The CDU Saxony (German: CDU Sachsen) is the regional state association of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. As the state branch of the CDU in Saxony, the party has been the dominant party in the state since German reunification. The CDU has provided every Minister-President since 1990. With 8,700 members, it was the second-largest state branch of any party in Saxony and the largest CDU state branch in East Germany in 2025. Michael Kretschmer has been the state chairman since 9 December 2017.
History
Founding As early as 10 June 1945, earlier than the Western Allies in their sectors, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD) had permitted the establishment of anti-fascist democratic parties in the Soviet occupation zone in order to influence the party formation process in Germany via the party headquarters in Berlin.
The CDU Saxony was founded on 21 July 1945, in Dresden as the Christian Social People's Party. On21 August, at the request of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD), it was renamed the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and licensed as a state party. Hugo Hickmann was elected as its first chairman, with Friedrich Koring and as his deputies. The first regular party congress took place on 23-24 February 1946. Hickmann and his deputies were confirmed, and was elected as an additional deputy chairman.
In its early days, the CDU in Saxony, like its sister parties in the West, pursued a Christian-social policy aimed at parliamentary democracy. It advocated for German reunification and was in constant conflict with the KPD/SED and its claim to leadership, which was supported by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD).
On 13 June 1946, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD) appointed a as a preliminary parliament. The CDU in Saxony was allocated only 10 of the 70 seats. The majority were held by members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED).
The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD) systematically hindered the party's development and its recruitment efforts. While the CDU was permitted to participate in the local elections of spring 1946, its organizational base was noticeably weakened by the delayed approval of local and district branches. Sergei Ivanovich Tyulpanov, head of the SMAD's censorship and propaganda department, issued a secret order instructing the SMAD's regional departments "not to formally prohibit the establishment of bourgeois party groups." Instead, "various formal pretexts" were to be found "to continue limiting their number". The effect of this policy was evident in the development of the CDU's local branches in Saxony. Although the establishment of CDU local branches was largely completed by the end of 1946, a significant number were not allowed to engage in political activity. YearNumber of local groupsNumber of registeredNumber not registeredDecember 1945272August 19461,019592427December 19461,345753592December 19471,219801318December 19471,342 The CDU was only able to field candidates in 20% of municipalities for the 1946 local elections, while the SED was permitted to participate nationwide. The democratic parties were also clearly disadvantaged with regard to the allocation of paper and printing capacity. This affected leaflets and posters, but especially the CDU newspaper , whose circulation was artificially kept low through paper allocations.
This policy continued in the Saxont state elections on 20 October 1946. Nevertheless, the CDU received 23.3% of the vote and 28 seats in the . Given the circumstances of the election, the fact that the SED did not achieve an absolute majority was considered a serious defeat.
Substantive party work was subject to monitoring by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). A prerequisite for registration was the willingness to cooperate within the Democratic Bloc. This bloc had been established at the state level in Saxony on 29 August 1945, and comprised the four registered parties. The bloc served to coordinate the political positions of the parties and acted as an instrument by which the SMAD prevented effective opposition to the SED. The SMAD was also represented by liaison officers at all meetings of the CDU parliamentary group in the state parliament. Confidential consultation was thus impossible.
The SMAD also influenced the personnel policy of the party. For example, the CDU Saxony's state manager, Hermann Voigt, was forced to resign in October 1946 under pressure from the SMAD.
Cooperation between the CDU state associations was also limited. At the level of the Soviet occupation zone (SBZ), the Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( CDU) existed in East Germany. However, a unified German CDU was not possible due to the licensing regulations of the occupying powers. Until the Gleichschaltung (coordination) of the East German CDU, the nationwide coordination of the Union's political work took place in the "Zonal Liaison Committee." CDU representatives from the SBZ were prevented from participating in this committee by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD).
Gleichschaltung and Block Party
With the removal of Jakob Kaiser as chairman of the CDU in the Soviet occupation zone, the possibilities for party work in Saxony were further restricted. From February 1948 onward, only CDU meetings were permitted in Saxony, and only after the Soviet Military Administration (SMAD) had approved the speeches and statements beforehand. This was intended to prevent expressions of solidarity with Kaise. Hickmann pursued a policy of concessions and compromises, attempting to utilize the party's diminishing freedoms. Nevertheless, the Saxon CDU emphasized its independence. For example, in 1948, the CDU in the Landtag rejected the nationalization of cinemas and demanded free elections for 1949.
