Liberal Party (Norway)

The Liberal Party (Norwegian: Venstre, lit. 'Left', V; Northern Sami: Gurutbellodat) is a social liberal political party in Norway. It was founded in 1884 and is the oldest political party in Norway. The Liberal Party is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum, and usually cooperates much more with the right-wing parties. It is a liberal party which has over time enacted reforms such as parliamentarism, freedom of religion, universal suffrage, and state schooling.

For most of the late 19th and early 20th century, it was Norway's largest and most dominant political party. Later, in the postwar era it lost most of its support and became a smaller party. The party has nevertheless participated in several centrist and centre-right government coalitions in the postwar era. It currently holds three seats in the Parliament and was previously a part of the Conservative Party and the Christian Democratic Party government. Guri Melby has served as the party leader since 2020.

The party was founded in 1884. With support mainly from farmers and progressive members of the bourgeoisie, it was the first political party that came into existence in Norway, and was the dominant governmental party for several decades. It has always had a close relationship with the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights, which was founded in the same year by prominent Liberal Party politicians. The party has played a central role in advocating for women's suffrage in Norway. Since the 1880s the party has seen many internal schisms. A politically moderate and religious wing broke away in 1888 to form the Moderate Liberal Party and the conservative-liberal faction, including the former Prime Minister of Norway Christian Michelsen who broke away in 1909 to form the Free-minded Liberal Party (both parties eventually merged into the Conservative Party). The most notable recent schism was in 1972 when the Liberal Party decided to oppose Norwegian membership in the European Economic Community (EEC). The faction supporting membership broke away and formed the Liberal People's Party. The party has since endorsed Norwegian membership in the EU and is currently a strong proponent.