Free Conservative Party
Free Conservative Party Freikonservative Partei | |
|---|---|
| Founders | Carl Ferdinand von Stumm-Halberg Wilhelm von Kardorff |
| Founded | 28 July 1866 |
| Dissolved | 13 December 1918 |
| Split from | Prussian Conservative Party |
| Succeeded by | DNVP (right-wing factions) DVP (moderate factions) |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Prussia |
| Newspaper | Die Post |
| Ideology | Liberal conservatism Progressive conservatism Political Protestantism East Elbia regionalism German nationalism Agrarianism Conservatism Moderate conservatism Anti-socialism Anti-reactionarism Constitutional Monarchy Protectionism |
| Political position | Centre to centre-right |
| Colors | Sky blue |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in Germany |
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The Free Conservative Party (German: Freikonservative Partei, FKP) was a liberal-conservative political party in Prussia and the German Empire which ran as the German Reich Party (German: Deutsche Reichspartei, DRP) in the federal elections to the Reichstag beginning in 1871.
The party was formed when it split from the Prussian Conservative Party in 1866. It was a minimally organized "party of notables" whose members came largely from the wealthier upper classes. Politically, the Free Conservatives stood between the German Conservative Party and the National Liberal Party. During the chancellorship of Otto von Bismarck, it generally gave him its strong support, and many of its members were ministers and diplomats. After Wilhelm II became emperor in 1888, the party lost a significant portion of its earlier strength. It took a staunchly nationalist stance during World War I and disbanded in 1918 during the early weeks of the German revolution. The majority of its members then joined the right-wing German National People's Party.