 | This article contains promotional content. (April 2022) |
Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit | |
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| Formation | 1958 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Theodor Heuss |
| Legal status | Foundation (nonprofit) |
| Purpose | The work of the foundation shall be based on the principles of Liberalism. It shall be nonprofit in nature. |
| Location | |
Chairperson | Karl-Heinz Paque |
| Website | Freiheit.org |
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (German: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit) (FNF), is a German foundation for liberal politics, related to the Free Democratic Party and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Established in 1958 by Theodor Heuss, the first president of the Federal Republic of Germany, it promotes individual freedom and classical liberalism. Usually still referred to as the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung), the foundation supplemented its name in 2007 with the words "for Freedom" (für die Freiheit).
The foundation follows the ideals of the Protestant theologian, Friedrich Naumann. At the beginning of the last century, Naumann was a leading German liberal thinker and politician. He resolutely backed the idea of civic education. Naumann believed that a functioning democracy needs politically informed and educated citizens. According to him, civic education is a prerequisite for political participation and thus for democracy.
The foundation is an agent of organized liberalism. It promotes this through civic education, international political dialogues, and political counselling. The foundation has numerous offices in Europe, Africa, America, and Asia. It also has close links to Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Liberal International (LI).
The foundation's activities in the field of civic education consist of seminars, conferences and publications aimed at promoting liberal values and principles. The international political dialogue program provides a discussion forum for a wide range of liberal issues. The foundation's counselling programs focus on candidates for political office, liberal political parties and other democratic organizations.