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Landtag of Thuringia Thüringer Landtag | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Established | 1920 |
Leadership | |
President | |
Structure | |
Seats | 88 |
Political groups | Government (44) Opposition (44) |
Elections | |
Last election | 1 September 2024 |
Meeting place | |
Landtag of Thuringia, Erfurt | |
Website | |
www.thueringer-landtag.de |
The Landtag of Thuringia is the parliament of the German federal state of Thuringia. It convenes in Erfurt and currently consists of 88 members from five parties. [1] [2] According to the free state's constitution, the primary functions of the Landtag are to pass laws, elect the Minister-President and control the government of Thuringia.
Elections are held every five years using the German Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) system, with an election threshold of 5% vote share to receive any seats. All German citizens 18 years of age or older living in Thuringia are entitled to vote. If a party wins more constituency seats than its overall share of the vote, the overall size of the Landtag increases because of these overhang and leveling mandates.
The 2024 Thuringian state election was disastrous for the Left, which lost more than half of its seats, and the three parties that are governing on the federal level: The so-called traffic light coalition consisting of SPD, Greens and FDP, the latter two of which lost all of their seats.
This election was the first time in the history of the Federal Republic that a far-right party (Alternative for Germany) won first place.
Party | Seats | Group leader | |
---|---|---|---|
Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 32 / 88 | Björn Höcke | |
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 23 / 88 | Mario Voigt | |
Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) | 15 / 88 | Katja Wolf | |
The Left (Linke) | 12 / 88 | Steffen Dittes | |
Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 6 / 88 | Matthias Hey |
The Landtag of the newly established Free State of Thuringia (Freistaat Thüringen) first convened in 1920 in Weimar. Its deputies were elected for three years according to a proportional representation system, with a minimum voting age of 21. During the Weimar Republic period until 1933, six state elections were held. Upon the 1929 elections, Thuringia became one of the first German federal states where the Nazi Party gained real political power. Wilhelm Frick was appointed Minister of the Interior for the state of Thuringia after the NSDAP won six delegates to the Landtag. In the 1932 elections the Nazis emerged as the strongest party with 26 of 61 seats and Fritz Sauckel assumed the office of Minister-President. Following the Nazi seizure of power in Berlin, the Landtag was abolished in the Gleichschaltung process by the "Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich" of 30 January 1934. [3]
After World War II, the State of Thuringia was re-established as part of the Soviet occupation zone. On 13 June 1946 the Soviet Military Administration summoned a state assembly (Landesversammlung) chaired by Ricarda Huch; the first post-war Landtag elections were held on 20 October 1946 and the constituent meeting took place on November 21 at the Elephant hotel in Weimar. By the time of the Constitution of East Germany in 1949, the Landtage were largely deprived of power and the second state elections on 15 October 1950 were already held under the terms of the National Front unity list. In 1952, the East German government dissolved the federal states and Thuringia was divided into districts ( Bezirke ) centered in Erfurt, Gera and Suhl.
The State of Thuringia was restored during Germany's reunification and Landtag elections were again held on 14 October 1990.
After the 2019 general election there was a government crisis. It was triggered by the election of Thomas Kemmerich (FDP) as Prime Minister of Thuringia with the votes of the AfD (despite the secret ballot), on February 5, 2020. The process received a lot of attention both nationally and internationally because for the first time In the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, a prime minister came into office thanks to decisive votes from the right-wing extremist AfD. [4] [5] [6]
The Thuringian state government then consisted only of the Prime Minister for four weeks. Kemmerich resigned on February 8, 2020 and was in office until Bodo Ramelow (The Left) was elected Prime Minister on March 4, 2020. [7] After Kemmerich's election, no members were named for the German Bundesrat (Federal Council), [8] and he himself also decided not to represent Thuringia there. Kemmerich was accused of lacking involvement in government affairs.
