Politics of Lower Saxony

The Lower Saxony State Parliament ("Landtag") in Hannover

The politics of Lower Saxony 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 Lower Saxony.[1] Since 1948 politics in the state has been dominated by the rightist Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the leftist Social Democratic Party. Lower Saxony was one of the origins of the German environmentalist movement in reaction to the state government's support for underground nuclear waste disposal. This led to the formation of the German Green Party in 1980.

Minister-presidents

Political party:   SPD   DP   CDU

Portrait Name
(Born–Died)		 Term of office Political party Election
Took office Left office Days
State of Lower Saxony (1946–present)
British occupation zone of Germany (1946–1949)
State of the Federal Republic of Germany (as of 23 May 1949)
1 Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf
(1893–1961)		 9 December 1946 26 May 1955 3090 Social Democratic Party 1947
1951
2 Heinrich Hellwege
(1908–1991)		 26 May 1955 12 May 1959 1447 German Party 1955
3
(1)		 Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf
(1893–1961)		 12 May 1959 21 December 1961
(died in office)		 954 Social Democratic Party 1959
4 Georg Diederichs
(1900–1983)		 29 December 1961 8 July 1970 3113 Social Democratic Party 1963
1967
5 Alfred Kubel
(1909–1999)		 8 July 1970 6 February 1976
(resigned)		 2039 Social Democratic Party 1970
1974
6 Ernst Albrecht
(1930–2014)		 6 February 1976 21 June 1990 5249 Christian Democratic Union 1974
1978
1982
1986
7 Gerhard Schröder
(born 1944)		 21 June 1990 27 October 1998
(resigned to become Chancellor)		 3050 Social Democratic Party 1990
1994
1998
8 Gerhard Glogowski
(born 1943)		 28 October 1998 15 October 1999
(resigned)		 352 Social Democratic Party 1998
9 Sigmar Gabriel
(born 1959)		 15 October 1999 4 March 2003 1236 Social Democratic Party 1998
10 Christian Wulff
(born 1959)		 4 March 2003 30 June 2010
(resigned to become President)		 2675 Christian Democratic Union 2003
2008
11 David McAllister
(born 1971)		 1 July 2010 19 February 2013 964 Christian Democratic Union 2008
12 Stephan Weil
(born 1958)		 19 February 2013 Incumbent 4939 Social Democratic Party 2013
2017
2022

Landtag of Lower Saxony

Party strength in the Landtag

A darkened box under a party in any given year denotes that the party had either not yet been founded, or the party had become defunct, by the date of that election.

Election year Total
seats		 Seats won
SPD CDU FDP GB/BHE Grüne DP KPD DZP AfD Others
1947 149 65 30 13 27 8 6
1951 158 64 35 12 21 [a] 2 4 20 [b]
1955 159 59 43 12 17 19 2 1 6 [c]
1959 157 65 51 8 13 20
1963 149 73 62 14
1967 149 66 63 10 10 [d]
1970 149 75 74
1974 155 67 77 11
1978 155 72 83
1982 171 63 87 10 11
1986 155 66 69 9 11
1990 155 71 67 9 8
1994 161 81 67 13
1998 157 83 62 12
2003 183 63 91 15 14
2008 152 48 68 13 12 11 [e]
2013 137 49 54 14 20
2018 137 55 50 11 12 9
2022 146 57 47 24 18

