TheGreen National Convention is thepresidential nominating convention of theGreen Party of the United States (GPUS). Though theGreen National Committee (GNC) meets annually in a "national meeting", the convention is convened by the GNC once every four years in order to nominate an official candidate in the upcomingU.S. presidential election, and to officially adopt the party platform and rules for the election cycle.

The convention signals the end of theprimary season for Greens, and the start of campaigning for the general election of that year; as such, prominent Greens in state and local races are also spotlighted in order to give them the publicity that the convention affords. In contrast to theRepublican andDemocratic National Conventions, the convention is not merely a formality which endorses the will of the electorate in the primaries, but the final determinant for the nomination. This is becauseballot access laws in many states prohibit the Green Party from holding a state-sponsored primary election—only five states were able to meet the requirements in 2004—and others prevent voters from actually registering into the party, thus making it difficult to credential Greens.

The leadership of the first nationwide Green organization in the United States, The Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA), were generally opposed to an entry into electoral politics. Thus, the G/GPUSA's national meeting inAlbuquerque, New Mexico, in 1995 ended with a resolution not to nominate a candidate for the1996 election. This resolution was countered by a group of Greens interested in a run by consumer advocateRalph Nader, who met inLos Angeles in 1996 to nominate Nader forpresident andWinona LaDuke forvice president. Although possibly lacking official sanction, this was the first nominating convention of the Green Party in the United States, and the only one with which the G/GPUSA, if only certain members, was at all involved.

Following the general election in 1996, several state Green Parties formed the Association of State Green Parties (ASGP).^[1] As such, they met inDenver, Colorado, in 2000 to once again nominate Nader and LaDuke.^[2]

In 2001, the ASGP formally adopted the nameGreen Party of the United States, and was recognized by theFederal Election Commission as the official National Committee of the Green Party. The first convention under that name, inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2004, was not without controversy. Nader decided to forgo the Green nomination in favor of asking for an "endorsement" of his independent candidacy; the Greens instead nominatedDavid Cobb for president on the second ballot from among a number of candidates, many of whom were "favorite sons", running as placeholders for Nader.Pat LaMarche was named the vice presidential candidate.

The following is a list ofUnited StatesGreen Partypresidential nominating conventions.

¹ The 1996 meeting was not an official meeting ofThe Greens/Green Party USA, which had officially voted to nominate no candidate inAlbuquerque in 1995.
² Convened by the Association of State Green Parties, later to be renamed theGreen Party of the United States.

In addition to the presidential nominating convention, there is a national meeting in all other years for the party. During the era of the Association of State Green Parties, separate annual meetings were held in the same year of presidential conventions. Since 2004, the presidential convention has consolidated annual meetings during presidential election years.^[11]

• Green National Committee
• Democratic National Convention
• Libertarian National Convention
• Republican National Convention

• Green Party of the United States National Conventions

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