Party of Humanists

German political party

Not to be confused with Humanist Party.

Party of Humanists

Partei der Humanisten

Abbreviation| PdH
Chairperson| Felicitas Klings[1]
General Secretary| Sascha Klughardt[1]
Founded| 4 October 2014; 10 years ago (2014-10-04)
Headquarters| Beilsteiner Str. 21, 12681 Berlin
Membership (September 2024)|  2,350+[2]
Ideology| Secular humanism
Secular liberalism
Social liberalism[3]
Civil libertarianism
Progressivism
Political position| Centre-left[3]
Colours|

* Blue-magenta
* White
* Light blue
* Magenta

Bundestag|

0 / 630

State Parliaments|

0 / 1,821

European Parliament|

0 / 96

Website
pdh.eu

* Politics of Germany
* Political parties
* Elections

The Party of Humanists (German: Partei der Humanisten) is a minor political party in Germany that first participated in the 2017 federal election.[4] It is considered left-of-centre and supports socially liberal and secular policies, such as a federal European state, openness towards technologies such as stem cell research and strict separation between state and religion.[5] The party contested the 2017 and 2021 federal elections, the 2019 European elections and numerous state elections from 2018 onwards. It also contested the 2024 European Parliament election in Germany.[6]

## History

[edit]

In spring 2012, the Facebook group "Initiative Humanismus" created the "Manifesto of the Initiative Humanismus", which was to serve as the basis for a humanist party. The Party of Humanists was founded on the basis of this document on 4 October 2014 in Berlin.[7][8] The provisional executive committee consisted of eight spokespersons for various subject areas.[9]

At the first ordinary federal party conference in March 2015, David Helmus was elected as the party's first chairman.[10] Beka Kobaidze served as secretary general, while Ioana Hauke took over as treasurer. According to the chairman, the party had around 75 members in September of the same year.[11]

The Berlin regional association was founded on 2 April 2016.[12] A few months later, the regional associations of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg were founded.[13][14] Shortly afterwards, in February of the following year, the Bavarian state association was also founded.[15]

On 21 March 2017, the Party held a joint press conference along with the Pirate Party Germany, the Liberal Democrats, the New Liberals, the Transhuman Party Germany, and the youth organization of The Left to announce a "social-liberal proclamation" and better cooperation among the participating organizations.[16][17][18][19][20]

In the 2017 German federal election, the Humanist Party took part in an election for the first time, although it was initially only electable in North Rhine-Westphalia. For this purpose, various teams were set up within the party, which now has around 600 members, for internal party organisation.[21] In the election, the party received 5.991 second votes.[22] After the federal election, the party received an influx of new members. As a result, state associations were founded in Hamburg and Lower Saxony in the same year, as well as state associations in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein in 2018.[23][24]

In January 2019, Steven Pinker was accepted onto the advisory board of the Humanist Party. One month later, in February 2019, Michael Shermer, founder of the American Skeptics Society, also became a member of the advisory board.[25][26]

The Humanist Party was registered for the European elections on 15 March 2019, in which it took part with its lead candidate Robin Thiedmann. It achieved 0.2% of 62,604 votes, but missed out on a place in the European Parliament.[27] In 2021, the last four state associations, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Thuringia and Saarland were founded.[28][29] Shortly after the founding of the Brandenburg state association, the party celebrated its new size of 1800 members.[30] In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first digital federal party conference was held on 29 January and 20 February 2022.

In April 2023, 19-year-old Lasse Schäfer was elected as the new national chairman. This makes him the youngest party chairman in Germany.[31]

## Party platform

[edit]

The underlying ideology is evolutionary humanism.[32] The core themes of the Humanist Party are science and education, the right of self-determination of the individual, and secularization.[33] For example, the party supports the liberal and self-responsible use of drugs,[34] supports legal voluntary euthanasia[35][36] and is against circumcision of children.[37] The party also supports the implementation of universal basic income.[33] The party is considered left of the political centre.[3]

Currently, the Party of Humanists is the only party in Germany that specifically targets non-religious people, freethinkers, and atheists as voters.[38]

### Programme

[edit]

#### Health and science

[edit]

* Compulsory health insurance should only cover evidence based medicine, not pseudomedicine such as homeopathy
* Legalization of active euthanasia under specific circumstances
* Legalization of all drugs, but only for adults and with more prevention measures such as education, drug-checking, regulated production and sale[39]
* Openness towards new technology and impartial assessment of the harms benefits, e. g. with respect to genome editing[40] and stem cell research
* Reduction of antibiotic use in livestock farming in order to avoid emerging resistances
* Funding for in-vitro-meat research

#### EU and military

[edit]

* Founding of a united European Federal Republic. Today's national states shall be converted into strong sovereign regions.[41]
* Rejection of a compulsory military service year for young adults
* Establishing a united European military

#### Economy

[edit]

* Simplification of the tax system by eliminating exemptions as well as cutback on unnecessary subsidies
* Deregulation of shop opening hours on Sundays
* Trialing and implementation of universal basic income

