| Government Name: | Politics of Schleswig-Holstein |
| Legislature: | Schleswig-Holsteinischer Landtag |
| Leader Title: | Daniel Günther |
| Leader Type: | Minister-President |
| Speaker: | Kristina Herbst, CDU |
| Meeting Place: | Kiel |
| Leader Title2: | Aminata Toure |
| Leader Type2: | 1. Deputy Minister-President |
| Chief Justice Label: | President |
| Chief Justice: | Christoph Brüning |
| Court: | Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesverfassungsgericht |
The Politics of Schleswig-Holstein 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 Schleswig-Holstein. The state has a multi-party system.
From 1919 to 1928, the largest parties in Schleswig-Holstein were the Social Democratic Party, German Democratic Party, Conservative Party and German Peoples Party.[1] [2] [3] From 1930 onwards, Schleswig-Holstein was a bastion of Nazi support. In the 1930 Reicshtag elections, the Nazi Party received their highest vote share in Schleswig-Holstein with 27%. In 1932, the Nazi Party won 51% of the vote in Schleswig-Holstein, the only district where Nazis received an absolute majority.[4] The rural areas of Schleswig-Holstein were particularly likely to support the Nazis.[5]
Since the creation of the Federal Republic in 1945, the state's Minister-Presidents have been:[6]
| Period | Minister-President | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945–1947 | (CDU) | ||
| 1947–1949 | (SPD) | ||
| 1949–1950 | (SPD) | ||
| 1950–1951 | Walter Bartram | (CDU) | |
| 1951–1954 | (CDU) | ||
| 1954–1963 | (CDU) | ||
| 1963–1971 | (CDU) | ||
| 1971–1982 | Gerhard Stoltenberg[7] | (CDU) | |
| 1982–1987 | (CDU) | ||
| 1987–1988 | (CDU) | ||
| 1988–1993 | (SPD) | ||
| 1993–2005 | (SPD) | ||
| 2005–2012 | (CDU) | ||
| 2012– 2016 | (SPD) | ||
| 2017– | (CDU) |
See also: Second Günther cabinet.
| Portfolio | Minister | Party | Took office | Left office | State secretaries | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minister-President | Daniel Günther | CDU | 29 June 2022 | Incumbent | ||||
| Deputy Minister-President | Aminata Touré | GRÜNE | 1 August 2024 | Incumbent | ||||
| Minister for Social Affairs, Youth, Family, Seniors, Integration and Equality | 29 June 2022 | Incumbent | ||||||
| Deputy Minister-President----Minister for Finance | Monika Heinold | GRÜNE | 29 June 2022 | 1 August 2024 | ||||
| Minister for Finance | Silke Schneider | GRÜNE | 1 August 2024 | Incumbent | ||||
| Minister for Justice and Health | Kerstin von der Decken | CDU | 29 June 2022 | Incumbent | ||||
| Minister for Education, Training, Science, Research and Culture | Karin Prien | CDU | 29 June 2022 | Incumbent | ||||
| Minister for Interior, Communities, Housing and Sport | Sabine Sütterlin-Waack | CDU | 29 June 2022 | Incumbent | ||||
| Minister for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature | Tobias Goldschmidt | GRÜNE | 29 June 2022 | Incumbent | ||||
| Minister for Economics, Transport, Labour, Technology and Tourism | Claus Ruhe Madsen | CDU | 29 June 2022 | Incumbent | ||||
| Minister for Agriculture, Rural Areas, Europe and Consumer Protection | Werner Schwarz | CDU | 29 June 2022 | Incumbent | ||||
| Chief of the State Chancellery | Dirk Schrödter | CDU | 29 June 2022 | Incumbent | ||||
See also: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Landtag. The last elections were held on 8 May 2022.[8]
See also: 2022 Schleswig-Holstein state election.
