Overview of the politics of the German state of Bavaria
Politics of Bavaria
Constitution
Constitution
Executive
Minister-President
Markus Söder
Cabinet
Legislature
Landtag
President: Ilse Aigner
Divisions
Administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke)
Landkreise/kreisfreie cities
Gemeinden (municipalities)
Elections
Recent elections
Legislative: 2013
2018
2023
Foreign policy
Politics of Bavaria
Politics of Germany
European Union politics
Other countries
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Bavaria, one of the states of Germany, has a multiparty system dominated by the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). Bavaria has long been a bastion of conservative politics in Germany, with the Christian Social Union has won every election of the state parliament since 1946 and having almost a monopoly on power. Every Minister-President since 1957 has been a member of this party. On the other hand the bigger and more liberal, or rather social democratic, cities, especially Munich, have been governed for decades by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) until recently the second biggest party. In 2018 the Alliance 90/The Greens which have been represented in the state parliament since 1986, became the second biggest political party in the Landtag and in 2020 the biggest party in the Munich City Council. From the historical point of view, older Bavaria was one of the most liberal, predominantly Roman Catholic states until the rather rural areas of Swabia and Franconia were added in 1814/15 at the Congress of Vienna.
In 1995 the Bavarians decided to introduce direct democracy on the local level in a referendum. This was initiated bottom-up by an association called Mehr Demokratie (More Democracy). This is a grass-roots organization which campaigns for the right to citizen-initiated referendums. In 1997 the Bavarian Supreme Court aggravated the regulations considerably (e.g. by introducing a turn-out quorum). Nevertheless, Bavaria has the most advanced regulations on local direct democracy in Germany. This has led to a spirited citizens’ participation in communal and municipal affairs – 835 referendums took place from 1995 through 2005.
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Bavaria, one of the states of Germany, has a multiparty system dominated by the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). Bavaria has long been a bastion...
Christian Social Union in Bavaria (German: Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern, CSU) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. Having...
The Bavaria Party (German: Bayernpartei, BP) is an autonomist, regionalist and conservative political party in the state ofBavaria, Germany. The party...
ofBavaria (German: Freie Wähler Bayern) is a conservative political party in Bavaria, considered centrist or centre-right. It has served as part of the...
Landtag ofBavaria, officially known in English as the Bavarian State Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of the German state ofBavaria. The parliament...
Bavaria, officially the Free State ofBavaria, is a state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of 70,550.19 km2 (27,239.58 sq mi), it is the largest...
The Kingdom ofBavaria (German: Königreich Bayern; Bavarian: Kinereich Bayern; spelled Baiern until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former...
The history ofBavaria stretches from its earliest settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman...
last King ofBavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918. Initially, he served in the Bavarian military as a lieutenant and went on to hold the rank of Oberleutnant...
Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage...
Sophie ofBavaria (Sophie Friederike Dorothea Wilhelmine; 27 January 1805 – 28 May 1872) was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph ofBavaria and his...
the courtesy title Duke ofBavaria, is the head of the House of Wittelsbach, the former ruling family of the Kingdom ofBavaria. His great-grandfather...
Isabeau ofBavaria (or Isabelle; also Elisabeth ofBavaria-Ingolstadt; c. 1370 – September 1435) was Queen of France from 1385 to 1422. She was born into...
chamber ofBavaria's parliamentary system from 1946 to 1999, when it was abolished by a popular vote (referendum) changing the Constitution ofBavaria. The...
Louis I (German: Ludwig I.; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King ofBavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was...
ancestral lands ofBavaria and the Palatinate were prince-electorates, and the family had three of its members elected emperors and kings of the Holy Roman...
King ofBavaria between 1848 and 1864. Unlike his father, King Ludwig I, "King Max" was very popular and took a greater interest in the business of Government...
Märchenkönig), was King ofBavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke ofBavaria, Duke of Franconia, and...
of the Free State ofBavaria was enacted on 8 December 1946. It is the fourth constitutional document in Bavarian history after the Constitution of 1808...
Apostolic Nunciature to Bavaria was an ecclesiastical office of the Roman Catholic Church in Bavaria. It was a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative...
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