Saxony-Anhalt is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of 20,451.7 square kilometres (7,896.4 sq mi) and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area and the 11th-largest by population. Its capital and most populous city is Magdeburg.
Gerd Gies is a German politician (CDU). He was the 1st Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt after its creation following the reunification of Germany. Gies held office from October 1990 to 4 July 1991, when he was forced to resign after he was accused of having collaborated with the Stasi. He was succeeded by Werner Münch. Gies remained a parliamentary delegate until 1998. Afterwards, he worked in the energy industry and served on the board of Electrabel Germany.
Dr. Werner Münch is a German politician (CDU). After the reunification of Germany he moved to Saxony-Anhalt where he became the first Financial Minister of this state since refounding of same after the reunification under the 1st Minister-President Gerd Gies. After Gies had to resign already in 1991 Münch was elected as 2nd Minister-President of Saxony Anhalt from 4 July 1991 to 28 November 1993, when he resigned after criticism over alleged overpayments. He was succeeded by Christoph Bergner.
The German Social Union is a small conservative political party mainly active in the new states of Germany. It was founded in 1990 as a right-wing opposition group during the Wende transition to democracy in East Germany, when it was part of the Alliance for Germany electoral coalition. After 1990, it fell into insignificance, only holding a few seats on the local level.
Reiner Haseloff is a German politician who serves as the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt. On 9 October 2020, he was elected President of the Bundesrat. His one-year term started on 1 November 2020.
Mansfeld is an electoral constituency 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 73. It is located in southern Saxony-Anhalt, comprising the Mansfeld-Südharz district, most of the Saalekreis district, and the western part of the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district.
Magdeburg is an electoral constituency 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 69. It is located in central Saxony-Anhalt, comprising the city of Magdeburg and northeastern parts of Salzlandkreis district.
Jürgen Scharf is a German regional politician (CDU). From April 2002 till 2011 he was the leader of the CDU group in the Saxony-Anhalt Regional Assembly.
Karl-Hermann Steinberg was an eminent German university lecturer in Chemistry who became a politician (CDU) and briefly, in 1990 a deputy party chairman, and a Government Minister during the final months of the German Democratic Republic.
The 2016 Saxony-Anhalt state election was held on 13 March 2016 to elect the members of the 7th Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt. The incumbent grand coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Reiner Haseloff lost its majority. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) debuted at 24.3%, with every other parliamentary party recording losses, particularly the SPD and The Left.
State elections were held in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany on 20 October 1946 to elect the state legislatures of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. They were the only elections held in the future territory of East Germany before the establishment of the German Democratic Republic in 1949, and the only free and fair elections in that part of Germany between 1932 and the Peaceful Revolution.
The 1990 Saxony state election was held on 14 October 1990 to elect the members of the first Landtag of Saxony. It was the first election held in Saxony since the reunification of Germany, which took place on 3 October. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Kurt Biedenkopf dominated the election with 53.8% of the vote, followed by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with 19.1%. Biedenkopf subsequently became Saxony's first post-reunification Minister-President.
The 2021 Saxony-Anhalt state election was held on 6 June 2021 to elect the 8th Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt. The outgoing government was coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Social Democratic Party (SPD), and The Greens, led by Minister-President Reiner Haseloff.
Altmark – Jerichower Land is an electoral constituency 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 66. It is located in northern Saxony-Anhalt, comprising the districts of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, Jerichower Land, and Stendal.
Harz is an electoral constituency 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 68. It is located in western Saxony-Anhalt, comprising the district of Harz.
Halle is an electoral constituency 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 71. It is located in southern Saxony-Anhalt, comprising the city of Halle (Saale) and parts of the Saalekreis and Anhalt-Bitterfeld districts.
Burgenland – Saalekreis is an electoral constituency 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 72. It is located in southern Saxony-Anhalt, comprising the Burgenlandkreis distinct and eastern parts of the Saalekreis district.
Wolfgang Rauls was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP). He was the last leader of the National Democratic Party during the Wende, before its eventual merger into the Free Democratic Party. After German reunification, he entered state politics in Saxony-Anhalt, serving as Minister for the Environment and, eventually, Deputy Minister-President in the CDU cabinets from 1990 to 1994.
The politics of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt take 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 Saxony-Anhalt. The three main parties are the centre-right Christian Democratic Union, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), and the left-wing Left Party.
