National Agrarian Union
The National Agrarian Union (Swedish: Jordbrukarnas riksförbund, abbreviated JR) was a political party in Sweden, one of the fore-runners of the present-day Centre Party.
History and political platform
JR was founded on 6 February 1915, the anniversary of the
Compared to the other agrarian party, the Farmers' League, JR was politically further to the right and represented larger estate owners.[1][2] Later Centre Party historiography has sought to downplay differences between the two parties, but JR and the Farmers' League were rivals for the rural vote.[1] JR had a nationalist outlook with racial overtones (including a fierce opposition to Jewish immigration).[2][7] Both parties opposed female suffrage and introduction of equal voting rights for local elections (although the Farmers' League revised its policy on local elections by 1918).[2] In the 1917 elections, the Farmers' League won 9 seats and JR 5 seats.[1] After the election, JR began calling for unity between the two parties but the Farmers' League initially resisted the proposition.[1] JR proposed forming a joint parliamentary faction, but after the Farmers' League declined the offer JR established the 'Free Agrarian Group' in the parliament on 17 January 1918, with Olof Olsson i Kullenbergstorp as the chairman of the new parliamentary faction.[8] The two parties merged in 1921, keeping the name of the Farmers' League (which in the 1950s took the name 'Centre Party').[1]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-351-93553-1.
- ^ ISBN 9789122015345.
- ISBN 9789979541769.
- ^ ISBN 9789117330323.
- ^ Landsbygdspartiet Bondeförbundet. Bröder, låtom oss enas!: En krönika i ord och bild om Bondeförbundet i svensk politik under fyra årtionden. 1950. p. 55
- ^ Florence Edith Janson. The Background of Swedish Immigration, 1840–1930. University of Chicago Press, 1931. p. 438
- ISBN 9789174416428.
- ^ Sveriges Riksdag; historisk och statsvetenskaplig framställning, Volume 17. V. Pettersons bokindustriaktiebolag, 1931. p. 269
