The Governing Mayor of Berlin is the head of government, presiding over the Berlin Senate. As Berlin is an independent city as well as one of the constituent States of Germany, the office is the equivalent of the Ministers President of the other German states, except the states of Hamburg and Bremen, where the heads of government are called "First Mayor" and "President of the Senate and Mayor", respectively. The title Governing Mayor of Berlin is the equivalent of Lord Mayor in the meaning of an actual executive leader.
The 2011 Berlin state election was held on 18 September 2011 to elect the members of the 17th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. The incumbent government consisting of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Left lost its majority.
Raed Saleh is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He is serving as parliamentary leader of the SPD in the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin since 2011, and co-leader of the Berlin branch of the SPD since 2020.
Klaus Lederer is a German politician of The Left who is serving as Deputy Mayor and Senator for Culture and Europe in the Berlin state government since December 2016. He is also a member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin since 2001. He previously served as chairman of the Berlin branch of The Left from 2006 to 2016. He was lead candidate for his party in the 2016 and 2021 state elections.
Katrin Lompscher is a German civil engineer and politician who served as Senator for Urban Development and Housing in Berlin in the Senate of Governing Mayor Michael Müller from 2016 to 2020. A member of The Left, she previously served as Senator for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection from 2006 to 2011 in the third Senate of Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit, and as a member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin from 2011 until her resignation in 2017.
Franziska Giffey is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as Governing Mayor of Berlin from December 2021 to April 2023, the first woman elected to this position. She previously served as Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 until 2021. From 2015 to 2018, she was the mayor of the borough of Neukölln in Berlin.
The second Müller senate was the state government of Berlin between 2016 and 2021, sworn in on 8 December 2016 after Michael Müller was elected as Governing Mayor by the members of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. It was the 27th Senate of Berlin.
The 2021 Berlin state election was held on 26 September 2021 to elect the 19th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. The incumbent government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), The Left, and The Greens led by Governing Mayor Michael Müller. Müller did not run for re-election as Mayor, and former federal minister Franziska Giffey led the SPD in the election. The Berlin expropriation referendum was held on the same day, as well as the Borough council elections who function as the municipal elections of Berlin.
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.
Bettina Jarasch is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as Deputy Mayor and Senator for Environment, Mobility, Consumer and Climate Protection in the Berlin state government since December 2021. She was previously a member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin from 2016 to 2022, and leader of the Berlin branch of the Greens from 2011 to 2016. She was the Greens' lead candidate for the 2021 Berlin state election.
Daniel Wesener is a German politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens. He is serving as Senator for Finance in the Berlin state government since December 2021. He was previously state chairman of the Greens from 2011 to 2017, and a member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin from 2016 to 2022.
Dirk Behrendt is a German lawyer and politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens. He served as Senator for Justice, Consumer Protection and Anti-Discrimination in the Berlin state government from 2016 to 2021, and as a member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin from 2006 to 2016. Prior to this, he was a judge in Berlin and served as spokesman of the Berlin–Brandenburg Judges Association.
Astrid-Sabine Busse is a German educator and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who is serving as Senator for Education, Youth and Family in the Berlin state government since December 2021. Prior, she was chaired the Association of Berlin School Boards from 2015 to 2021.
The first Müller senate was the state government of Berlin between 2014 and 2016, sworn in on 11 December 2014 after Michael Müller was elected as Governing Mayor by the members of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. It was the 26th Senate of Berlin.
The fourth Wowereit senate was the state government of Berlin between 2011 and 2014, sworn in on 24 November 2011 after Klaus Wowereit was elected as Governing Mayor by the members of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. It was the 25th Senate of Berlin.
The Third Woidke cabinet is the current state government of Brandenburg, sworn in on 20 November 2019 after Dietmar Woidke was elected as Minister-President of Brandenburg by the members of the Landtag of Brandenburg. It is the 9th Cabinet of Brandenburg.
The Bovenschulte senate is the current state government of Bremen, sworn in on 15 August 2019 after Andreas Bovenschulte was elected as Mayor by the members of the Bürgerschaft of Bremen. It is the 25th Senate of Bremen.
The Sieling senate was the state government of Bremen between 2015 and 2019, sworn in on 15 July 2015 after Carsten Sieling was elected as Mayor by the members of the Bürgerschaft of Bremen. It was the 24th Senate of Bremen.
The 2023 Berlin repeat state election was held on 12 February 2023 to once again elect the 19th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. The 19th Abgeordnetenhaus was originally elected on 26 September 2021. On 16 November 2022, the Constitutional Court of the State of Berlin declared the results invalid due to numerous irregularities and ordered a repeat election within 90 days. A decision by the Federal Constitutional Court regarding five constitutional complaints is still pending, but will not be decided until after the repeat election. The incumbent government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), The Greens, and The Left led by Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey.
Berlin 2030 klimaneutral was a citizens' initiative launched in Berlin in 2018. It was the subject of a city-wide referendum scheduled for 26 March 2023, commonly called the Klima-Volksentscheid. Voters will be asked whether the Climate Protection and Energy Transition Act of 2016 should be amended. The primary goal of the referendum is to legislate a goal of carbon neutrality by the year 2030, rather than the existing goal of 2045. Since the referendum proposes specific amendments to the law, its result will be legally binding. In order to pass, the proposal must be approved by a majority on the day and receive approval from a quorum of over 25% of registered voters.
