Cologne II (german: Köln II) is an electoral constituency (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

. It elects one member via

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 94. It is located in western

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

, comprising the southwestern part of the city of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. Cologne II was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. Since 2021, it has been represented by

Sven Lehmann Sven Lehmann (born 14 December 1979) is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2017. In addition to his parliamentary work, Lehmann has be ...

of the

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...

Geography

Cologne II is located in western

. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the southwestern part of the independent city of Cologne, specifically the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Rodenkirchen Rodenkirchen () is a southern borough (''Stadtbezirk'') of Cologne (Köln) in Germany. It has about 110,000 inhabitants and covers an area of . The borough includes the quarters Bayenthal, Godorf, Hahnwald, Immendorf, Marienburg, Meschenich, Rad ...

, Lindenthal, and the ''Stadtteile'' of Altstadt-Süd and Neustadt-Süd from Innenstadt.

History

Cologne II was created in 1949. In the 1949 election, it was North Rhine-Westphalia constituency 8 in the numbering system. From 1953 through 1961, it was number 67. From 1965 through 1998, it was number 60. From 2002 through 2009, it was number 95. Since the 2013 election, it has been number 94. Originally, the constituency comprised the area of Cologne on the left bank of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

south of the line made by Aachener Straße and Innere Kanalstraße. In the 1965 through 1976 elections, it comprised Bayenthal,

Zollstock Zollstock is a district () of Cologne in the borough () of Rodenkirchen. Situated west of the river Rhine, Zollstock was first mentioned in 1877 and experienced increased development from the 1880s onwards. Since 1901, the district has housed the ...

, Klettenberg, Sülz, Lindenthal, Müngersdorf, and Ehrenfeld south of Subbelrather Straße. In the 1980 through 1998 elections, it comprised Rodenkirchen and Lindenthal. It acquired its current borders in the 2002 election.

Members

The constituency was first represented by

Hermann Pünder Hermann Josef Pünder (1 April 1888 in Trier – 3 October 1976 in Fulda) was a German politician in the Centre Party (Germany), German Centre Party and the Christian Democratic Union (Germany), Christian Democratic Union. His older brother ...

of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1949 to 1957, followed by fellow CDU members

Fritz Hellwig Fritz Hellwig (3 August 1912 – 22 July 2017) was a German CDU politician and European Commissioner. He was born in Saarbrücken and turned 100 in August 2012. and died on 22 July 2017 at the age of 104. He died 12 days before his 105th bir ...

until 1961 and Carl Hesberg until 1969. It was won by the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SPD) in 1969 and represented by

Katharina Focke Katharina Focke (8 October 1922 – 10 July 2016) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). She served as Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth from 1972 to 1976. Biography Focke st ...

. She was succeeded in 1980 by

Anke Fuchs Anke Fuchs (; ; 5 July 1937 – 14 October 2019) was a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. She was Federal Minister for Youth, Family and Health (1982) and Vice President of the Bundestag (1998–2002). From ...

for a single term. The CDU regained the constituency in 1983, and

Heribert Blens Heribert Blens (19 February 1936, Cologne, West Germany) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former member of the German Bundestag. Life Blens became a member of the CDU as early as 1955, and from 1969 to 1987 h ...

served from then until 1998, when former member Fuchs was elected representative for another term. She was succeeded by in 2002 by fellow SPD member

Lale Akgün Dr. Lale Akgün (born 17 September 1953 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a German politician and member of the SPD. She served as an MP for Cologne II electoral district in the German Bundestag from 2002 to 2009. Life Lale Akgün's Turkish family m ...

. Michael Paul of the CDU won the constituency in 2009 and served until 2013.

Heribert Hirte Heribert Hirte (born 31 March 1958) is a German legal scholar and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2013 until 2021. Political career Born ...

was elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2017. Sven Lehmann of the Greens won the constituency in 2021.

Election results

2021 election

2017 election

2013 election

2009 election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cologne II Federal electoral districts in North Rhine-Westphalia Politics of Cologne Constituencies established in 1949 1949 establishments in West Germany