Union Party (Faroe Islands)

Union Party
Leader Bárður á Steig Nielsen
Founded 1906
Ideology Conservative liberalism[1]
Agrarianism[1]
Danish unionism[1]
Political position Centre-right
National affiliation Venstre
European affiliation None
International affiliation None
Colours          Light blue, white
Løgting
6 / 33
Folketing
(Faroe seats)
0 / 2
Website
www.samband.fo
Faroe Islands
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
the Faroe Islands

The Union Party (Faroese: Sambandsflokkurin, also translated Unionist Party) is a conservative-liberal and agrarian political party in the Faroe Islands. The party wants to maintain the Faroe Islands union with Denmark. On 24 October 2015 Bárður á Steig Nielsen succeeded Kaj Leo Johannesen as party leader.

In the elections in 2008, the party won 21.0% of the popular vote and 7 out of 33 seats. After having been in the opposition for a short interval after the elections, the Union Party formed a new government in September 2008, and Kaj Leo Johannesen became prime minister.

In the Danish parliamentary elections of 2007, the party received 23.5% of the Faroese vote, thereby gaining one of the two Faroese seats in the Parliament of Denmark.

At the general elections in 2011 the party gained 24.7% of the votes and 8 seats out of 33. However, on 10 February 2014 the party gained one more seat in the Løgting, after Gerhard Lognberg who was elected to the parliament representing the Social Democratic Party, joined the Union Party.[2] This happened three months after Lognberg had been expelled from the Social Democratic Party due to some disagreements,[3] making the Union Party the joint biggest party of the Faroese parliament, along with the People's Party.[4]

Electoral performance

Election Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
1906 961 62.4
12 / 20
 Increase 12 Increase 1st Majority
1908 663 66.1
13 / 20
 Increase 1 Steady 1st Majority
1910 861 72.2
13 / 20
 Steady 0 Steady 1st Majority
1912 459 52.3
13 / 20
 Steady 0 Steady 1st Majority
1914 699 52.7
12 / 20
 Decrease 1 Steady 1st Majority
1916 397 37.8
10 / 20
 Decrease 2 Steady 1st Minority
1918 2,969 50.2
9 / 20
 Decrease 1 Decrease 2nd Opposition
1920 3,478 58.4
10 / 20
 Increase 1 Increase 1st Minority
1924 3,676 58.6
13 / 23
 Increase 3 Steady 1st Majority
1928 2,917 46.0
10 / 23
 Decrease 3 Decrease 2nd Opposition
1932 3,936 50.1
11 / 21
 Increase 1 Increase 1st Majority
1936 2,654 33.6
8 / 24
 Decrease 3 Decrease 2nd Opposition
1940 2,722 32.2
8 / 24
 Steady 0 Increase 1st Minority
1943 2,736 28.3
8 / 25
 Steady 0 Decrease 2nd Opposition
1945 3,214 24.4
6 / 25
 Decrease 2 Steady 2nd Opposition
1946 3,783 28.6
6 / 25
 Steady 0 Steady 2nd Opposition
1950 3,170 27.3
7 / 25
 Increase 1 Steady 2nd Coalition
1954 3,312 26.0
7 / 27
 Steady 0 Increase 1st Coalition
1958 3,288 23.7
7 / 30
 Steady 0 Decrease 3rd Coalition
1962 3,082 20.3
6 / 29
 Decrease 1 Steady 3rd Opposition
1966 4,177 23.7
6 / 26
 Steady 0 Increase 2nd Coalition
1970 3,921 21.7
6 / 26
 Steady 0 Decrease 3rd Coalition
1974 3,799 19.5
5 / 26
 Decrease 1 Decrease 4th Opposition
1978 5,966 26.3
8 / 32
 Increase 3 Increase 1st Opposition
1980 5,558 23.9
8 / 32
 Steady 0 Steady 1st Coalition
1984 5,330 21.2
7 / 32
 Steady 0 Decrease 3rd Opposition
1988 6,116 21.2
7 / 32
 Steady 0 Steady 3rd Opposition
1990 5,367 18.9
6 / 32
 Decrease 1 Steady 3rd Coalition
1994 5,986 23.4
8 / 32
 Increase 2 Increase 1st Coalition
1998 4,995 18.0
6 / 32
 Decrease 2 Decrease 4th Opposition
2002 7,954 26.0
8 / 32
 Increase 2 Increase 1st Opposition
2004 7,501 23.7
7 / 32
 Decrease 1 Steady 1st Coalition
2008 7,501 23.7
7 / 33
 Steady 0 Decrease 2nd Coalition
2011 7,546 24.7
8 / 33
 Increase 1 Increase 1st Coalition
2015 6,036 18.8
6 / 33
 Decrease 2 Decrease 4th Opposition

Leaders

Leaders of the Union Party:

Current members of the Løgting

References

  1. 1 2 3 Parties and Elections in Europe: The database about parliamentary elections and political parties in Europe, by Wolfram Nordsieck
  2. ↑ Sandportal.fo, Gerhard Lognberg farin upp í Sambandsflokkin
  3. ↑ Kvf.fo, Gerhard Lognberg er koyrdur úr Javnaðarflokkinum
  4. ↑ In.fo, Janus Rein í Fólkaflokkin
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