#### Climate

[edit]

* Stopping the nuclear energy phase-out in Germany and utilization of new reactor types to combat climate change

#### Social topics

[edit]

* Legalization of surrogate motherhood
* Legalization of sex work, modeling after New Zealand
* Legalization of abortion regardless of gestation age, modeling after Canadian abortion laws

#### Freedom of speech and the Internet

[edit]

* Repeal of upload-filters and protection of net-neutrality

#### Religion

[edit]

"No caliphate" campaign poster of PdH in the June 2024 EU Parliament election

* Complete separation of church and state
* Introduction of unified ethics education instead of compulsory religious education in schools[42]
* Removing references to god from the constitution and other laws
* Prohibition of medically not-indicated religious circumcision in children unable to consent

## Leadership

[edit]

Felicitas Klings has led the party since July 2024.

Since 15 July 2024, the party's leadership has consisted of:[1]

* Felicitas Klings (Party Leader)
* Sascha Klughardt (General Secretary)
* Narek Avetisyan (Treasurer)

### Federal executive board

[edit]

The party's federal executive board is made up of:[1]

* Ole Teschke
* Dominic Vice
* Josephine Keller
* Andreas Stirner
* Daniel Keye
* Dr. Jochen Sieck
* Manuel Cran
* Ricardo Reitz

## Federal state parties

[edit]

| Federal state party | Date of Founding | Chairman | Last state election participation | Last country-wide election participation

|
|
|
|
|

| Baden-Württemberg | 3 December 2016  | Steven Schmitt  | 2021 Baden-Württemberg state election | 2021 German federal election
| Bavaria | 11 February 2017  | Frederic Forkel  | 2018 Bavarian state election | 2021 German federal election
| Berlin[43] | 2 April 2017  | Barend Wolf  | 2021 Berlin state election | 2021 German federal election
| Brandenburg | 13 March 2021  | Tim Ewert  | \-  | 2021 German federal election
| Bremen[44] | 9 June 2018  | Julia Kreitz  | 2019 Bremen state election | 2021 German federal election
| Hamburg[45] | 1 October 2017  | Michael Brandt  | 2020 Hamburg state election | 2021 German federal election
| Hesse[46] | 25 September 2016  | Dennis Wörner  | 2018 Hessian state election | 2021 German federal election
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 24 May 2021  | Tom Kühnel  | 2021 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election | 2021 German federal election
| Lower Saxony[47] | 25 November 2017  | Rainer Rößler  | \-  | 2021 German federal election
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 22 October 2016  | Leonard Niesik  | \-  | 2021 German federal election
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 15 April 2018  | Tristan Marsell  | \-  | 2021 German federal election
| Saarland[48] | 20 November 2021  | Fabian Grünewald  | \-  | 2019 European Parliament election
| Saxony | 7 January 2018  | Jonas Lehn  | 2019 Saxony state election | 2021 German federal election
| Saxony-Anhalt | 31 March 2018  | Konstantin Zisiadis  | 2021 Saxony-Anhalt state election | 2021 German federal election
| Schleswig-Holstein | 20 October 2018  | Marvin Weidemeier  | 2022 Schleswig-Holstein state election | 2021 German federal election
| Thuringia | 29 May 2021  | Anthony Ramstedt  | \-  | 2021 German federal election

## Election results

[edit]

### Federal parliament (Bundestag)

[edit]

Election  | Leader  | Constituency  | Party list  | Seats  | +/–  | Government

|
|
|
|
|
|

Votes  | %  | Votes  | %
2017 | Felix Bölter  | —  | 5,991  | 0.01 (#28)  |

0 / 709

| New  | Extra-parliamentary
2021 | Alexander Mucha  | 12,672  | 0.03 (#19)  | 47,526  | 0.10 (#19)  |

0 / 735

|  0  | Extra-parliamentary
2025 | Felicitas Klings  | 1,873  | 0.00 (#23)  | 14,446  | 0.03 (#20)  |

0 / 630

|  0  | Extra-parliamentary

### European Parliament

[edit]

