Landtag of Baden-Württemberg Landtag von Baden-Württemberg | |
|---|---|
| 17th Landtag of Baden-Württemberg | |
 | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Established | 1952 |
| Leadership | |
President of the Landtag | |
Vice President | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 154 |
 | |
Political groups | Government (100) Opposition (54) |
| Elections | |
Last election | 14 March 2021 |
Next election | 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Stuttgart | |
TheLandtag of Baden-Württemberg is thediet of the German state ofBaden-Württemberg. It convenes inStuttgart and currently consists of 154 members of five political parties. The majority before the2021 election was a coalition of theAlliance 90/The Greens and theChristian Democratic Union (CDU), supporting thecabinet of GreenMinister-PresidentWinfried Kretschmann, who has served since 2011.
The Baden-Württemberg State Parliament is rooted in a tradition of democratic predecessors. During theWeimar Republic, these were the State Parliament of theRepublic of Baden and the State Parliament of theFree People's State of Württemberg. Following the end ofWorld War II, three states were established in the territory that would later become Baden-Württemberg:Baden,Württemberg-Hohenzollern, andWürttemberg-Baden.
The Consultative State Assembly and the State Parliament of Baden convened from 1946 to 1952 in theHistorical Merchants' Hall inFreiburg im Breisgau. The Historic Merchants' Hall, a notableGothic building, served as a significant venue due to its historical and cultural importance in the region. Karl Person served as President of the Baden State Parliament from 1947 to 1951.
The State Parliament ofWürttemberg-Hohenzollern initially met in 1946 as a Consultative State Assembly in theBebenhausen Abbey inTübingen. The choice of the Bebenhausen Monastery, a formerCistercian abbey, reflected the region’s historical heritage and its temporary use for governmental functions.Karl Gengler was the President of the Württemberg-Hohenzollern State Parliament from 1947 to 1952.
The Constitutional State Assembly and the State Parliament ofWürttemberg-Baden held their sessions from 1946 to 1952 inStuttgart. Stuttgart, as the administrative and economic hub of the region, was a natural choice for these assemblies. The presidents of the Württemberg-Baden State Parliament were Wilhelm Simpfendörfer in 1946 and Wilhelm Keil from 1947 to 1952. From 1947, the sessions took place in theEduard-Pfeiffer-Haus, built in 1889 by the Workers’ Home Foundation, located at Heusteigstrasse 45 in Stuttgart. This building, designed to support workers’ welfare, was a fitting symbol of post-war reconstruction efforts. The Baden-Württemberg State Parliament continued to use this building until 1961. After 1961, the State Parliament moved to a new, purpose-built parliament building in Stuttgart, reflecting the growing needs of the unified state.[1][2]
The facilities of the Baden-Württemberg State Parliament consist of two main structures: the square-shaped Parliament House, completed in 1961 and situated in the upper Schlossgarten, and the House of Representatives, inaugurated in 1987 on the opposite side of Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse. These are linked by an underground pedestrian tunnel for convenient access. The Parliament House holds historical significance as the first purpose-built parliamentary structure in Europe followingWorld War II and is designated as a protected landmark. It was constructed under the direction of architects Erwin Heinle, aStuttgart-based professor, and Horst Linde, head of the building administration at the time, based on a design by Kurt Viertel fromMainz. Notably, the initial winning proposal by Peter C. von Seidlein and Ulrich Schmidt von Altenstadt was instead implemented in 1964 as a university facility inTübingen. The interiors of both buildings feature prominent artworks by renowned artists.
From autumn 2013 through spring 2016, the Parliament House underwent a comprehensive modernization and refurbishment by Berlin'sStaab Architekten at a cost of 52.1 million euros.[3] The project focused on enhancingenergy efficiency, updating technical systems, and redesigning the plenary hall's roof to introduce natural daylight, which had previously been absent.[4] ArchitectVolker Staab was awarded theHugo-Häring-Prize in 2018 for this overhaul. During the construction period, parliamentary sessions were relocated to the Kunstgebäude from September 25, 2013, until spring 2016.[5] The inaugural session of the 16th Baden-Württemberg State Parliament took place in the revamped Parliament House on May 11, 2016.
Following theBaden-Württemberg state election on March 14, 2021, the initial seat distribution for the 17th legislative period (May 1, 2021–April 30, 2026) was as follows:
| Party | Seats | Direct Mandates | Second Mandates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance 90/The Greens | 58[a] | 58 | 0 |
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 42[a] | 12 | 30 |
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 19[b] | 0 | 19 |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP/DVP)[6] | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 17 | 0 | 17 |
Elections are conducted using amixed-member proportional representation system, with a minimum of 5% vote share to receive any seats. However, there are some exceptions, making the Baden-Württemberg election system one of the most complicated in Germany.[7]
The minimum size of the Landtag is 120 members, of which 70 members are elected insingle-member constituencies withfirst-past-the-post voting, and 50 are pulled from theparty lists according to the principle ofproportional representation.Overhang andlevelling seats may be added.
The main difference in their electoral system compared to the federal Bundestag is that there are no list members, making all members local. Proportionality is maintained by parties awarding remaining seats to candidates within a party who didn't win a geographic district (aZweitmandat, or "second mandate") ordered by most to least popular (e.g. a candidate losing with 47% of the vote would be placed ahead of a candidate losing with 20% of votes in their district).
This does mean that a candidate who placed second within their district isn't guaranteed a seat, if other losers in their party were more popular and if their party only needs a small number of seats to maintain proportionality.
So far, the presidents of the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg have been:
In the 17th legislative period, there are two vice presidents, after the parliament had only one vice president in the 16th legislative period.[9]
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48°46′43″N9°11′01″E / 48.77861°N 9.18361°E /48.77861; 9.18361
