Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties aiming to strengthen liberalism around the world. Its headquarters are at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD, within the National Liberal Club. The Oxford Manifesto describes the basic political principles of the Liberal International, which is currently made up of 111 parties and organizations.
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.jpg) Headquarters of Liberal International, London | |
| Abbreviation | Libintern |
|---|---|
| Formation | April 1947, constituted with the Oxford Manifesto |
| Type | Political international |
| Purpose | World federation of liberal political parties and organisations |
| Headquarters | National Liberal Club |
| Location | |
Region served | Worldwide |
Membership | 90 political parties and 21 international organizations (as of May 2022) |
President | Hakima El Haite |
Main organ | Congress of Liberal International |
| Website | liberal-international |
Aims
The Liberal International Constitution (2005) gives its purposes as:
to win general acceptance of Liberal principles which are international in their nature throughout the world, and to foster the growth of a free society based on personal liberty, personal responsibility and social justice, and to provide the means of co-operation and interchange of information between the member organisations, and between men and women of all countries who accept these principles.
The principles that unite member parties from Africa, America, Asia and Europe are respect for human rights, free and fair elections and multi-party democracy, social justice, tolerance, market economy, free trade, environmental sustainability and a strong sense of international solidarity.
The aims of Liberal International are also set out in a series of seven manifestos, written between 1946 and 1997, and are furthered by a variety of bodies including a near-yearly conference for liberal parties and individuals from around the world.[1]
Bureau
The bureau of Liberal International is elected every 18 months by the delegates of the congress.[2]
The 14th president of Liberal International is Hakima el Haite of the Mouvement Populaire (Morocco), is a former Minister of Environment, UN climate champion, and climate scientist. Madam El Haite succeeded Dr Juli Minoves, formerly Andorra's foreign minister and representative to the United Nations.
Former Presidents include Hans Van Baalen MEP, John, Lord Alderdice, Dutch politician and former European Commissioner Frits Bolkestein, German politician Otto Graf Lambsdorff, and Spain's first democratically elected prime minister after Francoist Spain, Adolfo Suárez.
The secretary-general of Liberal International is Gordon Mackay, a former Member of the National Assembly of South Africa. Other members of the bureau include Deputy President Prof. Karl-Heinz Paque; and Vice Presidents Cellou Dalein Diallo (Guinea), Kitty Monterrey (Nicaragua), Abir al-Sahlani (Sweden), Kiat Sittheamorn (Thailand) and Robert Woodthorpe Browne (United Kingdom). There are two elected treasurers, Judith Pallares MP (Andorra) and Minister Omar Youm (Senegal).
Awards
Liberal International awards prizes to individuals in the areas of human rights and liberalism.
Prize for Freedom:
The Liberal International Prize for Freedom is LI's most prestigious human rights award. Conveyed annually since 1984 to an individual of liberal conviction who has made outstanding efforts for the defence of freedom and human rights, recipients include Maria Corina Machado of Venezuela, Senator Leila de Lima of the Philippines, Raif Badawi of Saudi Arabia, Waris Dirie of Somalia and Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.
Medal of Liberalism:
The Liberal International Medal of Liberalism is awarded to individuals who have worked to advance liberal values on a local, national and international level. Recipients include President Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg, President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan and Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe leader Sir Graham Watson of the United Kingdom.
Publications
The LI Human Rights Bulletin is published three times per year and consists of opinion articles, video interviews and digest of the work of the LI human rights committee.
Thematic publications are published online and in print on an ad hoc basis. Recent texts have offered a liberal perspective on issues ranging from freedom of belief to the responsibility to protect.ʒ
History
Before establishment
Because inter-war International Entente of Radical and Similar Democratic Parties ceased to operate in the beginning of the World War II, on 16 June 1946 representatives of the Liberal Party of Belgium, British Liberal Party, French Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party, Danish Social Liberal Party, Freedom Party of the Netherlands, Free Democratic Party of Switzerland, People's Party of Sweden, Italian Liberal Party and the representatives of Spanish Liberals in exile assembled in Brussels and adopted the Declaration of Brussels, which called for creation of world liberal organization.
