The ('''''Senterpartiet''''', '''Sp''') is a
Centrist Norwegian Political Party founded in
1920 . Until
1959 it bore the name ''Bondepartiet'' ("The Farmers' Party"). The Centre Party's policy is not based on any of the great ideologies of the 19th and 20th century, but has a focus on maintaining decentralized economic development and political decision-making.
Since 1972, it has maintained a principled opposition to Norwegian membership in the
European Union .
The party has supported both Socialist and non-Socialist coalition governments; between 1930 and 2000 the Centre Party has participated in seven governments, three of which were led by a Prime Minister from the party. Still, until 2005, the party had joined only non-socialist governments.
During the eight decades since the Centre Party was created as a political fraction of a Norwegian agrarian organization, the party has changed a great deal. Only few years after the creation the party broke with its mother organization and started developing a policy based on
Decentralization , moving away from a single-minded agrarian policy, like that which has trapped many other European Centre Parties' conduct.
The Centre Party's current leader is
Åslaug Haga (since
2003 ).
In the
2005 Parliamentary Election the party ran for government together with the
Norwegian Labour Party (''Arbeiderpartiet'', Ap) and the
Socialist Left Party (SV), with the Centre Party constituting the "green part" of that
Red-Green Coalition . The coalition was successful in winning the majority of the seats in the
Storting , and negotiations followed with the aim of forming a coalition cabinet led by the Labour Party's leader
Jens Stoltenberg . These negotiations succeeded and the Centre Party entered the cabinet on
October 17 2005 with four ministers.
Governments led by Centre Party Prime Ministers:
- The Government of Lars Korvald (KrF), 1972–73 (coalition of KrF, Sp, and V)
- The Government of Kåre Willoch (H), 1983–86 (coalition of H, KrF, and Sp)
- The Government of Jan P. Syse (H), 1989–90, (coalition of H, KrF, and Sp)
- The first Government of Kjell Magne Bondevik (KrF), 1997–2000 (minority gov't coalition of KrF, Sp, and V)
- The second Government of Jens Stoltenberg (Ap), 2005–present (coalition of Ap , Sp and SV)