| Year | CDU | Green | SPD | FDP | SSW | AfD | BHE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19474 | 34,1 | - | 43,8 | 5,0 | 9,3 | - | ||
| 19505 | 19,8 | - | 27,5 | 7,1 | 5,5 | - | 23,4 | |
| 19546 | 32,2 | - | 33,2 | 7,5 | 3,5 | - | 14,0 | |
| 19587 | 44,4 | - | 35,9 | 5,4 | 2,8 | - | 6,9 | |
| 1962 | 45,0 | - | 39,2 | 7,9 | 2,3 | - | 4,2 | |
| 19678 | 46,0 | - | 39,4 | 5,9 | 1,9 | - | - | |
| 1971 | 51,9 | - | 41,0 | 3,8 | 1,4 | - | - | |
| 1975 | 50,4 | - | 40,1 | 7,1 | 1,4 | - | - | |
| 1979 | 48,3 | 2,4 | 41,7 | 5,7 | 1,4 | - | - | |
| 1983 | 49,0 | 3,6 | 43,7 | 2,2 | 1,3 | - | - | |
| 1987 | 42,6 | 3,9 | 45,2 | 5,2 | 1,5 | - | - | |
| 1988 | 33,3 | 2,9 | 54,8 | 4,4 | 1,7 | - | - | |
| 19929 | 33,8 | 5,0 | 46,2 | 5,6 | 1,9 | - | - | |
| 199610 | 37,2 | 8,1 | 39,8 | 5,7 | 2,5 | - | - | |
| 2000 | 35,2 | 6,2 | 43,1 | 7,6 | 4,1 | - | - | |
| 2005 | 40,2 | 6,2 | 38,7 | 6,6 | 3,6 | - | - | |
| 2009 | 31,5 | 12,4 | 25,4 | 14,9 | 4,3 | - | - | |
| 2012 | 30,8 | 13,2 | 30,4 | 8,2 | 4,6 | - | - | |
| 2017[9] | 32,0 | 12,9 | 27,3 | 11,5 | 3,3 | 5,9 | - | |
| 2022 | 43,4 | 18,3 | 16,0 | 6,4 | 5,7 | 4,4 | - |
See also: Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein.
| Year | Total | CDU | Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen | SPD | FDP | SSW | AfD | BHE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | 70 | 21 | - | 43 | 6 | - | |||
| 1950 | 69 | 16 | - | 19 | 8 | 4 | - | 15 | |
| 1954 | 69 | 25 | - | 25 | 5 | - | - | 10 | |
| 1958 | 69 | 33 | - | 26 | 3 | 2 | - | 5 | |
| 1962 | 69 | 34 | - | 29 | 5 | 1 | - | - | |
| 1967 | 73 | 34 | - | 30 | 4 | 1 | - | - | |
| 1971 | 73 | 40 | - | 32 | - | 1 | - | - | |
| 1975 | 73 | 37 | - | 30 | 5 | 1 | - | - | |
| 1979 | 73 | 37 | - | 31 | 4 | 1 | - | - | |
| 1983 | 74 | 39 | - | 34 | - | 1 | - | - | |
| 1987 | 74 | 33 | - | 36 | 4 | 1 | - | - | |
| 1988 | 74 | 27 | - | 46 | - | 1 | - | - | |
| 1992 | 89 | 32 | - | 45 | 5 | 1 | - | - | |
| 1996 | 75 | 30 | 6 | 33 | 4 | 2 | - | - | |
| 2000 | 89 | 33 | 5 | 41 | 7 | 3 | - | - | |
| 2005 | 69 | 30 | 4 | 29 | 4 | 2 | - | - | |
| 2009 | 95 | 34 | 12 | 25 | 14 | 4 | - | - | |
| 2012 | 69 | 10 | 22 | 6 | 3 | - | - | ||
| 2017 | 73 | 25 | 10 | 21 | 9 | 3 | 5 | - | |
| 2022[10] | 69 | 34 | 14 | 12 | 5 | 4 | - | - |
The Schleswig-Holstein Landesverfassungsgericht was formed in 2008.[11] Until then, Schleswig-Holstein was the last German state without a constitutional court.