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

Party strength in the Landtag

Legislative compositions

State election results maps

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

    Constituencies in the Bundestag