Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE Party) is a European political party composed of 76 national-level parties from across Europe, mainly active in the European Union. The ALDE Party is affiliated with Liberal International and a recognised European political party, incorporated as a non-profit association under Belgian law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

It was founded on 26 March 1976 in Stuttgart as a confederation of national political parties under the name "Federation of Liberal and Democrat Parties in Europe" and renamed "European Liberals and Democrats" (ELD) in 1977 and "European Liberal Democrats and Reformists" (ELDR) in 1986. On 30 April 2004, the ELDR was reformed as an official European party, the "European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party" (ELDR Party).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 10 November 2012, under the leadership of Sir Graham Watson MEP, the party chose its current name ALDE Party, taken from its then-European Parliament group, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), which had been formed on 20 July 2004 in conjunction with the European Democratic Party (EDP). Prior to the 2004 European election, the European party had been represented through its own group, the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Group (ELDR) Group. In June 2019, the ALDE group was succeeded by Renew Europe.

Template:As of, ALDE Party is represented in European Union institutions, with 51 MEPs and five members of the European Commission. Of the 27 EU member states, there are two with ALDE-affiliated Prime Ministers: Kristen Michal (Estonian Reform Party) in Estonia and Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) in Belgium. ALDE Party members are also in governments in ten other EU member states: Cyprus, France, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Germany and the Netherlands. Charles Michel, former Belgian prime minister, was the president of the European Council until December 2024.

ALDE's think tank is the European Liberal Forum, led by Jan-Christoph Oetjen MEP, and gathers 46 member organisations. The youth wing of ALDE is the European Liberal Youth (LYMEC), which is predominantly based upon youth and student liberal organisations but contains also a small number of individual members. LYMEC is led by Ines Holzegger.

In 2011, ALDE Party became the first pan-European party to create the status of individual membership. Since then, between 1000 and close to 3000 members (the numbers fluctuate annually) maintained direct membership in the ALDE Party from several EU countries. Over 40 coordinators mobilised liberal ideas, initiatives and expertise across the continent under the leadership of the steering committee, which was first chaired by Julie Cantalou. The ALDE Party took a step further in the direction of becoming a truly pan-European party when granting voting rights to individual members’ delegates at the Party Congress. Individual membership was eventually discontinued in 2023.

Structure

Bureau

The day-to-day management of the ALDE Party is handled by the Bureau, the members of which are:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Office	Name	State member	Party member
President	Svenja Hahn MEP	Template:Flag	FDP
Vice-presidents
	Yoko Alender	Template:Flag	Reform
	Malik Azmani MEP	Template:Flag	VVD
	Dan Barna MEP	Template:Flag	USR
	Baroness Sal Brinton	Template:Flag	LibDem
	Rik Daems	Template:Flag	Open VLD
	Eva Kjer Hansen	Template:Flag	Venstre
	Yevheniia Kravchuk MP	Template:Flag	Servant of the People
	Jouni Ovaska MP	Template:Flag	Keskusta
	Lucia Plaváková MP	Template:Flag	Progressive Slovakia
Treasurer	David Burke	Template:Flag	FF

Ex officio members

Office	Name	State member	Party member
ALDE Party Secretary-General	Didrik de Schaetzen	Template:Flag	MR- Open VLD - DP
President of Liberal International	Karl-Heinz Paqué	Template:Flag	FDP
ALDE Group Chair in the PACE	Iulian Bulai	Template:Flag	USR
President of the Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament	Valérie Hayer MEP	Template:Flag	Renaissance
Leader of the Renew Europe Group in the European Committee of the Regions	François Decoster	Template:Flag	Renaissance
President of the European Liberal Forum	Jan-Christoph Oetjen	Template:Flag	FDP
President of the European Liberal Youth	Ines Holzegger	Template:Flag	NEOS

Presidents

• 1978–1981: Template:Flagicon Gaston Thorn
• 1981–1985: Template:Flagicon Willy De Clercq
• 1985–1990: Template:Flagicon Colette Flesch
• 1990–1995: Template:Flagicon Willy De Clercq
• 1995–2000: Template:Flagicon Uffe Ellemann-Jensen
• 2000–2005: Template:Flagicon Werner Hoyer
• 2005–2011: Template:Flagicon Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck
• 2011–2015: Template:Flagicon Graham Watson
• 2015–2021: Template:Flagicon Hans van Baalen
• 2021–2024: Template:Flagicon Timmy Dooley Template:Flagicon Ilhan Kyuchyuk co-presidents
• 2024–present: Template:Flagicon Svenja Hahn

History of pan-European liberalism

File:ELDR logo.svg

ELDR Party logo (2009–2012).

