Founded in 1917, the party was the most influential conservative party in Latvia in the period from Independence in 1918 until the self-coup led by Kārlis Ulmanis in 1934, and the second most popular party overall after the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party. Ulmanis, who was a member of the party, banned all political parties after his coup including the LZS. As Latvia was subsequently occupied during the course of the Second World War, the party was dormant until it reformed in 1990 when Latvia regained its independence. Immediately after the restoration of independence, there existed several groups competing at elections to claim the legacy of the pre-war LZS. Since 2002 it has been part of the Union of Greens and Farmers ("ZZS") coalition, along with the Latvian Green Party. The coalition now includes For Latvia and Ventspils and the Liepāja Party, who have cooperation agreements with the party allowing their members to be elected to the Saeima on the list of the Union of Greens and Farmers. The coalition faction is currently the third largest in the Saeima and the LZS has 9 out of the 21 seats it holds. Since May 2014 the party has had one member of the European Parliament, Iveta Grigule, who sits with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats group, having previously sat with the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group and as a Non-Attached Member.