The party was founded in 1948 as a reaction to the islands failing to gain independence despite the outcome of the
1946 independence referendum, after which independence was subsequently declared but annulled by the Danish King. In 1998,
Høgni Hoydal succeeded
Heini O. Heinesen as party leader. During the 20 January 2004
legislative elections, the party won 21.7% of the popular vote and eight out of 33 seats. However, after the passing of an amendment adding the term "sexual orientation" to paragraph 266b of the Anti-Discrimination Act, MP
Karsten Hansen announced that he was leaving the party owing to a difference in opinion. He later joined the
Centre Party. At the elections on 19 January 2008, the party won 23.3% of the vote and eight out of 33 seats. On 14 September 2007, the party changed its name from
Tjóðveldisflokkurin to simply
Tjóðveldi (i.e., from "the Republican Party" to just "Republic"). In the
Danish parliamentary elections of 2007, the party received 25.4% of the Faroese vote, thereby retaining one of the two Faroese seats in the Danish national
Folketing. In
the 2011 election, however, its votes declined and it lost its seat to the
Social Democrats. It regained its seat in
the 2015 election, then lost it again in
the 2019 election. Republic would not re-gain a seat in the Folketing in the
2022 or
2026 elections thereafter, with 2026 seeing its vote percentage reduced to its lowest level since 1994 (though its size in the Faroese
Løgting would remain unchanged). == Leaders ==