Moldova Noastră
•  Serbia - Liberalno-demokratska partija
•  Slovenia - Zares
•  Seychelles - Seychelles National Party
•  Tunisia - Social-Liberal Party
•  Zambia - United Party for National Development

Cooperating organisations

• Africa Liberal Network
• Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
• Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats
• European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
• Friedrich Naumann Stiftung
• Dr. Y. Foerder Foundation
• Fondazione Luigi Einaudi
• International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY)
• International Network of Liberal Women
• Liberal Democrat Group of the Council of Europe (LDR)
• Liberal, Democratic and Reformers' Group (Council of Europe)
• Swedish International Liberal Centre
• Neue Zürcher Zeitung
• National Democratic Institute, an organization with ties to the Democratic Party (United States)
• Red Liberal de América Latina

Liberal think tanks and foundations

The International is also in a loose association with the following organizations:

• Liberales Institut (Switzerland)
• Dr. Y. Foerder Liberal Institute (Israel)
• Fondazione Luigi Einaudi (Italy)
• Teldersstichting (Netherlands)
• The Bertil Ohlin Institute (Sweden)
• CentreForum (UK)

See also

• Liberalism worldwide
• Prize For Freedom

References

External links

• Liberal International official site
• The Liberal Agenda for the 21st Century