After the controversial election of Kemmerich, there was an announcement of the resignation of the CDU federal chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, [9] [10] the withdrawal of the Thuringian CDU state and parliamentary group leader Mike Mohring, [11] the dismissal of the federal government's Eastern Commissioner Christian Hirte by chancelor Angela Merkel [12] and the failure of the FDP to meet the five percent hurdle the Hamburg state election 2020. [13]
Bodo Ramelow is a German politician who has served as Minister-President of Thuringia from 2014 to 5 February 2020 and from 4 March 2020 until 2024. He was the first head of a German state government to serve non-consecutive terms in office since Eberhard Diepgen, who served twice as Governing Mayor of Berlin. A member of The Left, he previously chaired the party's group in the Landtag of Thuringia. On 8 October 2021, he was elected to a one-year term as President of the Bundesrat. His term lasted from 1 November 2021 until 31 October 2022.
Christine Lieberknecht is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). From 2009 to 2014, she served as the Minister President of Thuringia. Lieberknecht was the first woman to become head of government in Thuringia and only the second woman to govern a German state.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, sometimes referred to by her initials of AKK, is a retired German politician who served as Minister of Defence from 2019 to 2021 and as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 2018 to 2021.
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.
The first Ramelow cabinet was the state government of Thuringia between 2014 and 2020, sworn in on 5 December 2014 after Bodo Ramelow was elected as Minister-President by the members of the Landtag of Thuringia. It was the 7th Cabinet of Thuringia.
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.
The Minister-president is the head of state and government in thirteen of Germany's sixteen states.
The 2019 Thuringian state election was held on 27 October 2019 to elect the members of the 7th Landtag of Thuringia. The outgoing government was a coalition consisting of The Left, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and The Greens, led by Minister-President Bodo Ramelow.
The 2020 Hamburg state election was held on 23 February 2020 to elect the members of the 22nd Hamburg Parliament. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Greens led by First Mayor Peter Tschentscher.
Thomas Karl Leonard Kemmerich is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who served as the Minister-President of Thuringia from 5 February to 4 March 2020. With a tenure of only 28 days, he has been both the shortest-serving Minister-President of Thuringia and the shortest-serving head of a state government in the Federal Republic of Germany.
The 2024 Thuringian state election was held on 1 September 2024 to elect the members of the 8th Landtag of Thuringia. It was held on the same day as the 2024 Saxony state election.
Christian Hirte is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as member of the German Bundestag since 2008. From 2020 to 2022, he has been the chairman of the CDU in Thuringia and co-deputy Chairman since then.
The 2020 Thuringian government crisis, also known as the Thuringia crisis, was triggered by the election of Thomas Kemmerich (FDP) as Thuringian Minister President with votes from the AfD, CDU and FDP on February 5, 2020. The election attracted considerable national and international attention because, for the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, a Minister President was elected with votes from a far-right populist party, in this case the AfD.
Susanne Hennig-Wellsow is a German politician. She was federal co-chairwoman of The Left from 2021 to 2022 and has served as a member of the Bundestag for Thuringia since 2021. Previously, she was a member of the Landtag of Thuringia from 2004 to 2021, leader of the Thuringia branch of The Left since November 2013, and leader of the state parliamentary group since December 2014.
In Germany's federal electoral system, a single party or parliamentary group rarely wins an absolute majority of seats in the Bundestag, and thus coalition governments, rather than single-party governments, are the usually expected outcome of a German election. As German political parties are often associated with particular colors, coalitions are frequently given nicknames based on the colors included. Prominent political parties in Germany are the CDU/CSU (black), the SPD (red), the Greens (green), the Left, the AfD (blue), and the FDP (yellow).
The second Ramelow cabinet was the state government of Thuringia from 4 March 2020 to 12 December 2024 and was headed by Bodo Ramelow. It was the 10th Cabinet of Thuringia.
The 2024 Saxony state election was held on 1 September 2024 to elect members to the 8th Landtag of Saxony. It was held on the same day as the 2024 Thuringian state election. Going into the election, the state government was led by Michael Kretschmer of the CDU as Minister-President, in a coalition with the Greens and the SPD.
The Citizens for Thuringia was a political party in Thuringia in Germany between 2020 and 2024. After party defections, it was represented in the Landtag of Thuringia with four seats. The party dissolved in 2024 to join the Values Union. The association of the same name, however, remained in existence.
Torben Braga is a German politician of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), previously FDP. He entered the state parliament of Thuringia after the state elections of 27 October 2019.
The Politics of Thuringia 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 Thuringia. The four main parties, following the 2024 elections, are the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the centre-right Christian Democratic Union, the populist left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), and the left-wing Left Party.