{{Short description|Political party in the German Empire}} {{Infobox political party | name = German Free-minded Party | native_name = Deutsche Freisinnige Partei | colorcode = {{party color|German Free-minded Party}} | leader1_title = Chairman of the Central Committee | leader1_name = [[Franz August Schenk von Stauffenberg|Franz von Stauffenberg]]<br />(1884–1893) | leader2_title = Chairman of the Executive Committee | leader2_name = [[Rudolf Virchow]]<br />(1884–1893) | leader3_title = Chairman of the Select Committee | leader3_name = [[Eugen Richter]] (1884–1890)<br />[[Karl Schrader (jurist)|Karl Schrader]] (1890)<br />Eugen Richter (1890–1893) | founded = {{start date and age|1884|03|05|df=yes}} | dissolved = {{end date and age|1893|05|07|df=yes}} | merger = [[German Progress Party]]<br />[[Liberal Union (Germany)|Liberal Union]] | successor = [[Free-minded People's Party (Germany)|Free-minded People's Party]]<br />[[Free-minded Union]] | newspaper = {{nowrap|''Parlamentarische Korrespondenz''}} | ideology = [[Liberalism]] ([[Liberalism in Germany|German]])<br />[[Radicalism (historical)|Radicalism]] | position = [[Left-wing politics|Left-wing]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Sheehan |first=James J. |title=German Liberalism in the Nineteenth Century |date=1995 |publisher=Humanities Press |pages=219, 248}}</ref> | colours = {{color box|{{party color|German Free-minded Party}}|border=darkgray}} [[Yellow]] | country = Germany }}
The '''German Free-minded Party''' ({{langx|de|Deutsche Freisinnige Partei}}, '''DFP''') or '''German Radical Party'''<ref>{{cite book|first=Gary|last=Bonham|title=Ideology and Interests in the German State|publisher=Routledge|year=1991|page=72}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=James|last=Retallack|title=Antisocialism and Electoral Politics in Regional Perspective: The Kingdom of Saxony|work=Elections, Mass Politics and Social Change in Modern Germany: New Perspectives|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1992|page=62}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Katharine Anne|last=Lerman|title=Bismarck|publisher=Pearson|year=2004|page=199}}</ref> was a short-lived [[Liberalism in Germany|liberal]] [[Political party|party]] in the [[German Empire]], founded on 5 March 1884 as a result of the merger of the [[German Progress Party]] and the [[Liberal Union (Germany)|Liberal Union]], an 1880 split-off of the [[National Liberal Party (Germany)|National Liberal Party]].
== Policies == The economists [[Ludwig Bamberger]] and [[Georg von Siemens]] as well as the [[Liberalism|liberal]] politician [[Eugen Richter]] were among the prime movers of the merger in the view of the forthcoming accession of the considered liberal Crown Prince [[Frederick III, German Emperor|Frederick William]] to the throne (which took place only in 1888). Richter aspired to build up a strong united liberal force in the [[Reichstag (German Empire)|Reichstag]] parliament, similar to the British [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] under [[William Ewart Gladstone]]. The Free-minded Party supported the expansion of [[Parliamentary system|parliamentarism]] in the German [[constitutional monarchy]], [[separation of church and state]] and [[History of the Jews in Germany|Jewish emancipation]].
Under party chairman Franz August Schenk von Stauffenberg along with his deputies [[Albert Hänel]] and [[Rudolf Virchow]], the Free-minded Party received disappointing 17.6% of the votes in the [[1884 German federal election|1884 federal election]], representing a drop of 3.6% from the combined parties' results in the previous [[1881 German federal election|1881 federal election]]. The main beneficiaries of this defection were the [[German Conservative Party|Conservative]] forces, supporting the [[Protectionism|protectionist]], [[German colonial empire|colonialist]] and [[Anti-Socialist Laws|anti-socialist]] policies of [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] [[Otto von Bismarck]]. In the [[1887 German federal election|1887 federal election]], the party again lost half of their seats, falling to 32 Reichstag mandates. Though urged by his wife [[Victoria, Princess Royal|Princess Royal Victoria]], Crown Prince Frederick William did not dare court trouble with Bismarck by openly taking the party's side. His early death in 1888 and the accession of his son [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|William II]] terminated all liberal hopes.
During the decline in support, the differences between [[Progressivism|progressives]] and [[Conservative liberalism|centre-right liberals]] became irreconcilable. Upon Bismarck's death in 1890, the parties lost their common adversary. In 1893, the Free-minded Party split in conflict over Chancellor [[Leo von Caprivi]]'s policies into the [[Free-minded People's Party (Germany)|Free-minded People's Party]] and the [[Free-minded Union]]. A re-union took place in 1910, when both further weakened liberal parties merged with the [[German People's Party (1868)|German People's Party]] to form the [[Progressive People's Party (Germany)|Progressive People's Party]].
== Notable members == [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 147-0936, Reichstag, Deutsche Freisinnige Gruppe.jpg|thumb|Members of the Free-minded Party at the Reichstag foyer, 1889, [[Heinrich Berling]], [[Erwin Lüders]], [[Philipp Schmieder]], [[Moritz Klotz]], [[Adolph Hoffmann (judge)|Adolph Hoffmann]], [[Max von Forckenbeck]], [[Paul Kohli]], [[Alexander Meyer (politician)|Alexander Meyer]], [[Paul Langerhans (politician)|Paul Langerhans]], [[Albert Traeger]], [[Julius Lerche]], [[Friedrich Witte]], [[Georg von Siemens]], [[August Munckel]], [[Eugen Richter]], [[August Maager]], [[Asmus Lorenzen]], [[Friedrich Schenck]], [[Johann Heinrich Nickel]], [[Reinhart Schmidt]], [[Max Broemel]].]]
* [[Ludwig Bamberger]] * [[Theodor Barth]] * [[Max von Forckenbeck]] * [[Albert Hänel]] * [[Max Hirsch (labor economist)|Max Hirsch]] * [[Albert Kalthoff]] * [[Ludwig Loewe]] * [[Theodor Mommsen]] * [[Eugen Richter]] * [[Heinrich Edwin Rickert]] * [[Georg von Siemens]] * [[Rudolf Virchow]] * [[Ludwig Büchner]]
== See also== * [[Contributions to liberal theory]] * [[Liberal democracy]] * [[Liberalism]] * [[Liberalism in Germany]] * [[Liberalism worldwide]] * [[List of liberal parties]]
== References == {{cite book|last=Tillich|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Tillich|author2=Translated by Franklin Sherman|title=The Socialist Decision|publisher=Harper & Row|year=1957|page=57}} {{reflist}} {{Commons category|Deutsche Freisinnige Partei}} {{S-start}} {{S-bef|before=[[German Progress Party]]}} {{S-ttl|rows=2|title=liberal German parties|years=1884–1893}} {{S-aft|after=[[Free-minded People's Party (Germany)|Free-minded People's Party]]}} {{S-bef|before=[[Liberal Union (Germany)|Liberal Union]]}} {{S-aft|after=[[Free-minded Union]]}} {{S-end}} {{German Empire political parties}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Defunct liberal political parties|Germany 1884]] [[Category:Defunct political parties in Germany]] [[Category:Political parties established in 1884]] [[Category:Liberal parties in Germany]] [[Category:Radical parties]] [[Category:Political parties in the German Empire]] [[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1893]] [[Category:1884 establishments in Germany]]