Alliance 90/The Greens Baden-Württemberg

Alliance 90/The Greens Baden-Württemberg
ChairpersonPascal Haggenmüller, Lena Schwelling
Founded30 September 1979 (1979-09-30)
IdeologyGreen politics

Social liberalism

Pro-Europeanism
Political positionCentre-left
National affiliationAlliance 90/The Greens
Colours  Green
Landtag of Baden-Württemberg
57 / 154
Website
www.gruene-bw.de

Alliance 90/The Greens Baden-Württemberg is one of the state associations of the German Green Party in Baden-Württemberg. With over 22,000 members, it is the third largest Green Party association in Germany, after North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria.[1]

The parliamentary group is currently the largest in the Baden-Württemberg state parliament with 57 seats and has provided the state's Minister-President since 2011.[2]

History

The Green Party of Baden-Württemberg was founded on 30 September 1979 in Sindelfingen, emerging from various citizens’ movements, especially the strong anti-nuclear protests around the planned Wyhl nuclear power plant. In 1980 the party entered the state parliament for the first time with 5.3%, marking the first time Greens won seats in a parliament of a German non-city state.[3]

Throughout the 1980s the party was shaped by internal debates between its fundamentalist and pragmatic wings, with leading figures such as Winfried Kretschmann and Fritz Kuhn strengthening the realist camp over time. By the end of the decade, the pragmatists had largely prevailed.[3]

The Greens steadily increased their influence at the municipal level and achieved notable successes in the 1990s, including 12.1% in the 1996 state election. The party played a major role in the protests against the Stuttgart 21 rail project and secured 24.2% in the 2011 state election. On 12 May 2011, Winfried Kretschmann became the first Green Minister-President in Germany, leading a Green–Red government. Since 2016 the Greens have been the strongest party in the state, achieving 32.6% in the 2021 election.[4]

Several cities in Baden-Württemberg have been governed by Green mayors, including Freiburg, Konstanz, Tübingen and Stuttgart, further highlighting the party’s strong regional base.[5]

Cem Özdemir is the party's top candidate for the 2026 state elections.[6]

Chairpersons

Period Spokespersons / Chairpersons
March 1991 – July 1992 Dagmar Dehmer and Fritz Kuhn
July 1992 – April 1993 Dagmar Dehmer and Winfried Hermann
May 1993 – April 1997 Barbara Graf and Winfried Hermann
April 1997 – April 1999 Monika Schnaitmann and Reinhard Bütikofer
April 1999 – June 2001 Monika Schnaitmann and Andreas Braun
June 2001 – June 2003 Renate Thon and Andreas Braun
June 2003 – December 2005 Sylvia Kotting-Uhl and Andreas Braun
December 2005 – November 2006 Petra Selg and Andreas Braun
November 2006 – November 2009 Petra Selg and Daniel Mouratidis
November 2009 – October 2011 Silke Krebs and Christian Kühn
October 2011 – November 2013 Thekla Walker and Christian Kühn
November 2013 – November 2016 Thekla Walker and Oliver Hildenbrand
November 2016 – December 2021 Sandra Detzer and Oliver Hildenbrand
since December 2021 Lena Schwelling and Pascal Haggenmüller

Election results

Results of state elections
Year Vote share Seats
1980 5.3% 6
1984 8.0% 9
1988 7.9% 10
1992 9.5% 13
1996 12.1% 19
2001 7.7% 10
2006 11.7% 17
2011 24.2% 36
2016 30.3% 47
2021 32.6% 58

References

  1. ^ Meyerhof, Jonas (2025-02-06). "Nach Wortbruch von Merz: Grüner Landesverband wächst auf 22.000 Mitglieder". gruene-bw.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  2. ^ Bildung, Bundeszentrale für politische (2021-02-10). "BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN | Landtagswahl Baden-Württemberg 2021". bpb.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  3. ^ a b "Die Grünen in Baden-Württemberg: Wie aus einer sozialen Bewegung eine Partei wurde". Landesbildungsserver Baden-Württemberg (in German). Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  4. ^ "Startseite | Statistisches Landesamt-Baden-Württemberg - Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg". www.statistik-bw.de. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  5. ^ "Grüne Bürgermeister*innen – GAR BW – GRÜNE Kommunalpolitik in Baden-Württemberg" (in German). Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  6. ^ Aktuell, S. W. R. (2025-11-29). "Grüne starten in Landtagswahlkampf: Zuschnitt auf Polit-Promi Özdemir und Wirtschaft im Fokus". SWR Aktuell (in German). Retrieved 2025-12-04.