Pan-European liberalism has a long history dating back to the foundation of Liberal International in April 1947. On 26 March 1976, the Federation of Liberal and Democrat Parties in Europe was established in Stuttgart. The founding parties of the federation were the Free Democratic Party of Germany, Radical Party of France, Venstre of Denmark, Italian Liberal Party, Dutch People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and Democratic Party of Luxembourg.<ref name="Almeida2012">Template:Cite book</ref> Observer members joining later in 1976 were the Danish Social Liberal Party, French Radical Party of the Left and Independent Republicans, British Liberal Party, and Italian Republican Party.<ref name="Almeida2012" /> In 1977, the federation was renamed European Liberals and Democrats, in 1986, European Liberal Democrats and Reformists.

It evolved into the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR Party) in 2004, when it was founded as an official European party under that name and incorporated under Belgian law at an extraordinary Congress in Brussels, held on 30 April 2004 the day before the enlargement of the European Union. At the same time the matching group in the European Parliament, the European Liberal Democrats and Reformists Group allied with the members of the newly elected European Democratic Party, forming the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) with a matching ALDE Group in the European Parliament.

On 10 November 2012, the ELDR Party adopted the name of the alliance between the two parties, to match the parliamentary group and the alliance.

On 12 June 2019, the ALDE group was succeeded by a new enlarged group, Renew Europe, which primarily consists of ALDE and EDP member parties and France's La République En Marche! (LREM).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

European Commissioners

Members from ALDE Party political family contribute five out of the 27 members of the European Commission:

State	Commissioner	Portfolio	Political party	Portrait
Template:Flagicon Estonia	Kaja Kallas	High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice President	ER	File:Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the Union, and Vice-President of the European Commission - P064583-775481 (cropped).jpg
Template:Flagicon Ireland	Michael McGrath	Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Commissioner	FF	File:McGrath EC Portrait 2024 (cropped).jpg
Template:Flagicon Slovenia	Marta Kos	Enlargement, Commissioner	Ind.Template:Efn	File:Kos EC Portrait 2024 (cropped).jpg
Template:Flagicon Belgium	Hadja Lahbib	Equality,Preparedness and Crisis Management Commissioner	MR	File:Lahbib EC Portrait 2024 (cropped).jpg

Elected representatives of member parties

European institutions

Organisation	Institution	Number of seats
Template:EU	European Parliament	Template:EUPP data
	European Commission	Template:EUPP data
	European Council (Heads of Government)	Template:EUPP data
	Council of the European Union (Participation in Government)
	Committee of the Regions	Template:EUPP data
Template:Flag (as part of Template:Wikidata)	Parliamentary Assembly	Template:Composition barTemplate:Wikidata

European Council

Member State	Title	Representative	Political party	Member of the Council since	Photo
Template:Flagicon Belgium	Prime Minister	Alexander De Croo	Open VLD	Template:Dts	File:Informal meeting of ministers responsible for development (FAC). Arrivals Alexander De Croo (36766610160) (cropped2).jpg
Template:Flagicon Estonia	Prime Minister	Kristen Michal	Estonian Reform Party	Template:Dts	File:Kristen Michal in 2024 (cropped).jpg
Template:Flagicon Ireland	Taoiseach	Micheál Martin	Fianna Fáil	Template:Dts	File:Micheál Martin TD (cropped).jpg

National parliaments of European Union member states

Country	Institution	Number of seats	Member parties		Status
Template:AUT	National Council Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	NEOS		Template:Yes
	Federal Council Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	NEOS		Template:Yes
Template:BEL	Chamber of Representatives Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	MR	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
			Open Vld	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
	Senate Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	MR	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
			Open Vld	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
Template:HRV	Sabor	Template:Composition bar	HNS	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes2
			HSLS	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes2
			Glas	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
			IDS-DDI	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
			Centre	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
			Focus	Template:Composition bar	Template:No
Template:CYP	House of Representatives	Template:Composition bar	Democratic Alignment		Template:Yes
Template:DNK	Folketing	Template:Composition bar	RV	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
			V	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
Template:EST	Riigikogu	Template:Composition bar	Reform		Template:Yes
Template:FIN	Parliament	Template:Composition bar	Kesk	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
			SFP	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
Template:FRA	National Assembly Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	UDI	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
			PR	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
	Senate Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	UDI	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
			PR	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
Template:GER	Bundestag	Template:Composition bar	FDP		Template:No2
Template:HUN	Országgyűlés	Template:Composition bar	Momentum		Template:No2
Template:IRL	Dáil Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	FF		Template:Yes
	Seanad Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	FF		Template:Yes
Template:ITA	Chamber of Deputies Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	A	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
			RI, +E	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
	Senate of the Republic Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	A		Template:No2
Template:LTU	Seimas	Template:Composition bar	LRLS	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
			LP	Template:Composition bar	Template:No
Template:LVA	Saeima	Template:Composition bar	A/Par!		Template:No
Template:LUX	Chamber of Deputies	Template:Composition bar	DP		Template:Yes
Template:NLD	House of Representatives Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	VVD	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
			D66	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
	Senate Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	VVD	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
			D66	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
Template:POL	Sejm Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	PL2050	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
			.N	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
	Senate Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	PL2050	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
			.N	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes
Template:Flag	Assembly of the Republic	Template:Composition bar	IL		Template:No2
Template:ROU	Chamber of Deputies Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	USR		Template:No2
	Senate Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	USR		Template:No2
Template:SVK	National Council	Template:Composition bar	PS		Template:No2
Template:ESP	Congress of Deputies Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	Cs		rowspan="2" Template:No
	Senate Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	Cs
Template:SWE	Riksdag	Template:Composition bar	C	Template:Composition bar	Template:No2
			L	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes

