View source for Liberal Democratic Union (Albania)

{{other uses|Bashkimi (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox Political Party
| country          = Albania
| name             = Liberal Democratic Union
| native_name      = Bashkimi Liberal Demokrat
| logo             = Liberal Democratic Union (Bashkimi Liberal Demokrat).jpg
| leader           = Arian Starova
| colorcode        = #0097F0
| foundation       = 1995
| ideology         = {{ubl|class=nowrap|
 |[[Liberalism]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://parties-and-elections.eu/albania.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401134713/http://parties-and-elections.eu/albania.html|archivedate=1 April 2012|url-status=dead|title=Albania|last=Nordsieck|first=Wolfram|website=Parties and Elections in Europe|year=2009}}</ref>
 |[[Social democracy]]}}
| position         = [[Centrism|Centre]]
| international    = 
| national         = [[Alliance for a Great Albania]]
| european         = 
| europarl         = 
| colours          = Aqua (Light Blue), White
| headquarters     = 
| newspaper        = 
| website          = 
}}
{{Politics of Albania}}
The '''Liberal Democratic Union''' ({{Langx|sq|Bashkimi Liberal Demokrat}}) is a [[list of political parties in Albania|political party]] in [[Albania]].

==History==
It was founded in 1995 with the name Social Democratic Union of Albania.<ref>{{cite book|author=Tom Lansford|title=Political Handbook of the World 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iC_VBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|accessdate=5 May 2016|date=20 March 2014|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4833-8626-3|page=24}}</ref> The party began as a breakaway faction of the [[Social Democratic Party of Albania]]. The break-away was motivated by the Social Democratic Party leaving the governing coalition with the Democratic Party and the desire of some members to maintain their ministerial posts or other high governmental appointments. Initially, the break-away faction, consisting of those wanting to keep their posts, was known as the Social Democratic Union, later changing its name to the Liberal Democratic Union.

In the 2001 elections it was part of the [[Union for Victory]] (''Bashkimi për Fitoren'') coalition which received 37.1% of the vote and 46 members of parliament.<ref name="Bugajski">{{cite book |last1=Bugajski |first1=Janusz |title=Political Parties of Eastern Europe: A Guide to Politics in the Post-Communist Era |date=2002 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=9781563246760 |page=716 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9gGKtLTQlUcC}}</ref> On its own, the Liberal Democratic Union consistently has received under 1% of the vote in general elections.

In the 2005 elections, BLD was part of the Alliance for Freedom, Justice, and Welfare. BLD won one seat through the proportional quota of the [[Democratic Party of Albania]]. It did not itself receive sufficient votes for any representation in Parliament.

==See also==
*[[Liberalism]]
*[[Contributions to liberal theory]]
*[[Liberalism worldwide]]
*[[List of liberal parties]]
*[[Liberal democracy]]
*[[Liberalism in Albania]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120201151753/http://bld.org.al/kush_jemi.html ''Bashkimi Liberal Demokrat'']
{{Albanian political parties}}

[[Category:1995 establishments in Albania]]
[[Category:Centrist parties in Albania]]
[[Category:Liberal parties in Albania]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1995]]
[[Category:Political parties in Albania]]
[[Category:Social democratic parties in Albania]]


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