1946 Berlin state election

German state election 1946 Berlin state election Berlin parliamentary no 1946 10 20 y 1933 1948 (West)1990 (whole) All 130 seats in the Stadtverordnetenversammlung 66 2,307,122 2,128,677 (92.3%) 150x150px Otto Ostrowski Social Democratic Party of Germany 63 1,015,609 48.7% 150x150px Ferdinand Friedensburg Christian Democratic Union of Germany 29 462,425 22.2% 150x150px Hermann Matern Socialist Unity Party of Germany 26 412,582 19.8% Liberal Democratic Party of Germany 12 194,722 9.3% 1946 Greater Berlin City Council election.svg 300px Results of the election by borough. The size of each pie chart indicates the number of votes cast. Mayor Arthur Werner Independent Otto Ostrowski SPD The 1946 Greater Berlin City Council election (Stadtverordnetenversammlung von Groß-Berlin) was held on 20 October 1946 to elect all 130 members of the City Council. It was the only all-Berlin election in the period between the end of the Second World War and German reunification in 1990. The clear winner of the election was the Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Otto Ostrowski, which won 48.7% and 63 seats, just three short of a majority. The Christian Democratic Union finished in second place under Ferdinand Friedensburg with 22.2% of votes and 29 seats. The Socialist Unity Party (SED), formed a few months earlier as a merger of the Communist Party and the SPD branches in the Soviet zone, took just 19.8% of the vote and 26 seats. The remaining 9.3% of the votes went to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) which received 12 seats. Voter turnout was 92.3%. The result was a clear rejection of the Socialist Unity Party, which was favored by the Soviet occupation authority, and of the CDU, which came to dominate politics in West Germany. SPD leader Ostrowski was elected mayor by the City Council in December and formed a cabinet comprising all four parties. However, rising hostility between the SPD and SED saw him come under pressure to dismiss the SED members of the ministry. When he refused, the SPD put forward a motion of no confidence in the city council, which narrowly fell short of the two-thirds majority required to pass. However Ostrowski's position was untenable and he resigned a few days later on 17 April. He was replaced by Ernst Reuter, who took a strongly anti-SED and anti-Soviet stance. As a result, the Soviet authorities refused to consent to his appointment and Louise Schroeder became acting mayor. In 1948, the eastern district and Soviet authorities withdrew from the city council and government, de facto dividing the city. Results File:Germany_Greater_Berlin_City_Council_1946.svg Social Democratic Party of Germany 1015609 63 Christian Democratic Union of Germany 462425 29 Socialist Unity Party of Germany 412582 26 Liberal Democratic Party 194722 12 43339 2307122 Wahlen in Deutschland,Wahlen in Deutschland Berliner WahlergebnisseBerliner Wahlergebnisse BoroughSPDCDULDPDSED Invalid Charlottenburg 66,067 48.0 39,974 29.1 17,158 12.5 14,370 10.4 2,541 Friedrichshain 60,975 46.1 21,904 16.6 8,351 6.3 41,031 31.0 3,448 Köpenick 28,883 38.0 17,267 22.7 7,604 10.0 22,187 29.2 1,813 Kreuzberg 75,988 56.4 28,473 21.1 10,172 7.5 20,212 15.0 3,210 Lichtenberg 45,544 43.3 21,239 20.2 7,982 7.6 30,336 28.9 2,592 Mitte 38,071 47.7 14,060 17.6 4,916 6.2 22,791 28.5 2,154 Neukölln 103,410 56.4 32,193 17.6 14,407 7.9 33,283 18.2 3,447 Pankow 40,417 42.4 18,014 18.9 10,177 10.7 26,683 28.0 1,944 Prenzlauer Berg 76,298 45.3 28,877 17.1 11,763 7.0 51,458 30.6 4,024 Reinickendorf 61,781 51.9 24,839 20.9 10,655 9.0 21,713 18.2 2,074 Schöneberg 56,513 49.7 32,044 28.2 14,020 12.3 11,235 9.9 1,975 Spandau 56,197 56.4 22,366 22.4 10,127 10.2 11,014 11.0 2,372 Steglitz 39,801 44.8 28,495 32.1 14,109 15.9 6,402 7.2 1,378 Tempelhof 37,092 51.8 19,239 26.9 8,605 12.0 6,642 9.3 1,180 Tiergarten 38,616 53.4 17,725 24.5 5,984 8.3 10,012 13.8 1,439 Treptow 29,401 40.8 13,896 19.3 6,401 8.9 22,446 31.1 1,595 Wedding 81,015 53.1 26,879 17.6 8,969 5.9 35,838 23.5 3,377 Weißensee 21,811 40.8 10,963 20.5 4,095 7.7 16,526 31.0 1,155 Wilmersdorf 38,704 46.6 26,024 31.3 13,150 15.8 5,255 6.3 1,027 Zehlendorf 19,025 41.2 17,954 38.9 6,077 13.2 3,148 6.8 594 ZoneSPDCDULDPDSED Invalid USSR 1936 Soviet Zone 341,400 43.6 146,220 18.7 61,289 7.8 233,458 29.8 18,725 France French Zone 142,79652.6 51,718 19.0 19,624 7.2 57,551 21.2 5,451 UK British Zone 199,584 50.8 106,089 27.0 46,419 11.8 40,651 10.4 7,379 USA 1912 American Zone 331,829 52.0 158,398 24.8 67,390 10.6 80,922 12.7 11,784 References External links Wahlen Berlin Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung Category:Elections in Berlin Berlin Category:1940s in Berlin Category:October 1946 in Europe