Herne – Bochum II is an electoral constituency (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

. It elects one member via

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 140. It is located in the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , 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 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

region of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, comprising the city of Herne and the eastern part of the city of

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

. Herne – Bochum II was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. From 2013 to 2025, it has been represented by Michelle Müntefering 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 Form ...

(SPD). Since 2025 it is been represented by Hendrik Bollmann of the

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

Geography

Herne – Bochum II is located in the Ruhr region of

. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the entirety of the independent city of Herne and the city districts (''Stadtbezirke'') of 3 Bochum-Nord and 4 Bochum-Ost from the independent city of Bochum.

History

Herne – Bochum II was created in 1949, then known as ''Herne – Castrop-Rauxel''. From 1980 through 1994, it was named ''Herne''. In the 1998 election, it was named ''Herne – Bochum III''. It acquired its current name in the 2002 election. In the 1949 election, it was North Rhine-Westphalia constituency 53 in the numbering system. From 1953 through 1961, it was number 112. From 1965 through 1976, it was number 111. From 1980 through 1998, it was number 112. From 2002 through 2009, it was number 142. In the 2013 through 2021 elections, it was number 141. From the 2025 election, it has been number 140. Originally, the constituency comprised the independent cities of Herne and

Castrop-Rauxel Castrop-Rauxel (), often simply referred to as Castrop by locals, is a former coal mining city in the eastern part of the Ruhr Area within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Geography Castrop-Rauxel is located in Germany between Dort ...

. From 1980 through 1994, it was coterminous with the independent city of Herne. In the 1998 election, it comprised Herne as well as the ''Stadtteile'' of Bergen and Hiltrop from the independent city of Bochum. It acquired its current borders in the 2002 election.

Members

The constituency has been held by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) during all but two Bundestag terms since its creation. It was first represented by

Heinrich Imig Heinrich Gottlieb Imig (24 February 1893 – 24 February 1956) was a German trade unionist and politician. Born in Essen, Imig worked as a coal miner from the age of 19. He joined the Social Democratic Party, and also the Alter Verband union ...

of the SPD 1949 until 1953, when it was won by Friedrich Welskop of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Ulrich Berger Ulrich Berger (October 24, 1921 – January 21, 2003) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former member of the German Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the ...

retained it for the CDU in the 1957 election, but Herbert Kriedemann regained it for the SPD in 1961 and served until 1972.

Walter Arendt Walter Arendt (born 17 January 1925 in Heessen; died 7 March 2005 in Bornheim) was a German politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in governme ...

succeeded him and was representative until 1980, followed by Heinz Westphal until 1990. Dieter Maaß served from 1990 to 2002, when he was succeeded by Gerd Bollmann. Michelle Müntefering was elected in 2013, and re-elected in 2017 and 2021. In 2025 Müntefering was succeeded by Hendrik Bollmann.

Election results

2025 election

2021 election

2017 election

2013 election

2009 election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herne - Bochum II Federal electoral districts in North Rhine-Westphalia 1949 establishments in West Germany Constituencies established in 1949 Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia Bochum