1975 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

1975 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

← 1970 4 May 1975 1980 →

All 200 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
101 seats needed for a majority
Turnout10,358,108 (86.1% Increase 12.6pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Heinrich Köppler.jpg
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F023752-0007, Heinz Kühn.jpg
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F046793-0014, Mainz, FDP-Bundesparteitag, Riemer.jpg
Candidate Heinrich Köppler Heinz Kühn Horst-Ludwig Riemer
Party CDU SPD FDP
Last election 95 seats, 46.3% 94 seats, 46.1% 11 seats, 5.5%
Seats won 95 91 14
Seat change Steady 0 Decrease 3 Increase 3
Popular vote 4,828,554 4,630,995 689,623
Percentage 47.1% 45.1% 6.7%
Swing Increase 0.8pp Decrease 1.0pp Increase 1.2pp

Results for the single-member constituencies.

Government before election

Second Kühn cabinet
SPDFDP

Government after election

Third Kühn cabinet
SPDFDP

The 1975 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 4 May 1975 to elect the 8th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Heinz Kühn.

The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) remained the largest party and improved its lead over the SPD, but failed to win an overall majority. The incumbent coalition retained the 105-seat majority it had won at the previous election, with a net shift of three seats from the SPD to the FDP. Turnout increased dramatically to 86.1%, the highest ever recorded in the state. The SPD–FDP coalition was renewed and Heinz Kühn was re-elected as Minister-President by the Landtag on 4 June.[1]

  1. ^ "Minutes of the Landtag session of 28 July 1970" (PDF). Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia (in German). 4 June 1975.