Socialist Left Party (Norway)

The Socialist Left Party (Norwegian: Sosialistisk Venstreparti, SV; Northern Sami: Sosialisttalaš Gurutbellodat) is a democratic socialist political party in Norway. Positioned on the left-wing of the political spectrum, it is opposed to European Union and the European Economic Area membership. SV supports a strong public sector, stronger social welfare programs, environmentalism, and republicanism. As of 2018, the party had 11,385 members; the number has steadily increased since a low point in 2015. The party leader is Kirsti Bergstø, who was elected on 18 March 2023.

The party was founded in 1973 as the Socialist Electoral League, an electoral coalition with the Communist Party of Norway, Socialist People's Party, Democratic Socialists – AIK, and independent socialists. In 1975, the coalition was turned into a unified political party. The party was largely founded as a result of the foreign policies prevalent at the time, with the socialists being opposed to Norwegian membership of the European Communities (which later became the European Union) and of NATO. SV calls for a stronger public sector, a mixed economy, and a strengthening of the social welfare net. While advocating democratic socialism, the party also increasingly profiles itself as a supporter of feminism and environmentalism through eco-socialism.

In the 2005 Norwegian parliamentary election, SV became a governing party for the first time, participating in the red–green coalition with the Labour Party and the Centre Party; before that, it was frequently turned down by the Labour Party. SV was reduced to the seventh-largest party following the 2013 Norwegian parliamentary election, in its worst election on record, but bounced back in the 2017 and 2021 parliamentary elections, although it remained both times at the opposition.