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.
JR was founded on 6 February 1915, the anniversary of the 1914 Farmers' March. [1] Among the founders of JR were several of the 1914 Farmers' March participants. [1] Soon after the foundation of the party, the Swedish Farmers' League and the Scanian Farmers' League merged into it. [2] [3] Johannes Nilsson i Gårdsby became the party chairman. [4] Vårt land och folk ('Our country and people'), with Elfrid Dürango as its editor, became the party press organ. [4] Member of parliament Nils Johansson i Brånalt became a prominent leader of the party. [5] JR was mainly concentrated in Skåne, Östergötland, as well as to a lesser extent, Värmland and Jämtland. [6]
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]
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.
JR was founded on 6 February 1915, the anniversary of the 1914 Farmers' March. [1] Among the founders of JR were several of the 1914 Farmers' March participants. [1] Soon after the foundation of the party, the Swedish Farmers' League and the Scanian Farmers' League merged into it. [2] [3] Johannes Nilsson i Gårdsby became the party chairman. [4] Vårt land och folk ('Our country and people'), with Elfrid Dürango as its editor, became the party press organ. [4] Member of parliament Nils Johansson i Brånalt became a prominent leader of the party. [5] JR was mainly concentrated in Skåne, Östergötland, as well as to a lesser extent, Värmland and Jämtland. [6]
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]