| Election Name: | 1991 Rhineland-Palatinate state election |
| Country: | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1987 Rhineland-Palatinate state election |
| Previous Year: | 1987 |
| Next Election: | 1996 Rhineland-Palatinate state election |
| Next Year: | 1996 |
| Seats For Election: | All 101 seats of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Majority Seats: | 51 |
| Election Date: | 21 April 1991 |
| Turnout: | 2,125,407 (73.9%) 3.1% |
| Leader1: | Rudolf Scharping |
| Party1: | Social Democratic Party of Germany |
| Last Election1: | 40 seats, 38.8% |
| Seats1: | 47 |
| Seat Change1: | 7 |
| Popular Vote1: | 951,695 |
| Percentage1: | 44.8% |
| Swing1: | 6.0% |
| Leader2: | Carl-Ludwig Wagner |
| Party2: | Christian Democratic Union of Germany |
| Last Election2: | 48 seats, 45.1% |
| Seats2: | 40 |
| Seat Change2: | 8 |
| Popular Vote2: | 822,449 |
| Percentage2: | 38.7% |
| Swing2: | 6.4% |
| Party4: | Free Democratic Party (Germany) |
| Last Election4: | 7 seats, 7.3% |
| Seats4: | 7 |
| Seat Change4: | 0 |
| Popular Vote4: | 146,400 |
| Percentage4: | 6.9% |
| Swing4: | 0.4% |
| Party5: | Alliance 90/The Greens |
| Last Election5: | 5 seats, 5.9% |
| Seats5: | 7 |
| Seat Change5: | 2 |
| Popular Vote5: | 137,139 |
| Percentage5: | 6.5% |
| Swing5: | 0.6% |
| Map Size: | 300px |
| Minister-President | |
| Before Election: | Carl-Ludwig Wagner |
| Before Party: | Christian Democratic Union of Germany |
| After Election: | Rudolf Scharping |
| After Party: | Social Democratic Party of Germany |
The 1991 Rhineland-Palatinate state election was held on 21 April 1991 to elect the members of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate. The incumbent coalition government of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Carl-Ludwig Wagner was defeated, losing its majority. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) moved into first place, forming a coalition with the FDP. SPD leader Rudolf Scharping was subsequently elected as Minister-President.
This election marked several changes in the state history:
First, a change in the state election system. Previous elections were held purely proportionally, however, from that election on, the elections were held more in line with the federal mixed-member proportional representation, with both direct constituencies and proportional representation.
Secondly, from 1991 on, the Landtag became elected for five years instead of the previous four.
Thirdly, the election marked a shift in the state's political alignment: for 44 years (1947-1991) the state had been governed by CDU, with CDU coming first in every election, the state has been continuously governed by SPD since the election.
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate.
| Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | 1987 result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes (%) | Seats | |||||||
| bgcolor= | CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | Christian democracy | Carl-Ludwig Wagner | 45.1% | |||
| bgcolor= | SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany | Social democracy | Rudolf Scharping | 38.8% | |||
| bgcolor= | FDP | Free Democratic Party | Classical liberalism | 7.3% | ||||
| bgcolor= | Grüne | Alliance 90/The Greens | Green politics | 5.9% | ||||
|-| colspan=8 | |-! colspan="2" | Party! Votes! %! +/-! Seats ! +/-! Seats %|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | Social Democratic Party (SPD)| align=right| 951,695| align=right| 44.8| align=right| 6.0| align=right| 47| align=right| 7| align=right| 46.5|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | Christian Democratic Union (CDU)| align=right| 822,449| align=right| 38.7| align=right| 6.4| align=right| 40| align=right| 8| align=right| 39.6|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | Free Democratic Party (FDP)| align=right| 146,400| align=right| 6.9| align=right| 0.4| align=right| 7| align=right| 0| align=right| 6.9|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)| align=right| 137,139| align=right| 6.5| align=right| 0.6| align=right| 7| align=right| 2| align=right| 6.9|-! colspan=8||-| bgcolor=| | align=left | The Republicans (REP)| align=right| 43,380| align=right| 2.0| align=right| 2.0| align=right| 0| align=right| ±0| align=right| 0|-| bgcolor=|| align=left | Others| align=right| 24,244| align=right| 1.1| align=right| | align=right| 0| align=right| ±0| align=right| 0|-! align=right colspan=2| Total! align=right| 2,125,407! align=right| 100.0! align=right| ! align=right| 101! align=right| 1! align=right| |-! align=right colspan=2| Voter turnout! align=right| ! align=right| 73.9! align=right| 3.1! align=right| ! align=right| ! align=right| |}