The Berlin House of Representatives ( () is the state parliament (Landtag) of Berlin, Germany according to the city-state's constitution. In 1993, the parliament moved from Rathaus Schöneberg to its present house on Niederkirchnerstraße in Mitte, which from 1899 until 1934 was the seat of the Prussian House of Representatives. The current president of the parliament is Cornelia Seibeld (CDU).
History
The House of Representatives was established by the new constitution of West Berlin in 1951. It replaced the former city legislature called Stadtverordnetenversammlung (city deputies assembly), established by the Prussian Reforms in 1808 and re-established by Allied-initiated state elections of 1946.
Between 1951 and 1990 the House of Representatives was a parliament of restricted autonomy, since the Allied Control Council required that all its legislation and its elections, such as those of mayors and the senators (then still elected and not yet appointed by the mayor), be subject to Western Allied confirmation or rejection. After reunification the House of Representatives continued to be the parliament of united Berlin.
Elections
The parliament of Berlin is chosen every five years in a general, free, secret and direct ballot according to the principle of proportional representation. It consists of at least 130 representatives, 78 chosen directly in the electoral districts of the Berlin boroughs, and 52 indirectly from land or district lists. If a party wins more constituency seats than its overall share of the vote, the overall size of the House of Representatives increases because of these overhang mandates.
The current distribution of seats as of the re-run 2023 election (compared to the 2021 election) is: Christian Democratic Union (CDU): 52 seats (+22) Social Democratic Party (SPD): 34 seats (−2) Alliance 90/The Greens: 34 seats (+2) The Left: 22 seats (−2) Alternative for Germany (AfD): 17 (+4)
In 2023, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) failed to reach the 5% bar and so was not eligible for representation. The 2023 election was a re-run of the 2021 election after the Constitutional Court of the State of Berlin declared the results invalid due to numerous irregularities and ordered a repeat election within 90 days.
In 2016, the Pirate Party Berlin lost the 15 seats it won for the first time in the 2011 election due to their failure to cross the 5% election threshold necessary to qualify for representation while the AfD joined the assembly for the first time and the FDP returned following a recovery in voter support.
Functions
The consideration and passing of legislation is the most important task, including the government budget. In addition, the parliament chooses the Governing Mayor, and checks the city's government, the Senate of Berlin.
Citizens can petition the House of Representatives to debate topics via agenda initiatives.
Presidents Name Party PeriodOtto SuhrSPD11 January 1951 – 11 January 1955Willy BrandtSPD11 January 1955 – 2 October 1957Kurt LandsbergSPD19 October 1957 – 4 March 1958Willy HennebergSPD20 March 1958 – 17 September 1961Otto Friedrich BachSPD29 September 1961 – 6 April 1967Walter SickertSPD6 April 1967 – 24 April 1975Peter LorenzCDU24 April 1975 – 10 December 1980Heinrich LummerCDU10 December 1980 – 11 June 1981Peter RebschCDU11 June 1981 – 2 March 1989Jürgen WohlrabeCDU2 March 1989 – 11 January 1991Hanna-Renate LaurienCDU11 January 1991 – 30 November 1995Herwig HaaseCDU30 November 1995 – 18 November 1999Reinhard FührerCDU18 November 1999 – 29 November 2001Walter MomperSPD29 November 2001 – 27 October 2011Ralf WielandSPD27 October 2011 – 4 November 2021Dennis BuchnerSPD4 November 2021 – 16 March 2023Cornelia SeibeldCDU16 March 2023 – present
See also Timeline of Berlin :Category:Members of the Berlin House of Representatives
References
External links parlament-berlin official website