Landtag of Saarland
The Landtag of the Saarland is the state diet of the German federal state of Saarland. It convenes in Saarbrücken and currently consists of 51 members of five parties. The Minister-President of Saarland is Tobias Hans. After the collapse of the Jamaica Coalition between the CDU, FDP and The Greens in January 2012, the Saarland was governed by a minority government consisted solely of the Christian Democratic Union that held 19 seats, which was 7 seats short of a majority. Following the state elections in March 2012, the CDU formed a grand coalition with the SPD.
History
As a consequence of the German Empire's defeat in the First World War, the Saargebiet was separated from Germany. Between 1920 and 1935, the Landesrat or state council existed as the local representative body and thus as the predecessor of the state parliament of Saarland. There was no Saarland representative body during the Third Reich. After the German defeat in World War II, the Saarland became a French protectorate.On May 23, 1947, a 20-member constitutional commission was formed to draft a foundational document for the Saarland in the parliamentary manner of the other German countries. On October 5, 1947, a constitutional assembly was elected that became Saarland's first state parliament following the successful adoption of the constitution.
The Landtag of the Saarland meets in the building built in 1865/1866 for the Saarbrücken Casino Society in what is now Franz-Josef-Röder-Strasse. The building was designed by the architect Julius Carl Raschdorff, noted as the designer of the Berlin Cathedral.
Current composition
The last election of the Landtag of Saarland was on 26 March 2017.| Party | Seats |
| Christian Democratic Union | 24 |
| Social Democratic Party | 17 |
| The Left | 7 |
| Alternative for Germany | 3 |
Elections are conducted using a proportional representation system, with a 5% threshold to receive seats.