Politics of Hesse

The politics of Hesse takes place within a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the Federal Government of Germany exercises sovereign rights with certain powers reserved to the states of Germany including Hesse. The state has a multi-party system where, as in most other states of former Western Germany and the federal level, the three main parties are the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), and the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Governments of Hesse

The governments and ministers-President (Ministerpräsidenten) of the People's State of Hesse during the time of the Weimar Republic were:

1919–1928: Center-right government, an SPD–DDP–Zentrum coalition led by Carl Ulrich (SPD) as minister-president
1928–1933: Center-right government, an SPD–DDP–Zentrum coalition led by Bernhard Adelung (SPD) as minister-president

The governments of the National Socialist era:

1933: National Socialist government with Ferdinand Werner (NSDAP) as minister-president
1933–1935: National Socialist government with Philipp Wilhelm Jung (NSDAP) as minister-president
1935–1945: National Socialist government with Jakob Sprenger (NSDAP) as minister-president

The governments and minister-Presidents of Hesse since the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany:

1945: Military occupation provisional government led by Ludwig Bergsträsser(SPD), appointed by the U.S. Military
1945–1946: Military occupation provisional government led by Karl Geiler (no party), appointed by the U.S. military
1946–1950: Theoretically a CDU–SPD grand coalition with Christian Stock (SPD) as minister-president, though U.S. Military Occupation remained through 1949.
1950–1969: First truly non-military government of the Federal Republic, led by Georg-August Zinn (SPD), whose SPD ruled in coalition with the All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights, a party of expelled eastern Germans whose political goal was to retrieve their homelands (heimatlaender); and also with the League of Expellees' successors party the Gesamtdeutsche Partei.
1969–1976: Center-left government of the SPD-FDP, with Albert Osswald (SPD) as minister-president
1976–1982: Center-left government of the SPD-FDP continued with Holger Börner (SPD) as minister-president.
1982–1984: Center-left government of the SPD (single party rule) with Holger Börner (SPD) as minister-president.
1984–1987: Center-left government of the SPD–Greens with Holger Börner (SPD) as minister-president.
1987–1991: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Walter Wallmann (CDU) as minister-president.
1991–1999: Center-left government of the SPD–Greens with Hans Eichel (SPD) as minister-president.
1999–2003: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Roland Koch (CDU) as minister-president.
2003–2009: Center-right government of the CDU (single party rule) with Roland Koch (CDU) as minister-president.
2009–2010: Center-right government of the CDU-FDP with Roland Koch (CDU) as minister-president.
2010–2014: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Volker Bouffier (CDU) as minister-president.
2014–2019: Center-right government of the CDU–Greens with Volker Bouffier (CDU) as minister-president.
2019–2022: Center-right government of the CDU–Greens with Volker Bouffier (CDU) as minister-president. Bouffier resigned in 2022, thus prematurely ending his third term serving as minister-president.
2022–present: Center-right government of the CDU–Greens with Boris Rhein (CDU) as minister-president.^[1]

Since 1950, the SPD has been in the Hesse government 45 years, the CDU for 28 years; the FDP acted as coalition partners with either CDU or SPD for 21 years (13 with SPD, 8 with CDU).

Landtag of Hesse

Party Strength in Landtag

Election year	Total seats	Seats won ^[2]
		SPD	CDU	FDP	GB/BHE	Grüne	Linke	AfD	Other

Dec 1946	90	38	28	14					10 ^[a]
1950	80	47	12	21		A90
1954	96	44	24	21	7
1958	96	48	32	9	7
1962	96	51	28	11	6
1966	96	52	26	10					8 ^[b]
1970	110	53	46	11
1974	110	49	53	8
1978	110	50	53	7
1982	110	49	52			9
1983	110	51	44	8		7
1987	110	44	47	9		10
1991	110	46	46	8		10
1995	110	44	45	8		13
1999	110	46	50	6		8
2003	110	33	56	9		12
2008	110	42	42	11		9	6
2009	118	29	46	20		17	6
2013	110	37	47	6		14	6
2018	137	29	40	11		29	9	19
2023	133	23	52	8		22		28

State Landtag Compositions

1st Landtag, following December 1946 election
2nd Landtag, following 1950 election
3rd Landtag, following 1954 election
4th Landtag, following 1958 election
5th Landtag, following 1962 election
6th Landtag, following 1966 election
7th Landtag, following 1970 election
8th Landtag, following 1974 election
9th Landtag, following 1978 election
10th Landtag, following 1982 election
11th Landtag, following 1983 election
12th Landtag, following 1987 election
13th Landtag, following 1991 election
14th Landtag, following 1995 election
15th Landtag, following 1999 election
16th Landtag, following 2003 election
17th Landtag, following 2008 election
18th Landtag, following 2009 election
19th Landtag, following 2013 election
20th Landtag, following 2018 election
21st Landtag, following 2023 election

State Election Results Maps

Constituencies in the Landtag

Constituencies in the Bundestag

References

^ "Landtag – Wechsel an Regierungsspitze: Boris Rhein Ministerpräsident". www.zeit.de. Archived from the original on 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
^ https://hessischer-landtag.de/landtagswahlen

^ KPD
^ NDP

[1] "Landtag – Wechsel an Regierungsspitze: Boris Rhein Ministerpräsident". www.zeit.de. Archived from the original on 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2023-08-14.

[2] ttps://hessischer-landtag.de/landtagswahlen

[3] KPD

[4] NDP

[1]

[2]

[a]

[b]

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