Progress Party's Youth

For the Danish organization, see Youth of the Progress Party.
Fremskrittspartiets Ungdom
Progress Party’s Youth
Chairperson Atle Simonsen
Secretary General Andre Bråthen
Founded 10 February 1978
Headquarters Karl Johans gate 25, Oslo
Ideology Libertarianism[1]
Classical liberalism[1]
Mother party Progress Party
European affiliation European Young Conservatives
Website
www.fpu.no

The Progress Party’s Youth (Norwegian: Fremskrittspartiets Ungdom, FpU), is the youth wing of the Norwegian political party the Progress Party. It is generally considered to be more libertarian than the Progress Party itself.[2] The organization has active chapters in all counties of Norway as well as in over 50 municipalities.

From 2012, Himanshu Gulati was the organisation's chairperson. Gulati is the first leader of a youth wing of a major Norwegian political party with multi-cultural background.[3] After being selected to the post of State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Gulati stepped down. And in 2014, Atle Simonsen was elected leader.

History

The organization was officially founded by members of the Progress Party on the annual Party convention 10.-11. February 1978, the same convention where Carl I. Hagen was elected chairman of the party. The organizations first leader was the future mayor of Oslo, Peter N. Myhre, who served until 1984.

The 1994 Bolkesjø Purge

As soon as in 1989 rifts appeared within the Progress Party between a liberal and conservative faction. In the 1989 election several hard-line libertarians such as Pål Atle Skjervengen and Tor Mikkel Wara gained seats in the Storting, and this further weakened the conservatives' position. The same year saw controversial proposals put forth by the liberals regarding gay marriage and immigration which sparked heated debates within among the youth members.

In 1992 the liberal Lars Grønntun was elected leader after a power struggle with Ingvar Myrvollen. This began a period of large-scale infighting which ultimately led to the board dissolving the organization, only to have the decision reversed by the party. After the expulsion of its entire liberal faction during the 1994 Progress Party national convention at Bolkesjø in Telemark, Ulf Leirstein became the new leader.

Recent history

Norwegian secondary schools hold school elections. The organization consistently polls better there than its parent party, and emerged as the largest party natiowide in 1989, 2003, 2005 and 2009. Recently, however, they have been out-polled by their social-democratic rivals from AUF.[4][5][6] In 2009 FpU set a new membership record of 3031 members; this number dipped to 2892 in 2010. Nevertheless, in the aftermath of the 2011 Norway attacks, all political youth-organizations experienced an upsurge in new members.[7]

Ideology and political positions

In the organization's manifesto, it states that; "The Progress Party's Youth supports a free-marked economy, regulated by supply and demand, without interference from government officials. A market economy is the economical system which gives the individual person greatest freedom of action". It also wishes to reform the welfare state with private insurance arrangements and increase privatization in the health and education sector, for one making the public hospitals "compete" with the privately owned hospitals for best possible care.[8] It supports the legalization of medicinal cannabis, and more liberal drug laws in general.[9]

Leadership

List of Chairpersons

Current Central Committee

External links

References

  1. 1 2 http://fpu.no/international/
  2. ↑ Eilif Frich Flydal: Hagen ute, ungdommen inne Dagbladet, 11. mai 2006
  3. ↑ Første fleirkulturelle leiar for ungdomsparti, NRK
  4. ↑ Solvik, Bjørn Magne. "FrP vant skolevalget". Liberaleren. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  5. ↑ Løset, Kjetil (2012-01-13). "Frp størst ved skolevalget".
  6. ↑ Lynum, Sissel. "AP vant skolevalget". Adressa.no. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  7. ↑ "Kraftig meldemsvekst i de politiske partiene" (in Norwegian). Nationen.no. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  8. ↑ "Manifest". Progress Party’s Youth (in Norwegian). Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  9. ↑ kvile, geir. Ba.no (in Norwegian) http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article5881534.ece. Retrieved 2012-01-14. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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