1954 Hessian state election

The 1954 Hessian state election was held on 28 November 1954 to elect the 3rd Landtag of Hesse. The outgoing government was a majority of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Georg-August Zinn.

1954 Hessian state election

28 November 1954
All 96 seats in the Landtag of Hesse 49 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	2,559,409 (82.4% 17.5pp)
First party Second party   Candidate Georg-August Zinn Wilhelm Fay Party SPD CDU Last election 47 seats, 44.4% 12 seats, 18.8% Seats won 44 24 Seat change 3 12 Popular vote 1,065,733 603,691 Percentage 42.6% 24.1% Swing 1.8pp 5.3pp   Third party Fourth party   Candidate August-Martin Euler Gotthard Franke Party FDP GB/BHE Last election Seats won 21 7 Seat change 8 1 Popular vote 513,421 192,390 Percentage 20.5% 7.7% Swing New New
Results for the single-member constituencies.
Government before election First Zinn cabinet SPD Government after election Second Zinn cabinet SPD–GB/BHE

The election saw the Free Democratic Party (FDP) displaced as the main opposition party by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The All-German Bloc/League of Expellees (GB/BHE), which in 1950 ran in alliance with the FDP, won 8%. Modifications to the electoral system saw the SPD deprived of its majority despite only minor losses, and the party formed a coalition with the GB/HBE.

Electoral system

The Landtag was elected via mixed-member proportional representation. 48 members were elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting, and 48 then allocated using compensatory proportional representation. A single ballot was used for both. The size of the Landtag was increased in this election from 80 to 96 by the addition of more compensatory seats. An electoral threshold of 5% of valid votes is applied to the Landtag; parties that fall below this threshold are ineligible to receive seats.

Background

Main article: 1950 Hessian state election

In the previous election held on 19 November 1950, the SPD won a majority of seats with 44% of the vote. An alliance of the FDP and GB/BHE made up the second largest group, winning 32%, followed by the CDU on 19%. This represented a major reversal in the two parties' positions compared to 1946. The Communist Party (KPD) narrowly fell below the 5% threshold and lost its seats. Georg-August Zinn became Minister-President in the new SPD majority government.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 2nd Landtag of Hesse.

Name			Ideology	Lead candidate	1950 result
					Votes (%)	Seats
	SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	Social democracy	Georg-August Zinn	44.4%	47 / 80
	FDP	Free Democratic Party Freie Demokratische Partei	Classical liberalism	August-Martin Euler	31.8%	13 / 80
	GB/BHE	All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights Gesamtdeutscher Block/Bund der Heimatvertriebenen und Entrechteten	National conservatism	Gotthard Franke		8 / 80
	CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands	Christian democracy	Wilhelm Fay	18.8%	12 / 80

Results

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					Con.	List	Total	+–
	Social Democratic Party	1,065,733	42.61	–1.76	41	3	44	–3
	Christian Democratic Union	603,691	24.14	+5.33	5	19	24	+12
	Free Democratic Party	513,421	20.53	New	2	19	21	+8
	All-German Bloc/League of Expellees	192,390	7.69	New	0	7	7	–1
	Communist Party	84,013	3.36	–1.39	0	0	0	0
	German Party	29,309	1.17	New	0	0	0	New
	Alliance of Germans	12,047	0.48	New	0	0	0	New
	Free Opposition	416	0.02	New	0	0	0	New
	Independents	253	0.01	–0.05	0	–	0	0
Total		2,501,273	100.00	–	48	48	96	+16
Valid votes		2,501,273	97.73
Invalid/blank votes		58,136	2.27
Total votes		2,559,409	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,105,125	82.43

External links

• "The Election to the Hessian Landtag, 28 November 1954" (PDF). Parliamentary Data Bank of the Hessian Landtag (in German). March 1955. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
• "Loss of the absolute majority for the SPD in the state elections, November 28, 1954". Hessian Regional History Information System (in German). Retrieved 17 September 2023.