Politics of Schleswig-Holstein

The politics of Schleswig-Holstein 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 Schleswig-Holstein. The state has a multi-party system.

Politics of Schleswig-Holstein
Country Germany
Legislative branch
LegislatureSchleswig-Holsteinischer Landtag
SpeakerKristina Herbst, CDU
Meeting placeKiel
Executive branch
Minister-PresidentDaniel Günther
1. Deputy Minister-PresidentAminata Toure
Judicial branch
Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesverfassungsgericht
PresidentChristoph Brüning

History

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From 1919 to 1928, the largest parties in Schleswig-Holstein were the Social Democratic Party, German Democratic Party, Conservative Party and German Peoples Party.[1][2][3] From 1930 onwards, Schleswig-Holstein was a bastion of Nazi support.[1] In the 1930 Reicshtag elections, the Nazi Party received their highest vote share in Schleswig-Holstein with 27%.[1] In 1932, the Nazi Party won 51% of the vote in Schleswig-Holstein, the only district where Nazis received an absolute majority.[1][4] The rural areas of Schleswig-Holstein were particularly likely to support the Nazis.[1][2][5]

Executive Branch

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Minister-Presidents since 1949

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Since the creation of the Federal Republic in 1945, the state's Minister-Presidents have been:[6]

Period Minister-President Party
1945–1947 Theodor Steltzer (CDU)
1947–1949 Hermann Lüdemann (SPD)
1949–1950 Bruno Diekmann (SPD)
1950–1951 Walter Bartram (CDU)
1951–1954 Friedrich-Wilhelm Lübke (CDU)
1954–1963 Kai-Uwe von Hassel (CDU)
1963–1971 Helmut Lemke (CDU)
1971–1982 Gerhard Stoltenberg[7] (CDU)
1982–1987 Uwe Barschel (CDU)
1987–1988 Henning Schwarz (CDU)
1988–1993 Björn Engholm (SPD)
1993–2005 Heide Simonis (SPD)
2005–2012 Peter Harry Carstensen (CDU)
2012– 2016 Torsten Albig (SPD)
2017– Daniel Günther (CDU)

Current Cabinet

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Portfolio Minister Party Took office Left office State secretaries
Minister-President
 
Daniel Günther
born (1973-07-24) 24 July 1973 (age 51)
CDU 29 June 2022 Incumbent
Deputy Minister-President   Aminata Touré
born (1992-11-15) 15 November 1992 (age 32)
GRÜNE 1 August 2024 Incumbent
Minister for Social Affairs, Youth, Family, Seniors, Integration and Equality 29 June 2022 Incumbent
  • Johannes Albig
Deputy Minister-President
Minister for Finance
 
Monika Heinold
born (1958-12-30) 30 December 1958 (age 65)
GRÜNE 29 June 2022 1 August 2024
  • Silke Torp
  • Oliver Rabe
Minister for Finance Silke Schneider
born (1967-09-02) 2 September 1967 (age 57)
GRÜNE 1 August 2024 Incumbent
  • Silke Torp
  • Oliver Rabe
Minister for Justice and Health Kerstin von der Decken
born (1968-11-22) 22 November 1968 (age 56)
CDU 29 June 2022 Incumbent
  • Otto Carstens
  • Oliver Grundei
Minister for Education, Training, Science, Research and Culture
 
Karin Prien
born (1965-06-26) 26 June 1965 (age 59)
CDU 29 June 2022 Incumbent
  • Dorit Stenke
  • Guido Wendt
Minister for Interior, Communities, Housing and Sport
 
Sabine Sütterlin-Waack
born (1958-02-15) 15 February 1958 (age 66)
CDU 29 June 2022 Incumbent
  • Jörg Sibbel
  • Magdalena Finke
Minister for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature Tobias Goldschmidt
born (1981-09-16) 16 September 1981 (age 43)
GRÜNE 29 June 2022 Incumbent
  • Katja Günther
  • Joschka Knuth
Minister for Economics, Transport, Labour, Technology and Tourism   Claus Ruhe Madsen
born (1972-08-27) 27 August 1972 (age 52)
CDU(Independent until May 2023, CDU nomination) 29 June 2022 Incumbent
  • Tobias von der Heide
  • Julia Carstens
Minister for Agriculture, Rural Areas, Europe and Consumer Protection Werner Schwarz
born (1960-04-10) 10 April 1960 (age 64)
CDU 29 June 2022 Incumbent
  • Anne Benett-Sturies
Chief of the State Chancellery Dirk Schrödter
born (1978-10-17) 17 October 1978 (age 46)
CDU 29 June 2022 Incumbent
  • Johannes Callsen
  • Sandra Gerken

Legislative Branch

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The last elections were held on 8 May 2022.[8]

