- Politics of Saarland
The Politics of Saarland takes place within a framework of a
federal parliamentary representative democratic republic , where theFederal Government of Germany exercises sovereign rights with certain powers reserved to the states of Germany includingSaarland . The state has a multi-party system where the two main parties are the rightistChristian Democratic Union (CDU) and the leftistSocial Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).Every five years, all Germans residing in the State over the age of 18 elect the members of the Saarland
Landtag . This regionalparliament orlegislature then elects theMinister-President and confirms the cabinet members.League of Nations
The "Territory of the Saar Basin" was governed by the
League of Nations under theTreaty of Versailles from 1920 until 1935. The Chairmen of the Commission of Government were:* 1920 - 1926:
Victor Rault (France)
* 1926 - 1927George Washington Stephens (Canada)
* 1927 - 1932 SirErnest Colville Collins Wilton (UK)
* 1932 - 1935 SirGeoffrey George Knox (UK)Nazi Germany
Saarland voted to rejoin Germany in 1935. The German-appointed
Reichskommissar were:* 1935 - 1944:
Josef Bürckel (NSDAP )
* 1944 - 1945:Willi Stöhr (NSDAP )Saar protectorate
From 1947 to 1956, Saarland was controlled by
France as a protectorate. Elections were held but pro-German parties were banned.Minister-Presidents in this time were:
* 1945 - 1946:
Hans Neureuther , Leader of the Government under French administration
* 1946 - 1947:Erwin Müller , Chairman of the Administrative Commission
* 1947 - 1955:Johannes Hoffmann
* 1955 - 1956:Heinrich Welsch (ind)
* 1956 - 1957: Dr.Hubert Ney , (CDU)German state
Saarland joined the
Federal Republic of Germany in 1957. Since then, its Minister-Presidents have been:* 1957 - 1959:
Egon Reinert , CDU
* 1959 - 1979: Dr.Franz Josef Röder , CDU
* 1979 (26 June - 5 July):Werner Klumpp , FDP, interim
* 1979 - 1985:Werner Zeyer , CDU
* 1985 - 1998:Oskar Lafontaine , SPD
* 1998 - 1999:Reinhard Klimmt , SPD
* 1999 - today:Peter Müller , CDUThe election results have been:
Latest election
In the latest election, the ruling
Christian Democratic Union increased its majority from 1 to 3. The Green Party and the Free Democrats also re-entered the local parliament.
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