Legislative compositions

State election results maps

Constituencies in the Landtag

  • Braunschweig-Nord (01)
  • Braunschweig-Süd (02)
  • Braunschweig-West (03)
  • Peine (04)
  • Gifhorn-Nord/Wolfsburg (05)
  • Gifhorn-Süd (06)
  • Wolfsburg (07)
  • Helmstedt (08)
  • Wolfenbüttel-Nord (09)
  • Wolfenbüttel-Süd/Salzgitter (10)
  • Salzgitter (11)
  • Göttingen/Harz (12)
  • Goslar (13)
  • Duderstadt (14)
  • Göttingen/Münden (15)
  • Göttingen-Stadt (16)
  • Northeim (17)
  • Einbeck (18)
  • Holzminden (19)
  • Hildesheim (20)
  • Sarstedt/Bad Salzdetfurth (21)
  • Alfeld (22)
  • Hannover-Döhren (23)
  • Hannover-Buchholz (24)
  • Hannover-Linden (25)
  • Hannover-Richlingen (26)
  • Hannover-Mitte (27)
  • Laatzen (28)
  • Lehrte (29)
  • Langenhagen (30)
  • Garbsen/Wedemark (31)
  • Neustadt/Wunstorf (32)
  • Barsinghausen (33)
  • Springe (34)
  • Bad Pyrmont (35)
  • Schaumburg (36)
  • Hameln/Rinteln (37)
  • Nienburg/Schaumburg (38)
  • Nienburg-Nord (39)
  • Syke (40)
  • Siepholz (41)
  • Waldrode (42)
  • Soltau (43)
  • Bergen (44)
  • Celle (45)
  • Uelzen (46)
  • Elbe (47)
  • Lüneburg-Land (48)
  • Lüneburg (49)
  • Winsen (50)
  • Seevetal (51)
  • Buchholz (52)
  • Rotenburg (53)
  • Bremervörde (54)
  • Buxtehude (55)
  • Stade (56)
  • Geestland (57)
  • Cuxhaven (58)
  • Unterweser (59)
  • Osterholz (60)
  • Verden (61)
  • Oldenburg-Mitte/Süd (62)
  • Oldenburg-Nord/West (63)
  • Oldenburg-Land (64)
  • Delmenhorst (65)
  • Cloppenburg-Nord (66)
  • Cloppenburg (67)
  • Vechta (68)
  • Wilhelmshaven (69)
  • Friesland (70)
  • Wesermarsch (71)
  • Ammerland (72)
  • Bersenbrück (73)
  • Melle (74)
  • Bramsche (75)
  • Georgsmarienhütte (76)
  • Osnabrück-Ost (77)
  • Osnabrück-West (78)
  • Grafschaft Bentheim (79)
  • Lingen (80)
  • Meppen (81)
  • Papenburg (82)
  • Leer (83)
  • Leer/Borkum (84)
  • Emden/Norden (85)
  • Aurich (86)
  • Wittmund/Inseln (87)

Constituencies in the Bundestag

NoConstituencyMember 2021Voters20172013200920052002199819941990
24 Aurich – Emden Johann Saathoff SPD 191,846 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
25 Unterems Gitta Connemann CDU 238,506 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
26 Friesland – Wilhelmshaven – Wittmund Siemtje Möller SPD 189,047 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
27 Oldenburg - Ammerland Dennis Rohde SPD 228,705 SPD SPD CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
28 Delmenhorst – Wesermarsch – Oldenburg-Land Susanne Mittag SPD 226,827 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
29 Cuxhaven – Stade II Daniel Schneider SPD 188,602 CDU CDU CDU Created for 2009 election
30 Stade I – Rotenburg II Oliver Grundmann CDU 198,576 CDU CDU CDU Abolished SPD CDU CDU
31 Mittelems Albert Stegemann CDU 233,253 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
32 Cloppenburg - Vechta Silvia Breher CDU 223,948 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
33 Diepholz – Nienburg I Axel Knoerig CDU 194,371 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
34 Osterholz – Verden Andreas Mattfeldt CDU 197,490 CDU CDU CDU Abolished SPD SPD SPD
35 Rotenburg I - Heidekreis Lars Klingbeil SPD 168,927 SPD CDU CDU Abolished SPD CDU CDU
36 Harburg Svenja Stadler SPD 201,740 CDU CDU CDU Abolished SPD CDU CDU
37 Lüchow-Dannenberg – Lüneburg Jakob Blankenburg SPD 182,673 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
38 Osnabrück-Land André Berghegger CDU 199,960 CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU CDU
39 Stadt Osnabrück Manuel Gava SPD 195,467 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
40 Nienburg II – Schaumburg Marja-Liisa Völlers SPD 193,863 CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD CDU
41 Stadt Hannover I Adis Ahmetovic SPD 176,770 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
42 Stadt Hannover II Yasmin Fahimi SPD 190,336 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
43 Hannover-Land I Rebecca Schamber SPD 231,250 CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
44 Celle – Uelzen Henning Otte CDU 214,482 CDU CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
45 Gifhorn – Peine Hubertus Heil SPD 219,966 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
46 Hameln-Pyrmont – Holzminden Johannes Schraps SPD 184,471 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
47 Hannover-Land II Matthias Miersch SPD 238,323 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
48 Hildesheim Bernd Westphal SPD 215,131 SPD CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
49 Salzgitter - Wolfenbüttel Dunja Kreiser SPD 200,922 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
50 Braunschweig Christos Pantazis SPD 187,721 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD CDU
51 Helmstedt – Wolfsburg Falko Mohrs SPD 180,147 SPD CDU CDU SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU
52 Goslar – Northeim – Göttingen II Frauke Heiligenstadt SPD 197,519 CDU SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD
53 Göttingen Andreas Philippi SPD 214,542 SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD SPD CDU CDU

Notes

  1. ↑ Ran jointly with CDU as the Low German Confederation
  2. ↑ 16 SRP, 3 DRP, 1 DSP
  3. ↑ DRP
  4. ↑ NDP
  5. ↑ Left

References

  1. ↑ "The Landtag (State Parliament) of Lower Saxony | Lower Saxony Portal". www.lower-saxony.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2025-11-28. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
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