First Ramelow cabinet explained

Cabinet Name:First Cabinet of Bodo Ramelow
Cabinet Number:8th
Cabinet Type:Cabinet
Jurisdiction:Thuringia
Flag:Coat of arms of Thuringia.svg
Flag Border:true
Incumbent:2014–2020
Date Formed:5 December 2014
Date Dissolved:5 February 2020
Government Head Title:Minister-President
Government Head:Bodo Ramelow
Deputy Government Head Title:Deputy Minister-President
Deputy Government Head:Heike Taubert
Anja Siegesmund
Members Number:9
Political Parties:The Left
Social Democratic Party
Alliance 90/The Greens
Legislature Status:Coalition government
Opposition Parties:Christian Democratic Union
Alternative for Germany
Election:2014 Thuringian state election
Legislature Term:6th Landtag of Thuringia
Predecessor:Lieberknecht cabinet
Successor:Thomas Kemmerich
Second Ramelow cabinet

The first Ramelow cabinet was the state government of Thuringia between 2014 and 2020, sworn in on 5 December 2014 after Bodo Ramelow was elected as Minister-President by the members of the Landtag of Thuringia. It was the 7th Cabinet of Thuringia.

It was formed after the 2014 Thuringian state election by The Left (LINKE), the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE). Excluding the Minister-President, the cabinet comprised nine ministers. Four were members of The Left, three were members of the SPD, and two were members of the Greens.

The first Ramelow cabinet left office on 5 February 2020 after Thomas Kemmerich was elected Minister-President.

Formation

See also: 2014 Thuringian state election. The previous cabinet was a coalition government CDU and SPD led by Minister-President Christine Lieberknecht.

The state election took place on 14 September, and resulted in small gains for the CDU and a substantial decline for the SPD. The Left and Greens remained steady on 28% and 6% respectively, while the AfD debuted at 11%. Overall, the incumbent coalition retained a slim majority of one seat.

The SPD's losses prompted the party to consider changing course and defecting from the outgoing government. A left-wing coalition of The Left, SPD, and Greens also held a one-seat majority.[1] After holding exploratory talks with the other parties, they SPD carried out a postal ballot of their membership to gauge support for a coalition with The Left and Greens. The results were announced on 4 November, with 69.9% voting in favour. Turnout among the party's 4,300 members was 77.5%.[2] The three parties thus entered into negotiations. They presented their coalition agreement on 19 November.[3]

Bodo Ramelow was elected Minister-President by the Landtag on 6 December after two rounds of voting. In the first ballot, he received 45 votes in favour to 44 against, one short of the required majority. In the second ballot, he was elected with 46 votes in favour to 43 against. In both rounds, there was one abstention and one invalid vote.[4]

Minister-President election
Ballot →4 March 2020
Required majority →46 out of 91 46 out of 91
bgcolor=#BE3075 Bodo Ramelow
bgcolor=red Against
Abstentions

Composition

The composition of the cabinet at the time of its dissolution was as follows:

PortfolioSenatorPartyTook officeLeft officeState secretaries
Minister-PresidentBodo Ramelow
bgcolor=LINKE5 December 20145 February 2020
First Deputy Minister-President
Minister for Finance
Heike Taubert
bgcolor=SPD5 December 20145 February 2020
Second Deputy Minister-President
Minister for Environment, Energy, and Nature Protection
Anja Siegesmund
bgcolor=GRÜNE5 December 20145 February 2020
Minister for Culture, Federal and European Affairs and Chief of the State ChancelleryBenjamin-Immanuel Hoff
LINKE5 December 20145 February 2020
Minister for Infrastructure and Agriculture (acting)26 November 20195 February 2020
Minister for Interior and CommunitiesHolger Poppenhäger
bgcolor=SPD5 December 201430 August 2017
Georg Maier
bgcolor=SPD30 August 20175 February 2020
Minister for Education, Youth and SportBirgit Klaubert
bgcolor=LINKE5 December 201417 August 2017
Helmut Holter
bgcolor=LINKE17 August 20175 February 2020
Minister for Migration, Justice and Consumer ProtectionDieter Lauinger
bgcolor=GRÜNE5 December 20145 February 2020
Minister for Economics, Science and Digital SocietyWolfgang Tiefensee
bgcolor=SPD5 December 20145 February 2020
Minister for Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Women and FamilyHeike Werner
bgcolor=LINKE5 December 20145 February 2020
Minister for Infrastructure and AgricultureBirgit Keller
bgcolor=LINKE5 December 201426 November 2019

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The CDU considers an Afghanistan coalition. 15 September 2014. de. Der Spiegel.
  2. Web site: SPD base in Thuringia votes for red-red-green. 4 November 2014. de. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
  3. Web site: Left, SPD and Greens agree on coalition pact. 19 November 2014. de. Die Zeit.
  4. Web site: Germany gets first socialist state governor since reunification. 6 December 2014. The Guardian.