Recklinghausen 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 121. It is located in the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

region of

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 northern and eastern part of the

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and indus ...

district. Recklinghausen II was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. Since 2021, it has been represented by Brian Nickholz 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).

Geography

Recklinghausen II is located in the Ruhr region of

. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the municipalities of

Datteln Datteln is a town in the Recklinghausen (district), district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on a crossroads of four canals (Datteln-Hamm Canal, Wesel-Datteln Canal, Dortmund-Ems Canal and Rhein-Herne Canal), ...

Haltern am See Haltern am See (''Haltern at the lake'', before December 2001 only Haltern) is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln Canal, approx. nor ...

Herten Herten (; Westphalian: ''Hiätten'') is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ks ...

Marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

, and

Oer-Erkenschwick Oer-Erkenschwick is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 5 km north-east of Recklinghausen, on the northern periphery of the ''Ruhrgebiet''. When pronouncing the name, “O ...

from the Recklinghausen district.

History

Recklinghausen II was created in 1949, then known as ''Recklinghausen-Land''. From 1980 through 1987, it was named ''Recklinghausen II''. From 1990 through 1998, it was named ''Recklinghausen II – Borken I''. It acquired its current name in the 2002 election. In the 1949 election, it was North Rhine-Westphalia constituency 41 in the numbering system. From 1953 through 1961, it was number 100. From 1965 through 1976, it was number 99. From 1980 through 1998, it was number 92. From 2002 through 2009, it was number 123. In the 2013 through 2021 elections, it was number 122. From the 2025 election, it has been number 121. Originally, the constituency was coterminous with the Recklinghausen district. From 1965 through 1976, it comprised the municipalities of Dorsten, Herten, Kirchhellen, Marl, and Westerholt from the Recklinghausen district. From 1980 through 1987, it comprised the municipalities of Datteln, Dorsten, Haltern am See, Marl, and Oer-Erkenschwick. In the 1990 and 1994 elections, it acquired the municipalities of Heiden and

Reken Reken is a municipality in the district of Borken, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Rus ...

from the Borken district. In the 1998 election, it also acquired

Raesfeld Raesfeld () is a municipality in the district of Borken in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 10 km south of Borken and 30 km east of the Dutch border. Raesfeld's landmark is the moated castle , ...

from the Borken district. It acquired its current borders in the 2002 election.

Members

The constituency has been held continuously by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 1965. It was first represented by Anton Hoppe of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1949 to 1953, followed by fellow CDU member Friedrich Wilhelm Willeke from 1953 to 1965. Günther Eckerland of the SPD was elected in 1965 and served until 1976, when he was succeeded by Ulrich Steger. He was in turn succeeded by

Horst Niggemeier Horst may refer to: Science * Horst (geology), a raised fault block bounded by normal faults or graben People * Horst (given name) * Horst (surname) * ter Horst, Dutch surname * van der Horst, Dutch surname Places Settlements Germany * Horst, ...

, who served from 1987 to 1994. Waltraud Lehn was representative from 1994 to 2009.

Michael Groß Michael Groß (, ; born 17 June 1964), usually spelled Michael Gross in English, is a former competitive swimmer from Germany. He is tall, and received the nickname "The Albatross" for his especially long arms that gave him a total span of 2.13 ...

was elected in 2009, and re-elected in 2013 and 2017. He was succeeded by Brian Nickholz in 2021.

Election results

2021 election

2017 election

2013 election

2009 election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Recklinghausen II Federal electoral districts in North Rhine-Westphalia 1949 establishments in West Germany Constituencies established in 1949 Recklinghausen (district)