Association of Free Democrats

Association of Free Democrats

Bund Freier Demokraten
Association of Free Democrats Bund Freier Demokraten
Leader	Jürgen Schmieder
Parliamentary leader	Rainer Ortleb (The Liberal group)
Founded	12 February 1990 (as electoral coalition); 27 March 1990 (as party)
Dissolved	27 March 1990 (as electoral coalition); 12 August 1990 (as party)
Merged into	Free Democratic Party
Ideology	Liberalism
Political position	Centre to centre-right
Member parties	Liberal Democratic Party; Free Democratic Party (East Germany); German Forum Party; National-Democratic Party (after 27 March 1990)
Slogan	"Freedom needs Work."; (German: "Freiheit braucht Leistung."); "You've had the left. You don't want the right. Vote for the strong center."; (German: "Links hatten Sie. Rechts wollen Sie nicht. Wählen Sie die starke Mitte.")
	Politics of East Germany; Elections;

The Association of Free Democrats (German: Bund Freier Demokraten) was a liberal electoral coalition, later party, formed in East Germany on 12 February 1990. It originally consisted of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Free Democratic Party (East Germany) and the German Forum Party. In the Volkskammer election of the 18 March 1990 the Association of Free Democrats, heavily supported by the West German Free Democratic Party, polled 5.28% of the votes and gained 21 seats, all parties running on the same lists. Most of the seats went to Liberal Democratic Party members, whose leader Rainer Ortleb became their parliamentary leader. It then participated in the last GDR government led by Lothar de Maizière.

On 27 March 1990, the Liberal Democratic Party and the National Democratic Party of Germany, previously excluded from the coalition, merged into the party Association of Free Democrats, leaving their old identity as bloc parties behind. Ortleb was elected chairman, former NDPD leader Wolfgang Rauls became his deputy. Finally, on 11 August 1990 the Association of Free Democrats party, the Free Democratic Party (East Germany) and the German Forum Party merged with the Free Democratic Party.

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v t e Political parties in East Germany
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Parties of the National Front (1950–1989)	Socialist Unity Party of Germany Christian Democratic Union of Germany Liberal Democratic Party of Germany National Democratic Party of Germany (formed in 1948) Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany (formed in 1948)
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Constituent Mass Organizations	Free German Trade Union Federation Free German Youth Democratic Women's Federation of Germany Cultural Association of the GDR Peasants Mutual Aid Association
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