The Landtag of Bavaria, officially known in English as the Bavarian State Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Bavaria. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum in Munich.
Elections to the Landtag are held every five years and have to be conducted on a Sunday or public holiday. The following elections have to be held no earlier than 59 months and no later than 62 months after the previous one, unless the Landtag is dissolved. The most recent elections to the Bavarian Landtag were held on 8 October 2023.
Bavaria's current state government, the third Söder cabinet, was formed after the 2023 election and is a coalition of the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Free Voters (FW). An identical coalition was in power as the second Söder cabinet between 2018 and 2023. Markus Söder has been Minister-President of Bavaria since March 2018, when he succeeded Horst Seehofer.
Contents
History
The Landtag of Bavaria was founded in 1818, in the Kingdom of Bavaria. The first assembly was held on 4 February 1819. Originally it was called the Ständeversammlung and was divided into an upper house, the Kammer der Reichsräte (House of Councillors), and a lower house, the Kammer der Abgeordneten (House of Representatives). With the act to reform the election of the representatives in 1848 the Ständeversammlung was de facto renamed the Landtag (state diet). The name Landtag was used occasionally before this act.