Leader Margus Tsahkna Membership (2014) 9,781 | Founded 4 June 2006 | |
Merger of Pro Patria Union and
Res Publica Headquarters Paldiski mnt 13, Tallinn Ideology Christian democracy
National conservatism
Conservatism | ||
Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (Estonian: Isamaa ja Res Publica Liit, IRL) is a conservative political party in Estonia. It was founded on 4 June 2006 when two conservative parties, Pro Patria Union and Res Publica Party merged. Up to the 2007 parliamentary elections, the party held 32 seats out of 101 in the Riigikogu (the Estonian parliament) and one of Estonia's six seats in the European Parliament. The party is a member of the European People's Party (EPP). It has about 8,500 members. The merged party consisted of two separate boards and two party leaders, which was replaced by a unified board and leader in May 2007. The party's prime minister candidate was Mart Laar, who became a chairman of the party.
Contents
Pre-foundation
Prior to the merger, there was an extreme drop in public support for Res Publica after the government led by Juhan Parts was forced to step down, and Pro Patria had also been relatively marginalized after the fall of their own governing coalition. There was also concern among conservatives about splitting the vote between two parties with largely similar ideologies and being unable to oppose the much more cohesive left wing electorate, which was mostly rallied behind the Centre Party. On 4 April 2006, representatives from the Pro Patria Union and Res Publica decided to merge the two parties, which took place officially on 4 June 2006. Although originally the name For Estonia (Eesti Eest) was considered for the newly formed party, it was rejected and the provisional name has been used to date.
On 15 November 2006 the parties were officially merged as Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (Erakond Isamaa ja Res Publica Liit).