Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg 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 195. It is located in southwestern

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, comprising the city of

Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella ...

and the districts of

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen () is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the Hildburghausen district. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra River. The town centre ...

Schmalkalden-Meiningen Schmalkalden-Meiningen is a '' Landkreis'' in the southwest of Thuringia, Germany. Its neighboring districts are (from the northwest clockwise) the districts Wartburgkreis, Gotha, Ilm-Kreis, the district-free city Suhl, the district Hildburghaus ...

, and

Sonneberg Sonneberg () in Thuringia, Germany, is the seat of the Sonneberg district. It is in the Franconian south of Thuringia, neighboring its Upper Franconian twin town Neustadt bei Coburg. Sonneberg became known as the "world toy city", and is home ...

. The constituency is almost exactly coterminous with the Bezirk Suhl of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg was created for the inaugural 1990 federal election after

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

. From 2021 to 2025, it has been represented by

Frank Ullrich Frank Ullrich (, ; born 24 January 1958) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD and former biathlete and athletic trainer, trainer of the German national team. Since 2021 German federal election, 2021, he has bee ...

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 Robert Teske of the

AfD Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Germany. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), ...

Geography

Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg is located in southwestern

. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the independent city of Suhl and the districts of Hildburghausen, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, and Sonneberg.

History

Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg was created after German reunification in 1990, then known as ''Suhl – Schmalkalden – Ilmenau – Neuhaus''. In the 2002 through 2013 elections, it was named ''Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen''. It acquired its current name in the 2017 election. In the 1990 through 1998 elections, it was constituency 307 in the numbering system. In the 2002 election, it was number 199. In the 2005 election, it was number 198. In the 2009 and 2013 elections, it was number 197. In the 2017 and 2021 elections, it was number 196. From the 2025 election, it has been number 195. Originally, the constituency comprised the city of Suhl and the districts of Landkreis Suhl, Schmalkalden, Ilmenau, and Neuhaus. In a 1994 district reform, most of these districts were merged. From 2002 through 2013, it comprised the city of Suhl and the new districts of Schmalkalden-Meiningen and Hildburghausen. It acquired its current borders in the 2017 election, adding the small southern district of Sonneberg.

Members

The constituency was first represented by

Claudia Nolte Claudia Crawford (''né'' Wiesemüller, formerly and still commonly known as Claudia Nolte; born 7 February 1966) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who became the youngest cabinet minister in German history whilst ...

of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1990 to 1998. Iris Gleicke of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was representative from 1998 to 2009. Jens Petermann of The Left was elected in 2009 and served a single term.

Mark Hauptmann Mark Lars Carsten Hauptmann (born 29 April 1984) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) who served as a member of the German Bundestag from 2013 until 2021. Early life and education After receiving his Senior ...

of the CDU was elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2017.

won the constituency for the SPD in 2021. Ullrich's win was widely watched, as he beat controversial former

Office for the Protection of the Constitution The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution ( or BfV, often ''Bundesverfassungsschutz'') is Germany's federal Security agency, domestic intelligence agency. Together with the State Authority for the Protection of the Constitution, ...

President

Hans-Georg Maaßen Hans-Georg Maaßen (born 24 November 1962 in Mönchengladbach) is a German civil servant and lawyer. From 1 August 2012 to 8 November 2018, he served as the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domes ...

Election results

2025 election

2021 election

2017 election

2013 election

2009 election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suhl - Schmalkalden-Meiningen - Hildburghausen - Sonneberg Federal electoral districts in Thuringia 1990 establishments in Germany Constituencies established in 1990 Suhl Schmalkalden-Meiningen Hildburghausen (district) Sonneberg (district)