Berlin House of Representatives Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin | |
|---|---|
| 19th Abgeordnetenhaus | |
 | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Established | 1809 |
| Leadership | |
President | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 159 |
.svg) | |
Political groups | Government (86) Opposition (73) |
| Elections | |
Last election | 12 February 2023 |
Next election | 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Preußischer Landtag building | |
| Website | |
| parlament-berlin.de | |
TheAbgeordnetenhaus of Berlin (House of Representatives) (German:[ˈʔapɡəʔɔʁdnətn̩ˌhaʊs]ⓘ) is thestate parliament (Landtag) ofBerlin,Germany according to thecity-state's constitution. In 1993, the parliament moved fromRathaus Schöneberg to its present house onNiederkirchnerstraße inMitte, which from 1899 until 1934 was the seat of thePrussian House of Representatives. The current president of the parliament isCornelia Seibeld (CDU).
TheAbgeordnetenhaus was established by the new constitution ofWest Berlin in 1951. It replaced the former city legislature calledStadtverordnetenversammlung (city deputies assembly), established by thePrussian Reforms in 1808 and re-established byAllied-initiated state elections of 1946.
Between 1951 and 1990 theAbgeordnetenhaus was a parliament of restricted autonomy, since theAllied Control Council required that all its legislation and its elections, such as those of mayors and the senators (then still elected and not yet appointed by the mayor), be subject to Western Allied confirmation or rejection. Afterreunification theAbgeordnetenhaus continued to be the parliament of united Berlin.
The parliament of Berlin is chosen every five years in a general, free, secret and direct ballot according to the principle ofproportional representation. It consists of at least 130 representatives, 78 chosen directly in theelectoral districts of theBerlin boroughs, and 52 indirectly from land or district lists. If a party wins more constituency seats than its overall share of the vote, the overall size of theAbgeordnetenhaus increases because of theseoverhang mandates.
The current distribution of seats as of the re-run2023 election (compared to the2021 election) is:
In 2023, the FDP failed to reach the 5% bar and so was not eligible for representation. The 2023 election was a re-run of the 2021 election after theConstitutional Court of the State of Berlindeclared the results invalid due to numerous irregularities and ordered a repeat election within 90 days.[1][2]
In 2016, thePirate Party Berlin lost the 15 seats it won for the first time in the 2011 election due to their failure to cross the 5%election threshold necessary to qualify for representation while the AfD joined the assembly for the first time and the FDP returned following a recovery in voter support.
The consideration and passing oflegislation is the most important task, including thegovernment budget. In addition, the parliament chooses theGoverning Mayor, and checks the city's government, theSenate of Berlin.[citation needed]
Citizens can petition the House of Representatives to debate topics viaagenda initiatives.[3][4]
| Name | Party | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Otto Suhr | SPD | 11 January 1951 – 11 January 1955 |
| Willy Brandt | SPD | 11 January 1955 – 2 October 1957 |
| Kurt Landsberg | SPD | 19 October 1957 – 4 March 1958 |
| Willy Henneberg | SPD | 20 March 1958 – 17 September 1961 |
| Otto Friedrich Bach | SPD | 29 September 1961 – 6 April 1967 |
| Walter Sickert | SPD | 6 April 1967 – 24 April 1975 |
| Peter Lorenz | CDU | 24 April 1975 – 10 December 1980 |
| Heinrich Lummer | CDU | 10 December 1980 – 11 June 1981 |
| Peter Rebsch | CDU | 11 June 1981 – 2 March 1989 |
| Jürgen Wohlrabe | CDU | 2 March 1989 – 11 January 1991 |
| Hanna-Renate Laurien | CDU | 11 January 1991 – 30 November 1995 |
| Herwig Haase | CDU | 30 November 1995 – 18 November 1999 |
| Reinhard Führer | CDU | 18 November 1999 – 29 November 2001 |
| Walter Momper | SPD | 29 November 2001 – 27 October 2011 |
| Ralf Wieland | SPD | 27 October 2011 – 4 November 2021 |
| Dennis Buchner | SPD | 4 November 2021 – 16 March 2023 |
| Cornelia Seibeld | CDU | 16 March 2023 –present |
Berlin topics | |
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| Administration | |
| Culture | |
| Society | |
| Other topics | |
| International | |
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| National | |
52°30′29″N13°22′55″E / 52.50806°N 13.38194°E /52.50806; 13.38194
