Saarlouis 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 **Ge ...

: ''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 Common ...

. 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 thei ...

. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 297. It is located in western

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

, comprising the

Merzig-Wadern Merzig-Wadern is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwest of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Trier-Saarburg, Sankt Wendel, Saarlouis, the French ''département'' Moselle, and Luxembourg. History The district was created in 1816 ...

district and most of the district of Saarlouis district. Saarlouis was created for the inaugural 1957 federal election after the accession of Saarland to Germany. Since 2021, it has been represented by

Heiko Maas Heiko Josef Maas (; born 19 September 1966) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs (2018–2021) and as the Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protectio ...

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 Fo ...

(SPD).

Geography

Saarlouis is located in western

. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the Merzig-Wadern district and the Saarlouis district excluding the

Lebach Lebach is a town in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately northeast of Saarlouis, and north of Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saar ...

and

Schmelz Schmelz is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km northeast of Saarlouis, and 25 km northwest of Saarbrücken. The town of Schmelz (which translates to Glaze) is made of s ...

municipalities.

History

Saarlouis was created in 1957, then known as ''Saarlouis – Merzig''. It acquired its current name in the 1965 election. In the 1957 and 1961 elections, it was constituency 245 in the numbering system. In the 1965 through 1998 elections, it was number 246. Since the 2002 election, it has been number 297. Originally, the constituency comprised the Merzig-Wadern district and the Saarlouis district excluding the '' Ämter'' of Bous/Saar, Lebach, Schmelz, and Wadgassen. In the 1965 through 1972 elections, it lost the municipality of Schwalbach from the Saarlouis district. In the 1976 through 1998 elections, it acquired a configuration similar to its current borders, but lacking the municipalities of Bous, Ensdorf, Schwalbach, and

Wadgassen Wadgassen is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 6 km southeast of Saarlouis, and 15 km west of Saarbrücken. Religion Between 1135 and 1792 the Premonstratensia ...

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

Members

The constituency was first represented by Albert Baldauf of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1957 to 1965, followed by fellow CDU member Josef Schmitt from 1965 to 1976. Hans-Werner Müller of the CDU was then representative from 1976 to 1990. Ottmar Schreiner of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was elected in 1990 and served until 2009.

Peter Altmaier Peter Altmaier (born 18 June 1958) is a German lawyer and CDU politician who served as Acting Minister of Finance from 2017 to 2018 and as Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy from 2018 to 2021. He previously served as Federal Mi ...

of the CDU was representative from 2009 to 2021. Heiko Maas won the constituency for the SPD in 2021.

Election results

2021 election

2017 election

2013 election

2009 election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saarlouis (electoral district) 1957 establishments in West Germany Constituencies established in 1957 Merzig-Wadern Saarlouis (district) Federal electoral districts in Saarland