Politics of Hesse


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, the far-right Alternative for Germany, and the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany.

Governments of Hesse

The governments and ministers-President 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 as minister-president
  2. 1928–1933: Center-right government, an SPD–DDP–Zentrum coalition led by Bernhard Adelung as minister-president
The governments of the National Socialist era:
  1. 1933: National Socialist government with Ferdinand Werner as minister-president
  2. 1933–1935: National Socialist government with Philipp Wilhelm Jung as minister-president
  3. 1935–1945: National Socialist government with Jakob Sprenger 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, appointed by the U.S. Military
  2. 1945–1946: Military occupation provisional government led by Karl Geiler, appointed by the U.S. military
  3. 1946–1950: Theoretically a CDU–SPD grand coalition with Christian Stock 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, 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 ; 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 as minister-president
  6. 1976–1982: Center-left government of the SPD-FDP continued with Holger Börner as minister-president.
  7. 1982–1984: Center-left government of the SPD with Holger Börner as minister-president.
  8. 1984–1987: Center-left government of the SPD–Greens with Holger Börner as minister-president.
  9. 1987–1991: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Walter Wallmann as minister-president.
  10. 1991–1999: Center-left government of the SPD–Greens with Hans Eichel as minister-president.
  11. 1999–2003: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Roland Koch as minister-president.
  12. 2003–2009: Center-right government of the CDU with Roland Koch as minister-president.
  13. 2009–2010: Center-right government of the CDU-FDP with Roland Koch as minister-president.
  14. 2010–2014: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Volker Bouffier as minister-president.
  15. 2014–2019: Center-right government of the CDU–Greens with Volker Bouffier as minister-president.
  16. 2019–2022: Center-right government of the CDU–Greens with Volker Bouffier 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 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.

Landtag of Hesse

Constituencies in the Landtag

  • Kassel-Land I
  • Kassel-Land II
  • Kassel-Stadt I
  • Kassel-Stadt II
  • Waldeck-Frankenberg I
  • Waldeck-Frankenberg II
  • Schwalm-Eder I
  • Schwalm-Eder II
  • Eschwege-Witzenhausen
  • Rotenburg
  • Hersfeld
  • Marburg-Biedenkopf I
  • Marburg-Biedenkopf II
  • Fulda I
  • Fulda II
  • Lahn-Dill I
  • Lahn-Dill II
  • Gießen I
  • Gießen II
  • Vogelsberg
  • Limburg-Weilburg I
  • Limburg-Weilburg II
  • Hochtaunus I
  • Hochtaunus II
  • Wetterau I
  • Wetterau II
  • Wetterau III
  • Rheingau-Taunus I
  • Rheingau-Taunus II
  • Wiesbaden I
  • Wiesbaden II
  • Main-Taunus I
  • Main-Taunus II
  • Frankfurt am Main I
  • Frankfurt am Main II
  • Frankfurt am Main III
  • Frankfurt am Main IV
  • Frankfurt am Main V
  • Frankfurt am Main VI
  • Main-Kinzig I
  • Main-Kinzig II
  • Main-Kinzig III
  • Offenbach-Stadt
  • Offenbach Land I
  • Offenbach Land II
  • Offenbach Land III
  • Groß-Gerau I
  • Groß-Gerau II
  • Darmstadt-Stadt I
  • Darmstadt-Stadt II
  • Darmstadt-Dieburg I
  • Darmstadt-Dieburg II
  • Odenwald
  • Bergstraße I
  • Bergstraße II