Politics of Hesse

The politics of Hesse 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 Hesse. The state has a multi-party system where, as in most other states of former Western Germany and the federal level, the three main parties are the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), and the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Governments of Hesse

The governments and ministers-President (Ministerpräsidenten) of the People's State of Hesse during the time of the Weimar Republic were:

1919–1928: Center-right government, an SPD–DDP–Zentrum coalition led by Carl Ulrich (SPD) as minister-president
1928–1933: Center-right government, an SPD–DDP–Zentrum coalition led by Bernhard Adelung (SPD) as minister-president

The governments of the National Socialist era:

1933: National Socialist government with Ferdinand Werner (NSDAP) as minister-president
1933–1935: National Socialist government with Philipp Wilhelm Jung (NSDAP) as minister-president
1935–1945: National Socialist government with Jakob Sprenger (NSDAP) as minister-president

The governments and minister-Presidents of Hesse since the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany:

1945: Military occupation provisional government led by Ludwig Bergsträsser(SPD), appointed by the U.S. Military
1945–1946: Military occupation provisional government led by Karl Geiler (no party), appointed by the U.S. military
1946–1950: Theoretically a CDU–SPD grand coalition with Christian Stock (SPD) as minister-president, though U.S. Military Occupation remained through 1949.
1950–1969: First truly non-military government of the Federal Republic, led by Georg-August Zinn (SPD), whose SPD ruled in coalition with the All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights, a party of expelled eastern Germans whose political goal was to retrieve their homelands (heimatlaender); and also with the League of Expellees' successors party the Gesamtdeutsche Partei.
1969–1976: Center-left government of the SPD-FDP, with Albert Osswald (SPD) as minister-president
1976–1982: Center-left government of the SPD-FDP continued with Holger Börner (SPD) as minister-president.
1982–1984: Center-left government of the SPD (single party rule) with Holger Börner (SPD) as minister-president.
1984–1987: Center-left government of the SPD–Greens with Holger Börner (SPD) as minister-president.
1987–1991: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Walter Wallmann (CDU) as minister-president.
1991–1999: Center-left government of the SPD–Greens with Hans Eichel (SPD) as minister-president.
1999–2003: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Roland Koch (CDU) as minister-president.
2003–2009: Center-right government of the CDU (single party rule) with Roland Koch (CDU) as minister-president.
2009–2010: Center-right government of the CDU-FDP with Roland Koch (CDU) as minister-president.
2010–2014: Center-right government of the CDU–FDP with Volker Bouffier (CDU) as minister-president.
2014–2019: Center-right government of the CDU–Greens with Volker Bouffier (CDU) as minister-president.
2019–2022: Center-right government of the CDU–Greens with Volker Bouffier (CDU) as minister-president. Bouffier resigned in 2022, thus prematurely ending his third term serving as minister-president.
2022–present: Center-right government of the CDU–Greens with Boris Rhein (CDU) as minister-president.

Since 1950, the SPD has been in the Hesse government 45 years, the CDU for 28 years; the FDP acted as coalition partners with either CDU or SPD for 21 years (13 with SPD, 8 with CDU).