Armenian Democratic Liberal Party

The Armenian Democratic Liberal Party was formed on 1 October 1921 by the union of four existing parties.¹ One was the Armenakan Party, founded at Van in 1885. Another was the Armenian Constitutional Democratic Party, founded in Constantinople in 1908 after the Young Turk revolution.² Its members are called Ramgavars, from the Armenian word for democrats.²

The party regarded itself as the guardian of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the defender of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin. In the diaspora it worked to keep Armenians outside Armenia in touch with the homeland through the Soviet years. Its sister organization is the Tekeyan Cultural Association, which supports the Armenian press and Armenian culture.¹