The story
The Conservative Party of Norway (Høire, now spelled Høyre, lit. "The Right") was founded in 1884 after the implementation of parliamentarism in Norway. The jurist Emil Stang was elected the first chairman of the party. Stang underlined important principles for the work in Høyre. The party was to be a social party of reforms that worked within the constitutional frames set by a parliamentary democracy.
Høyre's electoral support has varied. In the 1981 election it obtained 31.7%, its best result since 1924. The result in 1993 was 17%, which saw the election influenced by the EU membership issue which divided the Liberal Party. The 1997 parliamentary election resulted in the lowest support for Høyre since 1945, with only 14.3% of the votes. Since then it has seen support ranging from just over 14% to just under 27%.
Early 1900s
In the beginning of the 20th century, Høyre took the initiative to construct a modern Norwegian communications network. After the devastating First World War the party felt it important to work for the reconstruction of sound economic policies. An example of this is the resolution Høyre passed in 1923 introducing old-age insurance; owing to the condition of the state's finances it was not possible to continue this effort. It was the leading party in opposition during the post-war years in Norway, and fought against the Labour Party's regulating policy. Høyre wanted another future for Norway, consisting of private initiative and creative forces.
Høyre has been active in the construction of the welfare system in Norway, and has on several occasions taken the initiative to correct injustices in social care regulations. Additionally, Høyre has advocated that the state's activity must concentrate on its basic problems and their solutions.
Post-war years
During Norway's post-war years Høyre has consolidated its position as a party with appeal to all parts of the nation. Non-socialist co-operation as an alternative to socialism has always been one of Høyre's main aims. Høyre has led several coalition governments.The Christian Democratic Party was one of Høyre's coalition partners both in 1983-86 and 1989-90.
The party strongly supported the Western alignment of Norway during the Cold War; it strongly supports NATO, which Norway co-founded in 1949, and has consistently been the most outspokenly pro-European Union party in Norway, supporting Norwegian membership during both the referendum of 1972 and that of 1994.
At the parliamentary election in 1993, it was impossible to present a credible non-socialist government alternative, because Høyre's former coalition parties, The Christian Democrats and the Centre Party, both campaigned strongly against Norwegian membership of the EU.
Before the parliamentary election in 1997 the Labour Party proclaimed that it would not be willing to govern the country if it did not obtain more than 36.9% of the votes. In the event it obtained 35%, and other parties had to form a government. Originally, there were serious discussions between Høyre, the Christian Democrats and Venstre concerning this task, but in the end the two latter parties joined forces with the Centre Party to create a minority government without Høyre.
Read the full text
Today
In the parliamentary election in September 2001, Høyre obtained 21.2 percent of the votes. After a series of discussions Høyre was once again able to take part in a coalition government, this time with the Christian Democratic Party (KrF), and the Liberal Party (V). The total percentage obtained for these three parties at last general election was 37.5. Høyre, as the largest party in the coalition government, had 38 members in the present Storting, and 10 of the 19 ministers in the Government were Høyre representatives. Høyre's three focal areas this period were to establish a rise in quality in Norway's educational system, lower taxes and produce a higher service level in state sectors.
In the 2005 parliamentary election, Høyre obtained 14.1% of the votes. The election outcome put Høyre back in opposition, and the party got 23 members in the present Storting.
In the 2009 parliamentary election, Høyre obtained 17.2% of the votes, and 30 members in the present Storting.
During the local elections of 2011, however, the party gained 27.6 percent of the vote, and it has since then, without exceptions, polled first and second.
In the 2013 parliamentary election, Høyre obtained 26.8 percent of the votes, and 48 members in the present Storting. Høyre formed a minority government, with confidence and supply from KrF and V. The Government was reelected in 2017 and became a majority Government in 2019. In the 2021 election, centre-left parties won the majority of seats and Solberg conceded defeat. The party's downward trend continued in the 2025 parliamentary election, where the Labour Party and their allies won with a reduced majority. Despite the left-of-centre bloc losing seats on aggregate, the Conservatives were pushed into third place, losing 12 seats. The party was displaced as the main right-of-centre party by the Progress Party, which won 47 seats to the Conservatives' 24. Solberg later indicated her intention to resign as Conservative leader as a result of the party's poor showing; she remained as party leader until a successor (Ine Eriksen Søreide) was elected at the 2026 party conference.
From Wikipedia’s article on Conservative Party (Norway), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5