Münster 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 129. It is located in northern

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 city of

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

. Münster was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. Since 2021, it has been represented by Maria Klein-Schmeink 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

Münster is located in northern

. As of the 2021 federal election, it is coterminous with the independent city of Münster.

History

Münster was created in 1949, then known as ''Münster-Stadt und -Land''. It acquired its current name in the 1965 election. In the 1949 election, it was North Rhine-Westphalia constituency 38 in the numbering system. From 1953 through 1961, it was number 97. From 1965 through 1976, it was number 95. From 1980 through 1998, it was number 99. From 2002 through 2009, it was number 130. Since 2013, it has been number 129. Originally, the constituency comprised the city of Münster and the Landkreis Münster district. From 1965 through 1976, it comprised the city of Münster and the municipalities of Amelsbüren, Handorf, Hiltrup, and St. Mauritz from the Landkreis Münster district. Since the 1980 election, it has been coterminous with the city of Münster.

Members

The constituency has been held by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) during all but two Bundestag terms since 1949. It was first represented by Peter Nellen of the CDU from 1949 to 1961, followed by Hermann Diebäcker for two terms and

Franz Berding Franz Berding (11 May 1915 – 16 February 2010) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former member of the German Bundestag. Political career Berding joined the CDU as a member in 1946. He was mayor of the ...

for one. Friedrich-Adolf Jahn was then representative from 1972 to 1994. He was succeeded by Ruprecht Polenz from 1994 to 2002. Christoph Strässer of 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) was elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2005, but former member Polenz regained the constituency for the CDU in 2009. Sybille Benning was elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2017. Maria Klein-Schmeink was elected for the Greens in 2021.

Election results

2021 election

2017 election

2013 election

2009 election

References

{{coord missing, North Rhine-Westphalia Federal electoral districts in North Rhine-Westphalia 1949 establishments in West Germany Constituencies established in 1949 Münster