Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin

Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Leadership
President
Ralf Wieland, SPD
Since 27 October 2011
Structure
Seats 160
Political groups


     Government (92)

Opposition Parties

  •      CDU (31)
  •      AfD (25)
  •      FDP (12)
Elections
Last election
 18 September 2016
Next election
 2020
Meeting place
Preußischer Landtag building
Website
abgeordnetenhaus.de

The Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin (German: [ˈʔapɡəʔɔʁdnətn̩ˌhaʊs]) is the state parliament (Landtag) of Berlin, Germany according to the city-state's constitution. In 1993 the parliament moved from Rathaus Schöneberg to its present house on Niederkirchnerstraße in Mitte, which until 1934 was the seat of the Prussian Landtag. The current president of the parliament is Ralf Wieland (SPD).

History

Staircase

The Abgeordnetenhaus ("House of Representatives") parliament was established by the new constitution of West Berlin in 1951. It replaced the former city legislature called Stadtverordnetenversammlung (city deputies assembly), established by the Prussian Reforms in 1808 and re-established by Allied-initiated state elections of 1946.

Between 1951 and 1990 the Abgeordnetenhaus was a parliament of restricted autonomy, since the Allied 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. After reunification the Abgeordnetenhaus continued to be the parliament of united Berlin.

Elections

The parliament of Berlin is chosen every five years in a general, free, secret and direct ballot according to the principle of proportional representation. It consists of at least 130 representatives, 78 chosen directly in the electoral districts of the Berlin 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 the Abgeordnetenhaus increases because of these overhang mandates.

The current distribution of seats as of the 2016 election (compared to the 2011 election) is:

The Pirate 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 in the 2016 election while the AfD joined the assembly for the first time and the FDP returned following a recovery in voter support.

Functions

Nameplate

The consideration and passing of legislation is the most important task, including the government budget. In addition, the parliament chooses the Governing Mayor of Berlin, and checks the city's government, the Senate of Berlin.

Presidents

Name Party Period
Otto Suhr SPD January 11, 1951 – January 11, 1955
Willy Brandt SPD January 11, 1955 – October 2, 1957
Kurt Landsberg SPD October 19, 1957 – March 4, 1958
Willy Henneberg SPD March 20, 1958 – September 17, 1961
Otto Friedrich Bach SPD September 29, 1961 – April 6, 1967
Walter Sickert SPD April 6, 1967 – April 24, 1975
Peter Lorenz CDU April 24, 1975 – December 10, 1980
Heinrich Lummer CDU December 10, 1980 – June 11, 1981
Peter Rebsch CDU June 11, 1981 – March 2, 1989
Jürgen Wohlrabe CDU March 2, 1989 – January 11, 1991
Hanna-Renate Laurien CDU January 11, 1991 – November 30, 1995
Herwig Haase CDU November 30, 1995 – November 18, 1999
Reinhard Führer CDU November 18, 1999 – November 29, 2001
Walter Momper SPD November 29, 2001 – October 27, 2011
Ralf Wieland SPD since October 27, 2011

See also

References

    Coordinates: 52°30′29″N 13°22′55″E / 52.50806°N 13.38194°E / 52.50806; 13.38194

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