Oxford Manifesto
The Oxford Manifesto, drawn up in April 1947 at Wadham College in Oxford by representatives from 19 liberal political parties from South Africa, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Spain, Estonia, United Kingdom, United States, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia and Turkey is a document describing the basic political principles of the Liberal International. Creation of its main principles were led by Salvador de Madariaga.[3]
The Oxford Manifesto was inspired by the ideas of William Beveridge[citation needed] and is regarded as one of the defining political documents of the 20 century.[citation needed]
Fifty years on, in 1997, Liberal International returned to Oxford and issued a supplement to the original manifesto, The Liberal Agenda for the 21st century, describing Liberal policies in greater detail. The second Oxford Manifesto was adopted by the 48th Congress of Liberal International, which was held on 27–30 November 1997 in the Oxford Town Hall.[4] In 2017, the global federation marked its 70th anniversary with the adoption of the Andorra Liberal Manifesto for the twenty-first century (ALM). A three-year project across numerous continents initiated by then president Juli Minoves, the ALM embodied the widest consultation of views undertaken by Liberal International in order to compile a policy document.[5]
Organisation
Presidents
| N° | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Country | Presidency | Membership | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Salvador de Madariaga (1886–1978) | United Kingdom Spain (exiled) | 20 April 1948 | 18 April 1952 | Association Mont Pelerin Society |
| 2 |  | Roger Motz (1904–1964) | Belgium | 18 April 1952 | 20 April 1958 | Liberal Party |
| 3 | .jpg) | Giovanni Malagodi (1904–1991) | Italy | 20 April 1958 | 15 April 1966 | Italian Liberal Party |
| 4 |  | Edzo Toxopeus (1918–2009) | Netherlands | 15 April 1966 | 25 April 1970 | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy |
| 5 | .jpg) | Gaston Thorn (1928–2007) | Luxembourg | 25 April 1970 | 18 April 1982 | Democratic Party |
| (3) | | Giovanni Malagodi (1904–1991) | Italy | 18 April 1982 | 26 April 1989 | Italian Liberal Party |
| 6 | .jpg) | Adolfo Suárez (1932–2014) | Spain | 26 April 1989 | 22 April 1992 | Democratic and Social Centre |
| 7 | .jpg) | Otto Graf Lambsdorff (1926–2009) | Germany | 22 April 1992 | 25 April 1994 | Free Democratic Party |
| 8 |  | David Steel (1938–) | United Kingdom | 25 April 1994 | 15 April 1996 | Liberal Democrats |
| 9 | .jpg) | Frits Bolkestein (1933–) | Netherlands | 15 April 1996 | 18 April 2000 | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy |
| 10 | _cropped.jpg) | Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck (1944–) | Belgium | 18 April 2000 | 25 April 2005 | Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten |
| 11 |  | John Alderdice (1955–) | United Kingdom | 25 April 2005 | 20 April 2009 | Liberal Democrats and Alliance Party of Northern Ireland |
| 12 |  | Hans van Baalen (1960–2021) | Netherlands | 20 April 2009 | 26 April 2014 | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy |
| 13 |  | Juli Minoves (1969–) | Andorra | 26 April 2014 | 30 November 2018 | Liberal Party of Andorra |
| 14 | .jpg) | Hakima El Haite (1963–) | Morocco | 30 November 2018 | Incumbent | Popular Movement |
Members
Incumbent heads of state and government
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Full members
LI has 90 political parties.
Observer parties
Individual member
| Country | Name | Government |
|---|---|---|
 Hong Kong | Mr Martin Lee – founding chairman of Democratic Party | Extra-parliamentary |
Cooperating organizations
Cooperating and regional organisations are groups with a recognised status in the constitution of Liberal International as bodies that share the values and objectives of LI but do not operate as a political party. Co-operating organisations have the right of representation but in no case the right to vote at statutory events. LI has 12 cooperating organizations.
Liberal think tanks and foundations
The International is also in a loose association with the following 10 organisations:
| Organization | Country |
|---|---|
| Centre Jean Gol | Belgium |
| Fondazione Luigi Einaudi | Italy |
| Fondazione Critica Liberale | |
| Liberal Institute | Germany |
| Teldersstichting | Netherlands |
| The Bertil Ohlin Institute | Sweden |
| Education Policy Institute | United Kingdom |
| European Liberal Forum | Europe |
| Livres (movement)[12] | Brazil |
| Paddy Ashdown Forum[13] | United Kingdom |
See also
References
External links
- Liberal International official site
- The Liberal Agenda for the 21st century Archived 7 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Former LI Vice President Bi-khim Hsiao