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).
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has been the largest party in every election since the 1995 Hessian state election. 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.
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 the Landtag Election yearTotalseatsSeats won SPDCDUFDPGB/BHEGrüneLinkeAfDOtherDec 19469038281410 195080471221A90195496442421719589648329719629651281161966965226108 1970110534611197411049538197811050537198211049529198311051448719871104447910199111046468101995110444581319991104650682003110335691220081104242119620091182946201762013110374761462018137294011299192023133235282228
Legislative compositions
State election results maps
Constituencies in the Landtag
Kassel-Land I (01) Kassel-Land II (02) Kassel-Stadt I (03) Kassel-Stadt II (04) Waldeck-Frankenberg I (05) Waldeck-Frankenberg II (06) Schwalm-Eder I (07) Schwalm-Eder II (08) Eschwege-Witzenhausen (09) Rotenburg (10) Hersfeld (11) Marburg-Biedenkopf I (12) Marburg-Biedenkopf II (13) Fulda I (14) Fulda II (15) Lahn-Dill I (16) Lahn-Dill II (17) Gießen I (18) Gießen II (19) Vogelsberg (20) Limburg-Weilburg I (21) Limburg-Weilburg II (22) Hochtaunus I (23) Hochtaunus II (24) Wetterau I (25) Wetterau II (26) Wetterau III (27) Rheingau-Taunus I (28) Rheingau-Taunus II (29) Wiesbaden I (30) Wiesbaden II (31) Main-Taunus I (32) Main-Taunus II (33) Frankfurt am Main I (34) Frankfurt am Main II (35) Frankfurt am Main III (36) Frankfurt am Main IV (37) Frankfurt am Main V (38) Frankfurt am Main VI (39) Main-Kinzig I (40) Main-Kinzig II (41) Main-Kinzig III (42) Offenbach-Stadt (43) Offenbach Land I (44) Offenbach Land II (45) Offenbach Land III (46) Groß-Gerau I (47) Groß-Gerau II (48) Darmstadt-Stadt I (49) Darmstadt-Stadt II (50) Darmstadt-Dieburg I (51) Darmstadt-Dieburg II (52) Odenwald (53) Bergstraße I (54) Bergstraße II (55)
Constituencies in the Bundestag NoConstituencyMember2021Voters20172013200920052002199819941990 166 Waldeck Esther Dilcher SPD 184,073 SPD CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD 167 Kassel Timon Gremmels SPD 218,474 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD 168 Werra-Meißner – Hersfeld-Rotenburg Michael Roth SPD 171,886 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPDCreated for 2002 election 169 Schwalm-Eder Edgar Franke SPD 185,944 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD 170 Marburg Sören Bartol SPD 181,588 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD CDU 171 Lahn-Dill Dagmar Schmidt SPD 206,532 CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD 172 Gießen Felix Döring SPD 217,514 CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD 173 Fulda Michael Brand 208,542 CDU 174 Main-Kinzig – Wetterau II – Schotten Bettina Müller SPD 178,307 CDUCreated for 2013 election 175 Hochtaunus Markus Koob 179,842 CDU 176 Wetterau I Natalie Pawlik SPD 176,897 SPD SPD SPD CDU 177 Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg Klaus-Peter Willsch 220,466 CDU 178 Wiesbaden Ingmar Jung 186,735 SPD SPD SPD CDU 179 Hanau Lennard Oehl SPD 176,271 SPD SPD SPD CDU 180 Main-Taunus Norbert Altenkamp 195,514 CDUCreated for 2002 election 181 Frankfurt am Main I Armand Zorn SPD 201,216 SPD SPD CDU 182 Frankfurt am Main II Omid Nouripour Grüne 227,207 SPD SPD CDU 183 Groß-Gerau Melanie Wegling SPD 174,082 SPD SPD SPD CDU SPD 184 Offenbach Björn Simon 219,511 SPD SPD CDU 185 Darmstadt Andreas Larem SPD 240,763 SPD SPD SPD SPD CDU SPD 186 Odenwald Jens Zimmermann SPD 233,901 SPD SPD CDU 187 Bergstraße Michael Meister 197,782 SPD SPD CDU
See also History of Hesse Landtag of Hesse Rulers of Hesse – the hereditary rulers of the Grand Duchy of Hesse prior to 1919
References