Südpfalz 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 211. It is located in southern

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, comprising the city of

Landau Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...

and the districts of

Germersheim Germersheim () is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of around 20,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of the Germersheim (district), Germersheim district. The neighboring towns and cities are Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsru ...

and

Südliche Weinstraße Südliche Weinstraße ( pfl, Siedlischi Woischdrooß; en, "Southern Wine Route") is a district (''Kreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Südwestpfalz, Bad Dürkheim, the district-f ...

. Südpfalz was created for the 1965 federal election. Since 2021, it has been represented by

Thomas Hitschler Thomas Hitschler (born 27 June 1982) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defence in the coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz ...

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

Südpfalz is located in southern

. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the independent city of Landau and the districts of Germersheim and Südliche Weinstraße.

History

Südpfalz was created in 1965, then known as ''Landau''. It acquired its current name in the 1987 election. In the 1965 through 1976 elections, it was constituency 163 in the numbering system. In the 1980 through 1998 elections, it was number 161. In the 2002 election, it was number 214. In the 2005 election, it was number 213. In the 2009 and 2013 elections, it was number 212. Since the 2017 election, it has been number 211. Originally, the constituency comprised the city of Landau, and the districts of Landkreis Landau, Germersheim, and Bergzabern. In the 1972 and 1976 elections, it comprised the city of Landau, and the districts of Landau-Bad Bergzabern and Germersheim. It acquired its current borders in the 1980 election.

Members

The constituency has been held by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) during all but one Bundestag term since its creation. It was first represented by

Albert Leicht Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

from 1965 to 1980.

Heiner Geißler Heiner Geißler (3 March 1930 – 12 September 2017) was a German politician with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and a federal minister from 1982 to 1985. Career Born Heinrichjosef Georg Geißler in Gleisweiler, he studied law an ...

served from 1980 to 2002.

Ralf Göbel Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

was then representative from 2002 to 2009.

Thomas Gebhart Thomas Gebhart (born 20 December 1971) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate since 2009. From 2018 until 2021, Gebhart served (alo ...

was elected in 2009, and re-elected in 2013 and 2017. Thomas Hitschler won the constituency for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 2021.

Election results

2021 election

2017 election

2013 election

2009 election

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Südpfalz Federal electoral districts in Rhineland-Palatinate 1965 establishments in West Germany Constituencies established in 1965 Landau Germersheim (district) Südliche Weinstraße