1966 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

German state election 1966 North Rhine-Westphalia state election North Rhine-Westphalia parliamentary no 1962 North Rhine-Westphalia state election 1962 1970 North Rhine-Westphalia state election 1970 All 200 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia 101 10 July 1966 8,641,646 (76.5% 3.1 pp) Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F023752-0007, Heinz Kühn.jpg 200 150 110 15 50 Heinz Kühn Social Democratic Party of Germany 90 seats, 43.3% 99 9 4,226,604 49.5% 6.2 pp 150x150px Franz Meyers Christian Democratic Union of Germany 96 seats, 46.4% 86 10 3,653,184 42.8% 3.6 pp Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F060665-0013, Köln, FDP-Parteitag, Hoppe, Weyer.jpg 325 150 110 10 175 Willi Weyer Free Democratic Party (Germany) 14 seats, 6.9% 15 1 633,765 7.4% 0.6 pp 1966 North Rhine-Westphalia state election.svg 400px Results for the single-member constituencies. Government Second Meyers cabinet CDU–FDP Government after election Third Meyers cabinet CDU–FDP The 1966 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 10 July 1966 to elect the 6th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Franz Meyers. The opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) became the largest party in the state for the first time, coming just short of a majority with 49.5% of votes and 99 seats. The CDU declined to 43%, and the FDP made a slight improvement to 7.4%.https://www.landtag.nrw.de/home/der-landtag/landtagswahlen/wahlergebnisse-im-ruckblick/1966.html 6th Landtag election on 10 July 1966 17 February 2023 de Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia Overall, the incumbent coalition retained a bare majority of 101 seats and was subsequently renewed. However, it only lasted a short time. The investiture of Meyers was troubled: he failed to win an absolute majority in the Landtag and was elected on the second ballot, which only required a simple majority, with 100 votes.https://www.landtag.nrw.de/home/der-landtag/geschichte-des-landtags/zur-geschichte-des-landes-nrw/1966---das-wechseljahr-1.html The Year of Change, 1966 17 February 2023 de Landtag of North Rhine-Westphaliahttps://www.landtag.nrw.de//portal/WWW/dokumentenarchiv/Dokument/MMP06-1.pdf Minutes of the Landtag session of 25 July 1966 25 July 1966 de Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia On 1 November, a new federal government took office in the form of a grand coalition between the CDU and SPD, replacing the previous CDU–FDP coalition. Fearing the same could occur in North Rhine-Westphalia, especially given the government's razor-thin majority, the FDP withdrew from the state government the same day and offered talks with the SPD. The CDU subsequently did the same, and though SPD leader Heinz Kühn initially supported a grand coalition, a clear majority of the SPD base and parliamentary group favoured the FDP. They came to an agreement and Kühn was elected Minister-President by the Landtag on 8 December, winning 112 votes in favour to 85 against. After this defeat, the CDU remained in opposition until 2005.https://www.landtag.nrw.de//portal/WWW/dokumentenarchiv/Dokument/MMP06-7.pdf Minutes of the state parliament session of 8 December 1966 8 December 1966 de Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia This marked the first time since Lower Saxony in 1959 (DP to SPD) that party control changed in a German state. Another state would not change hands before 1976, when Lower Saxony again changed from SPD to CDU government. Electoral system The Landtag was elected via mixed-member proportional representation. 150 members were elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting, and fifty then allocated using compensatory proportional representation. A single ballot was used for both. 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 In the previous election held on 8 July 1962, the CDU lost its absolute majority but remained the largest party with a small lead over the SPD, 46% to 43%. They subsequently formed a coalition government with the FDP; in cabinet, the CDU had seven ministers and the FDP had two. Parties The table below lists parties represented in the 5th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. Name Ideology Leadcandidate 1962 result Votes (%) Seats CDU Christian Democratic Union of GermanyChristlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands Christian democracy Franz Meyers 46.4% 96 200 Christian Democratic Union of Germany SPD Social Democratic Party of GermanySozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands Social democracy Heinz Kühn 43.3% 90 200 Social Democratic Party of Germany FDP Free Democratic PartyFreie Demokratische Partei Classical liberalism Willi Weyer 6.8% 14 200 Free Democratic Party (Germany) Results #F8F9FA 350 99 Social Democratic Party of Germany 15 Free Democratic Party (Germany) 86 Christian Democratic Union of Germany Con. List Total +/– Social Democratic Party (SPD) 4226604 +6.21 99 0 99 +9 Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 3653184 –3.66 51 35 86 –10 Free Democratic Party (FDP) 633765 +0.57 0 15 15 +1 Centre Party (ZENTRUM) 16181 –0.74 0 0 0 ±0 Free Social Union (FSU) 9584 New 0 0 0 New Independent Workers' Party (UAP) 3175 +0.03 0 0 0 ±0 150 50 200 ±0 99153 11291597 External links https://www.wahlrecht.de/landtage/nordrhein-westfalen.htm Electoral system of North Rhine-Westphalia 17 February 2023 15 May 2022 de Wahlrecht.de https://www.zeit.de/1966/49/baeumchen-wechsle-dich-in-duesseldorf Tree change in Düsseldorf 2 December 1966 de Die Zeit https://www.spiegel.de/politik/soll-er-kommen-a-fccd2220-0002-0001-0000-000046415334?context=issue He shall come 4 December 1966 de Der Spiegel References Category:Elections in North Rhine-Westphalia Category:1966 elections in Germany Category:1960s in North Rhine-Westphalia Category:1966 in West Germany Category:July 1966 in Europe