Global Green Party History Chronology - 1985
The Second European Green Congress was held in Dover, England and was attended by more than 600 Greens from 19 countries.
The Congress was scheduled to occur together with the U.K. Greens annual meeting and was opened by Sara Parkin, then U.K. Green International Liaison Secretary. German Green co-founder and Member of West German Parliament Petra Kelly also addressed the Congress, making a strong plea for eco-feminism as a key part of the Green agenda.
It was during this same weekend that the U.K. Greens changed their name from the Ecology Party to the Green Party, after two previous attempts had failed.
As Pekka Haavisto (Finland), who would later become co-spokesperson of the European Greens recalled, “The 1985 Dover congress was a great gathering since you could find ‘all different faces’ of the greens there: those who had already entered the national parliament and those who were very much concentrating on grassroots movements. After the leftist movements, which only concentrated on “how to change the structures of the society”, the fresh green viewpoint was “how to change the way of life in this society”. The green revolution did not have to wait: it could be done immediately.”
June 21: First Green Elected in Ireland
Twenty-three year old Marcus Counihan became the first Green to hold office in Ireland, when he elected to Killarney Urban District Council (UDC) in Kerry. Counihan, who had made his reputation campaigning in relationship to the National Park in Killarney, received 244 first preferences (7% of the vote) and was thus elected.
Counihan served on the UDC until 1988. In 1987 he was the Green candidate from Kerry in the General Election, receiving 708 votes and 2.13%.
Relecting upon his time in office, Counihan said that “the darker side of Irish politics at that time had a part to play in my decision to retire politically. Officially things were done one way, but unofficially things were done another. The tribunals of recent years have shed some light on how politics were carried out in the ‘80s. To be a politician one needs the hide of a rhinoceros and I must admit that it is an attribute that I do not possess.”
September 15: Swedish Greens contest National Elections
Led by party co-spokerspersons Per Gahrton and Ragnhild Pohanka the Swedish Greens contested national elections on September 15th. Earlier in the year they had changed their name in Swedish from Miljöpartiet (Environmental Party) to Miljöpartiet de Gröna, (Environmental Party of the Greens), to emphasize their sister relationship with other Green Parties in Europe.
A comprehensive view with a coherent social and economic policy was developed in the party’s 16 page IdéProgram and the two page Valmanifest.
On Election day, the Greens received 83,645 votes and 1.5% of the vote, down from 1.65% in 1982. However on the local level, Greens won 237 seats on 148 local councils, up from 126 seats on 96 local councils in 1982.
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