The Christian Democrats (KrF) have approximately 18 000 members. The party’s highest decision-making body is the National Congress, which is held every second year and consists of members elected from each of the 11 counties in Norway. The Congress elects a leader, two deputy leaders, and five other members to the Central Board, including representatives from the Youth Leauge, the Women’s League and the Parliamentary Group.
National Level
The Central Board meets at least five times a year. The National Board is the party’s highest decision-making body in between each Congress and normally meets three times a year. It consists of the members of the Central Board, the leaders of the 11 counties, the two deputy leaders from the Youth Leauge and the Women’s League, and members of the Parliamentary Group. The National Board and Central Board also have two staff representatives, however, it is customary to refrain from engaging in political discussion, and provide administrative and organizational input.
The Executive Committee consists of the party leader, the deputy leaders, and the leader of the Youth Leauge, the Women’s League, and the Parliamentary Group. The Executive Committee meets regularly and handles strategic issues between each Central Board meeting.
Regional Level
The regional structure of the party consists of 11 units for each county. Each county has a board with a leader and two deputy leaders. The rest of the board in each county is either elected directly or consists of the leaders of the local branches, which are organized at the municipal level. KrF currently has active local branch organizations in approximately 270 of Norway’s 356 municipalities. The local branches are chaired by a local branch leader, who leads 4-5 ordinary board members. The local branches of the party have regular contact with the local party members and support any elected officials KrF might have in the area with political input and suggestions.
International Level
KrF is an observer-member of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political party in the European Parliament. Even though KrF does not support Norwegian membership in the European Union, we believe that European cooperation is critical to solving the greatest challenges of our time. The EPP is a Christian Democratic party, and our membership here enables us to follow important policy debates at the European level while gaining greater political resources to develop Christian Democratic policy here in Norway.
KrF is also a Centrist Democrats International, the international umbrella organization for all centrist and Christian Democratic parties around the globe. Additionally, KrF partners closely with our sister parties in the Nordic countries.
International Democracy Assistance
KrF has an active democracy promotion program with partners from multiple countries. We work as a neutral and nonpartisan actor with political actors from across the political spectrum to support democratic development. Through facilitating an exchange of knowledge and experience, our goal is to contribute to strengthening democratic processes in the countries where we work. Read more about our current projects here.