Hickmann's questioning of the SED's leading role in the Saxon state executive committee on 6 January 1950, and his warning that the SED's policies would lead to the division of Germany, triggered fierce attacks against him. The SED denounced him as a "lackey of the West German CDU" and of "Anglo-American imperialism." On 23 January 1950, the pressure intensified: SED members occupied the CDU's state headquarters in Dresden and threatened to murder Hickmann. On 30 January 1950, Hickmann resigned from his party offices. Many delegates and executive committee members subsequently fled to the West, including the state association's treasurer, Walter Bergmann; the head of the CDU training center in Blankenburg/Harz, Josef Bock; the state parliament member ; and Finance Minister Gerhard Rohner. Other board members, such as Bernhard Singer, remained in East Germany but lost their party offices and mandates. In the summer of 1950, Hickmann was expelled from the Saxon CDU, which by then had been largely brought into line with Nazi ideology.
The CDU members who fled from Saxony organized themselves in the West in the Landsmannschaft Sachsen der Exil-CDU (Association of Exiled CDU Members of Saxony). Ernst-Günter Haß was the spokesman for the Landsmannschaft from 1950 to 1962.
With Rudolph Schulze (supply and agriculture) and (finance minister), the CDU Saxony, which had become a bloc party, continued to provide two ministers in the Saxon cabinet.
With the dissolution of the states in East Germany, the history of the CDU in Saxony also came to an end in 1990 with German reunification. For further information on the history of the CDU as a bloc party, see here.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall enabled the East German CDU to act independently from the bloc party and resume politics. On 3 March 1990, the Saxony state association was re-established at its first state party conference in Dresden, and Klaus Reichenbach was elected chairman with 82% of the delegates' votes. His opponent, Arnold Vaatz, received 18%.
The Saxon state association of Democratic Awakening, founded on 23 June 1990, and chaired by , was merged into the CDU by a resolution of the majority faction of the Saxon Democratic Awakening on 28 July and by a resolution of the CDU's second state party conference on 1 September 1990. The state association of the Democratic Farmers' Party (DBD) was also merged into the CDU on the same day.
In the state election on 14 October 1990, the CDU won an absolute majority of the votes and 92 seats in the Landtag of Saxony. On 27 October, Kurt Biedenkopf was elected Minister-President by the state parliament. As of May 2020, Biedenkopf's successors were also exclusively CDU politicians (list here). Biedenkopf was also chairman of the CDU Saxony from 1991 to 1995.
In the state election on 11 September 1994, the CDU received 58.1% of the vote and 77 of the 120 seats in the Landtag of Saxony. This was their best result to date in Saxony and their best result in any state election in Germany. Biedenkopf remained Minister-President; in 1995, he relinquished the state chairmanship of the CDU to .
In the state election on 19 September 1999, the CDU received 56.9% of the votes and 76 seats in the Landtag of Saxony.
With over 60 percent of the seats, the CDU in Saxony was the largest CDU parliamentary group in a state parliament in Germany (relative to the total number of seats) in both the second and third legislative periods.
On 15 September 2001, Georg Milbradt became chairman of the CDU Saxony at a special party conference. Biedenkopf had favored Agriculture Minister ; Milbradt won the contested election against Flath. On 16 January 2002, Biedenkopf announced his resignation as Minister-President, effective 18 April 2002. In March 2002, the CDU Saxony nominated Milbradt as its candidate for the office of Minister-President; on 18 April 2002, Milbradt was elected by the state parliament (→ ).
In the state election on 19 September 2004, the CDU received only 41.1% of the vote and 55 of the 124 seats in the Landtag of Saxony. They were one seat short of a coalition with the . The CDU and formed a coalition and on 10 November 2004, re-elected Milbradt as Minister-President (→ ).
Stanislaw Tillich became the new CDU state chairman on 24 May 2008, and also Minister-President of the Free State of Saxony on 28 May 2008.
In the 2009 Saxony state election, the CDU, now with Tillich as its lead candidate for the first time, received 40.1% of the vote. It won 58 of the 60 directly elected constituencies. The CDU and FDP in Saxony formed a Black-yellow coalition ().
The CDU's lead candidate for the state election on 31 August 2014, was Tillich who stood for a third term. The CDU won 59 of the 60 direct constituencies and received 39.4% of the second votes. Due to the FDP's departure from the Landtag of Saxony, the CDU had to find a new coalition partner. After exploratory talks with the Greens and the SPD, the CDU and SPD formed a coalition. The coalition agreement was signed by both sides in the State Parliament building on 10 November 2014. Minister-President Stanislaw Tillich was elected by the members of the on 12 November 2014 , and the was appointed on 13 November 2014.