Free Anti Revolutionary Party

The Free Anti Revolutionary Party (in Dutch: Vrij-Antirevolutionaire Partij, VAR) was a Dutch conservative Reformed political party, which existed from 1898 to 1903. The VAR is historically linked to the Christian Democratic Appeal which is currently one of the major parties of the Netherlands.

The VAR was founded as one of several parties that were founded in the 1890s, which all turned against the leadership and ideology of Abraham Kuyper, the leader of the Protestant Anti Revolutionary Party. Kuyper had initiated a new political course for Protestantism in the Netherlands, which included cooperation with the Catholics, in the coalition, strategical support for extension of suffrage a rejection of theocracy in favour of a specific conception of state neutrality, sphere sovereignty and a strong party organization and party discipline. The opposition against Kuyper was led by Alexander de Savorin Lohman.

The elections of 1894 proved decisive. An important issue in the election was the extension of suffrage proposed by the Minister of the Interior Johannes Tak van Poortvliet. After the election two anti-revolutionary parliamentary parties were formed one, led by Kuyper favoured the suffrage which was backed by the ARP, while the other led by De Savorin Lohman rejected it. With De Savorin Lohman many aristocrats and noblemen left the ARP, as did adherents of the Dutch Reformed Church, as opposed to the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which was founded by Kuyper himself. The group around De Savorin Lohman sought to found a new party. In 1896 they set up a commission to found a new party. In September 1898 the Free Anti Revolutionary Party was founded.

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