Young Left (Sweden)

Infobox Political Youth Organization
name_english = Young Left
name_native = Ung Vänster
colorcode = #E60018

chairperson = Ida Gabrielsson
secretary = Ida Regin
founded = 1903/1970
headquarters = Kungsgatan 84, Stockholm
mother_party = Left Party
international = None; former member of the YCI and WFDY
website = [http://www.ungvanster.se/ www.ungvanster.se]

Young Left ("Ung Vänster") is the youth organization of the Swedish Left Party.

Ideology

It is an organization that organizes the youth of today to fight for socialistic social change. Young Left is a youth organization developed out of the labour movement, with influences from environmentalism, the peace movement and the feminist movement. Young Left work for a communist (i.e. a classless) society, free from oppression, on the basis of marxist and feminist theories. The organization has had various names and political alignments over the years but is continuously characterized by the issues that have been at the centre of its history, such as antifascism, antimilitarism and internationalism. [http://www.ungvanster.se/upload/program/principprogram2005.pdf]

Organization

Young Left work together with and support the Left Party and Vänsterns Studentförbund in their struggle for socialism, but makes on the basis of its own analyses independent decisions regarding organizational and political issues.

History

Young Left was founded in 1903 as "Socialdemokratiska Ungdomsförbundet" (SDUF, Social Democratic Youth League). However, the youth league has clearly attached itself to the left-wing within the Social Democratic Party. At the outbreak of the First World War, the tensions within the party aggravated. In May 1917, the youth league together with the left-wing faction within the party took the initiative to form a new party, "Sverges Socialdemokratiska Vänsterparti" (Social Democratic Left Party of Sweden). SDUF became the youth wing of the new party. SSV joined the Communist International in 1919 and was renamed to "Sveriges Kommunistiska Parti" (Communist Party of Sweden). Following that, SDUF was renamed to "Sveriges Kommunistiska Ungdomförbund" (Young Communist League of Sweden) and became the Swedish section of the Communist Youth International.

In 1952, Democratic Youth was founded on the initiative of the party, in order to be a broader youth movement. Until 1958, SKU and DU existed as parallel organizations. In 1958, the two organizations merged and took the name DU.

In 1967, ultra-left elements took over the organization and broke away to form "Marxist-Leninistiska Kampförbundet" (Marxist-Leninist Struggle League). Reconstruction work started rapidly. In 1970, the organization was re-baptized as "Kommunistisk Ungdom" (Communist Youth). By 1973, there was a national organization in function and, by 1975, an ordinary congress was held.

Young Left have published the Youth Magazine Röd Press since 1982, when Young Left lost the rights of its magazine Stormklockan to the maoist MLK in a trial.

In Sweden, Young Left was one of the many forces behind the large February 15, 2003 anti-war protest.

Chairpersons

*2005- Ida Gabrielsson (Since October 23)
*2004-2005 Tove Fraurud
*2001-2004 Ali Esbati
*1996-2001 Jenny Lindahl Persson
*1993-1996 Jenny Jederlund
*1989-1993 Magnus Blomgren
*1981-1989 Stellan Hermansson
*1975-1981 Lars Johansson
*1973-1975 Bengt Karlsson
*1970-1973 "Spokespersons: Bengt Karlsson, Urban Herlitz"
*1967-1970 Anders Carlberg
*1964-1967 Kjell E Johansson
*1962-1964 Rolf Hagel
*1957-1962 Rolf Utberg (DU)
*1951-1958 Urban Karlsson (SKU)
*19??-1951 Axel Jansson
*?
*1935-1939 Filip Forsberg
*?
*1921-1924 Nils Flyg
*191?-1921 Zeth Höglund
*1908-1909 Per Albin Hansson
*190?-190? Fabian Månsson
*1903-

Name changes

*1903 Sveriges Socialdemokratiska Ungdomsförbund (SDUF, Social Democratic Youth League of Sweden)
*1921 Sveriges Kommunistiska Ungdomsförbund (SKU, Young Communist League of Sweden)
*1958 Demokratisk Ungdom (DU, Democratic Youth)
*1967 Vänsterns Ungdomsförbund (VUF, Youth League of the Left)
*1970 Kommunistisk Ungdom (KU, Communist Youth)
*1991 Ung Vänster (Young Left)

ee also

* Left Party

External links

* [http://www.ungvanster.se Ung Vänster]

References