The Saarland is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of 2,570 km2 (990 sq mi) and population of 990,509 in 2018,it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin,Bremen,and Hamburg,and the smallest in population apart from Bremen. Saarbrücken is the state capital and largest city;other cities include Neunkirchen and Saarlouis. Saarland is mainly surrounded by the department of Moselle in France to the west and south and the neighboring state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany to the north and east;it also shares a small border about 8 kilometres long with the canton of Remich in Luxembourg to the northwest.
Claudia Kohde-Kilsch is a former German tennis player and member of the Die Linke. During her tennis career,she won two women's doubles Grand Slam titles. She also won eight singles titles and a total of 25 doubles titles.
Peter Aloysius Müller is a German politician belonging to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). From 1999 to 2011,he has held the position of Premier (Ministerpräsident) of the state of Saarland,serving as President of the Bundesrat in 2008/09. In December 2011,Müller was elected as judge of German Bundesverfassungsgericht.
Reinhard Klimmt is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). From 1998 to 1999,he was Minister President of Saarland,and 1999–2000,Federal Minister of Transport,Building and Urban Affairs.
The Landtag of the Saarland is the state diet of the German federal state of Saarland. It convenes in Saarbrücken and currently consists of 51 members of five parties. The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) is the largest party in the Landtag with 29 seats,an absolute majority that allows the party to govern without a coalition. The 2022 elections marked the first time that the SPD had won the state in 20 years.
The Pirate Party Germany,commonly known as Pirates,is a political party in Germany founded in September 2006 at c-base. It states general agreement with the Swedish Piratpartiet as a party of the information society;it is part of the international movement of pirate parties and a member of the Pirate Parties International. In 2011-12,the party succeeded in attaining a high enough vote share to enter four state parliaments and the European Parliament. However,their popularity rapidly declined and by 2017 they had no representation in any of the German state parliaments. Their one European MEP,Patrick Breyer,is in the Greens–European Free Alliance group. Together with Marcel Kolaja,Markéta Gregorováand MikulášPeksa from the Czech Pirate Party they build up the European Pirate Party team for the European Parliament in Brussels.
The 2009 Saarland state election was held on 30 August 2009 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland. It was held on the same day as state elections in Saxony and Thuringia. The incumbent Christian Democratic Union (CDU) government led by Minister-President Peter Müller lost its majority. The CDU subsequently formed a coalition with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and The Greens,and Müller was re-elected as Minister-President. This was the first Jamaica coalition formed in Germany.
Nadine Schön is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the German Parliament since 2009,representing the constituency of St. Wendel.
The 2012 Saarland state election was held in on 25 March 2012 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland. The election was triggered by the collapse of the previous coalition government comprising the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer,Free Democratic Party (FDP),and The Greens. The CDU subsequently formed a grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD),and Kramp-Karrenbauer was re-elected as Minister-President.
Jasmin Freigang is a German politician who was a member of the Saarland regional parliament from 2012 to 2017,representing the Pirate Party.
Christoph Georg Hartmann is a German politician who is a member of the FDP. From 10 November 2009 until 18 January 2012 he was the secretary to the Minister-president of Saarland and the Saarland Minister for Economy and Science.
Simone Peter is a German Alliance 90/The Greens politician. Between 2013 and 2018,she co-chaired the party along with Cem Özdemir.
The 2017 Saarland state election was held on 26 March 2017 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland. The incumbent grand coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was returned with an increased majority.
The 2022 Saarland state election was held on 27 March 2022 to elect the 17th Landtag of Saarland. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Tobias Hans.
Anke Gabriele Rehlinger is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has served as the Minister-President of Saarland since 25 April 2022. After her party won the 2022 state elections in Saarland,she became the second female Minister-President after Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and the first from her party. She was previously the Deputy Minister President of Saarland from 17 December 2013 until her election by the State Parliament of Saarland as Minister President in 2022.
Tobias Hans is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as Minister-President of Saarland from 2018 to 2022.
Marc Daniel Johannes Speicher is a German politician and a member of the Landtag of Saarland.
Albert Baldauf was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former member of the German Bundestag.
Barbara Spaniol is a German politician of The Left who was a member of the Landtag of Saarland from 2004 to 2022. Starting her career in The Greens,she joined The Left in 2007. From 2013 to 2021 she was one of the vice presidents of the Landtag. She served as The Left's lead candidate during the 2022 Saarland state election.
The Rehlinger cabinet is the current state government of Saarland,sworn in on 25 April 2022 after Anke Rehlinger was elected as Minister-President of Saarland by the members of the Landtag of Saarland. It is the 29th Cabinet of Saarland.