Election results by percentage of Votes since 1949

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Year CDU Green SPD FDP SSW AfD BHE
19474 34,1 - 43,8 5,0 9,3 -
19505 19,8 - 27,5 7,1 5,5 - 23,4
19546 32,2 - 33,2 7,5 3,5 - 14,0
19587 44,4 - 35,9 5,4 2,8 - 6,9
1962 45,0 - 39,2 7,9 2,3 - 4,2
19678 46,0 - 39,4 5,9 1,9 - -
1971 51,9 - 41,0 3,8 1,4 - -
1975 50,4 - 40,1 7,1 1,4 - -
1979 48,3 2,4 41,7 5,7 1,4 - -
1983 49,0 3,6 43,7 2,2 1,3 - -
1987 42,6 3,9 45,2 5,2 1,5 - -
1988 33,3 2,9 54,8 4,4 1,7 - -
19929 33,8 5,0 46,2 5,6 1,9 - -
199610 37,2 8,1 39,8 5,7 2,5 - -
2000 35,2 6,2 43,1 7,6 4,1 - -
2005 40,2 6,2 38,7 6,6 3,6 - -
2009 31,5 12,4 25,4 14,9 4,3 - -
2012 30,8 13,2 30,4 8,2 4,6 - -
2017[9] 32,0 12,9 27,3 11,5 3,3 5,9 -
2022[8] 43,4 18,3 16,0 6,4 5,7 4,4 -

Election results by distribution of seats since 1947

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Distribution of Seats in the 20th Schleswig-Holstein Landtag
Year Total CDU Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen SPD FDP SSW AfD BHE
1947 70 21 - 43 6 -
1950 69 16 - 19 8 4 - 15
1954 69 25 - 25 5 - - 10
1958 69 33 - 26 3 2 - 5
1962 69 34 - 29 5 1 - -
1967 73 34 - 30 4 1 - -
1971 73 40 - 32 - 1 - -
1975 73 37 - 30 5 1 - -
1979 73 37 - 31 4 1 - -
1983 74 39 - 34 - 1 - -
1987 74 33 - 36 4 1 - -
1988 74 27 - 46 - 1 - -
1992 89 32 - 45 5 1 - -
1996 75 30 6 33 4 2 - -
2000 89 33 5 41 7 3 - -
2005 69 30 4 29 4 2 - -
2009 95 34 12 25 14 4 - -
2012 69 10 22 6 3 - -
2017[9] 73 25 10 21 9 3 5 -
2022[10] 69 34 14 12 5 4 - -

Constituencies in the Landtag

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Judicial Branch

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The Schleswig-Holstein Landesverfassungsgericht was formed in 2008.[11] Until then, Schleswig-Holstein was the last German state without a constitutional court.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Heberle, Rudolf (1944). "The Ecology of Political Parties: A Study of Elections in Rural Communities in Schleswig-Holstein, 1918-1932". American Sociological Review. 9 (4): 401–414. doi:10.2307/2085984. ISSN 0003-1224.
  2. ^ a b Heberle, Rudolf (1943). "The Political Movements Among the Rural People in Schleswig-Holstein, 1918 to 1932, I". The Journal of Politics. 5 (1): 3–26. doi:10.2307/2125927. ISSN 0022-3816.
  3. ^ Heberle, Rudolf (1943). "The Political Movements Among the Rural People in Schleswig-Holstein, 1918 to 1932, II". The Journal of Politics. 5 (2): 115–141. doi:10.2307/2125668. ISSN 0022-3816.
  4. ^ Hamilton, Richard F. (2003). "The Rise of Nazism: A Case Study and Review of Interpretations: Kiel, 1928-1933". German Studies Review. 26 (1): 43–62. doi:10.2307/1432901. ISSN 0149-7952.
  5. ^ Loomis, Charles P.; Beegle, J. Allan (1946). "The Spread of German Nazism in Rural Areas". American Sociological Review. 11 (6): 724–734. doi:10.2307/2087068. ISSN 0003-1224.
  6. ^ admin. "Schleswig-Holstein - Ministerpräsidenten seit 1946". Landesportal Schleswig-Holstein (in German). Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  7. ^ see List of Honorary Citizens of Schleswig-Holstein
  8. ^ a b "Landtagswahl Schleswig-Holstein 2022". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  9. ^ a b "Informationen zur Wahl des 19. Schleswig-Holsteinischen Landtags - Statistikamt Nord". www.statistik-nord.de. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  10. ^ "CDU gewinnt deutlich, Grüne auf Platz zwei". www.landtag.ltsh.de. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  11. ^ a b "Schlie: Schleswig-Holstein ohne Verfassungsgericht nicht mehr vorstellbar". www.landtag.ltsh.de. Retrieved 2022-05-18.