Wetterau I is an electoral constituency (German: Wahlkreis) represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 176. It is located in central Hesse, comprising most of the Wetteraukreis district.
Wetterau I was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. From 2021 to 2025, it was represented by Natalie Pawlik of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Since 2025 it has been represented by Thomas Pauls of the CDU.
Geography Wetterau I is located in central Hesse. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the entirety of the Wetteraukreis district excluding the municipalities of Altenstadt, Büdingen, Gedern, Glauburg, Hirzenhain, Kefenrod, Limeshain, and Ortenberg.
History Wetterau I was created in 1949, then known as Friedberg. In the 1976 through 2009 elections, it was named Wetterau. It acquired its current name in the 2013 election. In the 1949 election, it was Hesse constituency 11 in the numbering system. From 1953 through 1976, it was number 136. From 1980 through 1998, it was number 134. In the 2002 and 2005 elections, it was number 178. In the 2009 through 2021 elections, it was number 177. From the 2025 election, it has been number 176.
Originally, the constituency comprised the districts of Büdingen and Friedberg. From 1976 through 1998, it was coterminous with the Wetteraukreis district. In the 2002 through 2009 elections, it comprised the Wetteraukreis district and the municipalities of Bad Soden-Salmünster, Brachttal, and Wächtersbach from the Main-Kinzig-Kreis district. It acquired its current borders in the 2013 election.
Election Name Borders 1949 Friedberg Büdingen district Friedberg district 1953 136 1957 1961 1965 1969 1972 Obertaunuskreis (Hochtaunuskreis) 1976 Wetterau Wetteraukreis district 1980 134 1983 1987 1990 1994 1998 2002 178 Wetteraukreis district Main-Kinzig-Kreis district (only Bad Soden-Salmünster, Brachttal, and Wächtersbach municipalities) 2005 2009 177 2013 Wetterau I Wetteraukreis district (excluding Altenstadt, Büdingen, Gedern, Glauburg, Hirzenhain, Kefenrod, Limeshain, and Ortenberg municipalities) 2017 2021 2025 176
Members The constituency was first represented by Wilhelm Knothe of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 1949 until his death in 1952. Fellow party member Kurt Moosdorf won the subsequent by-election, but Willi Richter replaced him as SPD candidate and representative in the 1953 federal election. Richter was succeeded by Lucie Beyer in 1957. Georg Schlaga then served from 1969 to 1983. Christian Schwarz-Schilling of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was elected in 1983 and was representative until 1998. Nina Hauer won the constituency for the SPD in 1998 and served three terms. Lucia Puttrich of the CDU was then representative from 2009 to 2013. Oswin Veith was elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2017. He resigned in March 2020 to become chairman of Oberhessische Versorgungsbetriebe (OVAG). Natalie Pawlik was elected for the SPD in 2021.
Election Member Party % 1949 Wilhelm Knothe SPD 33.1 Kurt Moosdorf SPD 1953 Willi Richter SPD 37.3 1957 Lucie Beyer SPD 41.1 1961 47.1 1965 49.8 1969 Georg Schlaga SPD 51.3 1972 53.8 1976 47.8 1980 49.6 1983 Christian Schwarz-Schilling CDU 44.2 1987 45.3 1990 44.2 1994 46.3 1998 Nina Hauer SPD 46.3 2002 46.4 2005 43.3 2009 Lucia Puttrich CDU 41.0 2013 Oswin Veith CDU 47.1 2017 36.4 2021 Natalie Pawlik SPD 29.7 2025 Thomas Pauls CDU 33.7
Election results
2025 election
2021 election
2017 election
2013 election
2009 election
2005 election
Notes
References