The (''Centerpartiet'') is a
Political Party in
Sweden . The party maintains close ties to rural Sweden. The ideology is sometimes called
Agrarian , but in a
Europe an context, the Centre Party can perhaps best be characterized as
Social Liberal focusing on
Agricultural ,
Environmental , and
Rural questions. Longterm key issues have been opposition to
Nuclear Power and proposals to
Decentralize governmental authority.
The party was founded in
1913 as ''Bondeförbundet'' (Farmers' League). In
1922 it merged with ''
Jordbrukarnas Riksförbund '' (National Farmers Union).
The name of the party changed from ''Bondeförbundet'' in
1957 . It had then been the closest ally of the
Social Democrats for 25 years, and
Coalition partners
1936 –
1945 as well as
1951 –
1957 , but has since revised this strategy in order to establish a closer longterm alliance between the non-
Socialist (Swedish borgerlig, lit. "bourgeois") parties, that succeeded the Social Democratic cabinets
1976 –
1982 and
1991 –
1994 . The Swedish Prime Minister
Torbjörn Fälldin was the leader of the Centre Party.
While the party was once a major force in Swedish politics, it has since declined and is now the sixth-largest (and second-smallest) party in the
Riksdag .
Many of the voters come from rural areas and quite a few are farmers or small businessmen.
