Politics of Hesse

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

1. 1919–1928: Center-right government, an SPD–DDP–Zentrum coalition led by Carl Ulrich (SPD) as minister-president
2. 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:

1. 1933: National Socialist government with Ferdinand Werner (NSDAP) as minister-president
2. 1933–1935: National Socialist government with Philipp Wilhelm Jung (NSDAP) as minister-president
3. 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:

1. 1945: Military occupation provisional government led by Ludwig Bergsträsser(SPD), appointed by the U.S. Military
2. 1945–1946: Military occupation provisional government led by Karl Geiler (no party), appointed by the U.S. military
3. 1946–1950: Theoretically a CDU–SPD grand coalition with Christian Stock (SPD) as minister-president, though U.S. Military Occupation remained through 1949.
4. 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.
5. 1969–1976: Center-left government of the SPD-FDP, with Albert Osswald (SPD) as minister-president
6. 1976–1982: Center-left government of the SPD-FDP continued with Holger Börner (SPD) as minister-president.
7. 1982–1984: Center-left government of the SPD (single party rule) with Holger Börner (SPD) as minister-president.
8. 1984–1987: Center-left government of the SPD–Greens with Holger Börner (SPD) as minister-president.
9. 1987–1991: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Walter Wallmann (CDU) as minister-president.
10. 1991–1999: Center-left government of the SPD–Greens with Hans Eichel (SPD) as minister-president.
11. 1999–2003: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Roland Koch (CDU) as minister-president.
12. 2003–2009: Center-right government of the CDU (single party rule) with Roland Koch (CDU) as minister-president.
13. 2009–2010: Center-right government of the CDU-FDP with Roland Koch (CDU) as minister-president.
14. 2010–2014: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Volker Bouffier (CDU) as minister-president.
15. 2014–2019: Center-right government of the CDU–Greens with Volker Bouffier (CDU) as minister-president.
16. 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.
17. 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).

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

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  December 1946 Hessian state election
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  1950 Hessian state election
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  1954 Hessian state election
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  1958 Hessian state election
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  1962 Hessian state election
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  1966 Hessian state election
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  1970 Hessian state election
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  1974 Hessian state election
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  1978 Hessian state election
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  1982 Hessian state election
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  1983 Hessian state election
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  1987 Hessian state election
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  1991 Hessian state election
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  1995 Hessian state election
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  1999 Hessian state election
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  2003 Hessian state election
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  2008 Hessian state election
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  2009 Hessian state election
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  2013 Hessian state election
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  2018 Hessian state election
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  2023 Hessian state election

• History of Hesse
• Landtag of Hesse
• Rulers of Hesse – the hereditary rulers of the Grand Duchy of Hesse prior to 1919