Bremen (state)
Template:Infobox German Bundesland The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (German: Freie Hansestadt Bremen) is the smallest of Germany's 16 Federal States (Bundesländer). A more informal name, but used in some official contexts, is Land Bremen ('State of Bremen').
Geography
The state of Bremen consists of two separated enclaves: Bremen, officially the 'City' (Stadtgemeinde Bremen) which is the state capital, and the city of Bremerhaven (Stadt Bremerhaven). Both are located on the River Weser; Bremerhaven is further downstream and serves as a North Sea harbour (the name means "Bremen's port"). Both cities are completely surrounded by the neighbouring State of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen). The two cities are the only administrative subdivisions the state has.
Politics
Political system
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The Bürgerschaft (city assembly) elects two mayors of the city (Bürgermeister). One of these is then elected by the senate (which forms the executive branch) as president of the senate (Senatspräsident) and is thus head of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.
May 25, 2003 state elections
Dr. Henning Scherf (SPD) remained Mayor and Senate President, in a SPD-CDU grand coalition. As promised he resigned after half of the legislative period. The new Mayor and Senate President since 8 November 2005 is Jens Böhrnsen.
Party | Party List votes | Vote percentage | Total Seats | Seat percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|
Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 123,480 | 42.3% (-0,2) | 40 (-7) | 48.2% |
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 86,819 | 29.8% (-7,2) | 29 (-13) | 34.9% |
Alliance '90/The Greens | 37,350 | 12.8% (+3,8) | 12 (+2) | 14.5% |
Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 12,294 | 4.2% (+1,7) | 1 (+1) | 1.2% |
Deutsche Volksunion (DVU) | 6,642 | 2.3% (-0,7) | 1 (=) | 1.2% |
Law and Order Offensive Party | 12,876 | 4.3% (+4,3) | 0 (=) | 0.0% |
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) | 4,885 | 1.7% (-1,2) | 0 (=) | 0.0% |
All Others | 7420 | 2.6% (-0,5) | 0 (=) | 0.0% |
Totals | 291,766 | 100.0% | 83 (-17) | 100.0% |
2007 state elections
The 2007 elections were held on 13 May.
Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 36.8% | –5,5 | 33 | –7 | 39.8% | |
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 25.7% | –4,1 | 23 | –6 | 27.7% | |
Alliance '90/The Greens | 16.4% | +3,6 | 14 | +2 | 16.9% | |
The Left Party.PDS | 8.4% | +6,7 | 7 | +7 | 8.4% | |
Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 6.0% | +1,8 | 5 | +4 | 6.0% | |
German People's Union (DVU) | 2.7% | +0,4 | 1 | ±0 | 1.2% | |
Others | 4.0% | +1,4 | 0 | ±0 | 0.0% | |
Totals | 100.0% | 83 | 100.0% |