FNST

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) is the Foundation for liberal politics. Established in 1958 by Theodor Heuss, the first president of the Federal Republic of Germany, it promotes individual freedom and liberalism.

The Foundation follows the ideals of Friedrich Naumann who at the beginning of the last century was a leading German liberal thinker and politician. He resolutely backed the idea of civic education. Friedrich 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 promotes liberalism in cooperation with its local partners through civic education, international political dialogues, and political counselling. The Foundation has a network of institutes in Germany and also numerous offices in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, America and Asia. It also enjoys close links with Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FDP)  and Liberal International (LI).

While 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.

The following political principles were agreed to by the Board of Directors and approved by the Board of Trustees on September 24, 1993.