National parliaments outside the European Union

Country	Institution	Number of seats	Member parties
Template:AND	General Council	Template:Composition bar	DA, LA
Template:ARM	National Assembly	Template:Composition bar	ANC, Bright Armenia
Template:AZE	National Assembly	Template:Composition bar	Musavat
Template:BIH	House of Representatives	Template:Composition bar	Our Party
Template:GEO	Parliament	Template:Composition bar	Lelo, SA, Republicans, Girchi MF, FD
Template:ISL	Althing	Template:Composition bar	Viðreisn
Template:MDA	Parliament	Template:Composition bar	PL
Template:MNE	Assembly	Template:Composition bar	LPCG
Template:NOR	Storting	Template:Composition bar	Venstre
Template:SRB	National Assembly	Template:Composition bar	PSG
Template:CHE	National Council Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	FDP, GLP
	Council of States Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	FDP
Template:UKR	Verkhovna Rada	Template:Composition bar	Servant of the People, Voice
Template:GBR	House of Commons Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	Liberal Democrats, Alliance
	House of Lords Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	Liberal Democrats
	Gibraltar Parliament Template:Small	Template:Composition bar	Libs

Membership

File:Map of the membership of ALDE party in 2021.svg

Template:Legend

The ALDE party has 59 full members and 18 affiliated members from EU and non-EU countries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Only delegates from full members of the ALDE Party and its youth wing LYMEC, together with the delegates of the ALDE Party Supporters and ALDE Party Bureau members, are permitted to vote at the ALDE Congress and Council. Affiliated member parties have non-voting delegates.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Full members

Country or Region	Party	MEPsTemplate:Efn
Template:AND	Action for Andorra Template:Lang	Not in EU
	Liberals of Andorra Template:Lang
Template:AUT	NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:BEL	Reformist Movement Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:BIH	Our Party Template:Lang	Not in EU
Template:HRV	Centre Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Focus Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Istrian Democratic Assembly Template:Lang Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:CYP	Democratic Alignment Template:Lang Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	United Democrats Template:Lang Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:DNK	Social Liberal Party Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Venstre Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:EST	Estonian Reform Party Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:FIN	Centre Party Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Swedish People's Party of Finland Template:Lang Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:FRA	Radical Party Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Union of Democrats and Independents Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:GEO	Lelo for Georgia Template:Lang Template:Lang	Not in EU
	Strategy Aghmashenebeli Template:Lang Template:Lang
	Girchi — More Freedom Template:Lang Template:Lang
Template:DEU	Free Democratic Party Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:HUN	Hungarian Liberal Party Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Momentum Movement Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:ISL	Viðreisn	Not in EU
Template:IRL	Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:ITA	Action Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	European Liberal Democrats Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Italian Radicals Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	More Europe Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Team K Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:KOS	Democratic Party of Kosovo Template:Lang	Not in EU
	New Kosovo Alliance Template:Lang
Template:LAT	For Latvia's Development Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Movement For! Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:LTU	Freedom Party Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Liberals' Movement Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:LUX	Democratic Party Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:MDA	Coalition for Unity and Wellbeing Template:Lang	Not in EU
Template:MNE	Liberal Party of Montenegro Template:Lang Template:Lang	Not in EU
Template:NMK	Liberal Democratic Party Template:Lang Template:Lang	Not in EU
Template:NLD	Democrats 66 Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:NOR	Liberal Party Template:Lang	Not in EU
Template:POR	Liberal Initiative Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:ROM	Save Romania Union Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:RUS	Yabloko Template:Lang	Not in EU
Template:SRB	Movement of Free Citizens Template:Lang Template:Lang	Not in EU
Template:SVK	Progressive Slovakia Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:ESP	Citizens Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:SWE	Centre Party Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
	Liberals Template:Lang	Template:Composition bar
Template:CHE	FDP.The Liberals Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang	Not in EU
	Green Liberal Party of Switzerland Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang
Template:UKR	Servant of the People Template:Lang Template:Lang	Not in EU
	Voice Template:Lang Template:Lang
	European Party of Ukraine Template:Lang
Template:UK	Liberal Democrats	Not in EU

Election results

European Parliament

Year		Lead Candidate	Seats %	Seats	Status	Ref
2024		Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann	7.2 (#4)	Template:Composition bar	Template:Yes	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• European Liberal Forum
• European Liberal Youth
• European political party
• Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations
• European political foundation
• Liberal International
• Political parties of the world

External links

• Template:Official website