Election  | List leader  | Votes  | %  | Seats  | +/–  | EP Group

|
|
|
|
|
|

2019 | Robin Thiedmann  | 62,604  | 0.17 (#26)  |

0 / 96

| New  | –
2024 | Sascha Boelcke  | 82,275  | 0.21 (#23)  |

0 / 96

|  0

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Bundesvorstand". pdh.eu. Party of Humanists. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
2. ^ "Tu es, es wird dich bereichern!". pdh.eu. Party of Humanists. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
3. ^ a b c "Partei der Humanisten". web.de (in German). 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024. "Die Partei der Humanisten ist im politischen Links- und Sozialliberalen Spektrum anzusiedeln."
4. ^ "Partei der Humanisten". Zdf.de. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
5. ^ "Partei der Humanisten". web.de (in German). 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
6. ^ "Partei der Humanisten" (in German). Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
7. ^ ""Partei der Humanisten" gegründet". Hpd.de. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
8. ^ "Pressemitteilung zur Gründung – Partei der Humanisten". Parteiderhumanisten.de. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
9. ^ "Partei der Humanisten gegründet" (in German). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
10. ^ "Gremien der Partei der Humanisten gewählt" (in German). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
11. ^ "In allen anderen Parteien wären wir noch die Jugendorganisation" (in German). Humanistischer Pressedienst. September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
12. ^ "Landesverband der Partei der Humanisten gegründet" (in German). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
13. ^ "Landesverband in Hessen gegründet" (in German). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
14. ^ "Partei der Humanisten gründet Landesverband in Nordrhein-Westfalen" (in German). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
15. ^ "Partei der Humanisten Bayern wählter neuen Landesvorstand" (in German). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
16. ^ ""Sozialliberale Offensive" in Berlin vorgestellt". Hpd.de. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
17. ^ "Die Humanisten starten bundesweite sozialliberale Offensive – Partei der Humanisten". Parteiderhumanisten.de. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
18. ^ "die Sozialliberalen". Die-sozialliberalen.de. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
19. ^ "Gemeinsame Erklärung: Sechs Parteien und Organisationen starten bundesweite sozialliberale Offensive › Piratenpartei Deutschland". Piratenpartei.de. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
20. ^ "Live Pressekonferenz » Neue Liberale". Neueliberale.org. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
21. ^ "Zwischenbilanz humanistischer Politik" (in German). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
22. ^ "Bundestagswahl 2017, Ergebnisse, Nordrhein-Westfalen" (in German). Die Bundeswahlleiterin. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
23. ^ "Partei der Humanisten gründet Landesverband in Rheinland-Pfalz" (in German). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
24. ^ "Partei der Humanisten gründet Landesverband Schleswig-Holstein" (in German). SHZ. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
25. ^ "Facebook post" (in German). Partei der Humanisten. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
26. ^ "Beirat" (in German). Retrieved 15 June 2022.
27. ^ "Europawahl 2019: Vorläufiges amtliches Ergebnis" (in German). Die Bundeswahlleiterin. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
28. ^ "Thüringen startklar machen!" (in German). Partei der Humanisten. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
29. ^ "Hier kommt das Saarland (endlich)" (in German). Partei der Humanisten. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
30. ^ "Wir feiern 1800 Mitglieder" (in German). Partei der Humanisten. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
31. ^ "19-jähriger Kölner ist jüngster Parteivorsitzender Deutschlands". Partei der Humanisten. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
32. ^ "Mission Statement".
33. ^ a b Bildung, Bundeszentrale für politische. "Partei der Humanisten - bpb". Bpb.de.
34. ^ "Humanistischer Pressedienst - Legalize and Humanize it!". Hpd.de (in German). 13 July 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
35. ^ Siegler, bitzinger GmbH - Tobias. "DGHS - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben - Partei der Humanisten". Dghs.de. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
36. ^ "Sterbehilfe – Das Recht auf das eigene Leben". Hpd.de. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
37. ^ "Weltweiter Tag der genitalen Selbstbestimmung". Parteiderhumanisten.de. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
38. ^ "Partei der Humanisten - "Politiker stellen sich gerne neben Religionsführer"". Deutschlandfunk.de. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
39. ^ "Psychoaktive Substanzen (Themenabschnitt)". Partei der Humanisten (in German). 13 April 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
40. ^ "Gentechnik (Themenabschnitt)". Partei der Humanisten (in German). 11 April 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
41. ^ "Bundesrepublik Europa (Positionspapier)". Partei der Humanisten (in German). 13 April 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
42. ^ "Ethikunterricht (Themenabschnitt)". Partei der Humanisten (in German). 3 June 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
43. ^ "Landesverband der Partei der Humanisten gegründet". Hpd.de. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
44. ^ "Partei der Humanisten". 11 August 2023.
45. ^ "Partei der Humanisten gründet Hamburger Landesverband". Parteiderhumanisten.de. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
46. ^ "Landesverband in Hessen gegründet". Hpd.de. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
47. ^ "Partei der Humanisten". 11 August 2023.
48. ^ "Hier kommt das Saarland (endlich)". Partei der Humanisten (in German). 24 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Offizielle Website der Partei der Humanisten (Official website of the Party German)
* Leitbild der Partei der Humanisten (Mission Statement of the Party German, English, Esperanto)
* Grundsatzprogramm der Partei der Humanisten (Principle program of the Party German)

* v
* t
* e

Political parties in Germany

Represented in the Bundestag
(630 seats)|

* CDU (164)
* AfD (152)
* SPD (120)
* The Greens (85)
* The Left (64)
* CSU (44)
* SSW (1)

Represented in the
European Parliament
(96 seats for Germany)|

| Major parties|

* CDU (23)
* AfD (15)
* SPD (14)
* The Greens (12)
* CSU (6)
* BSW (6)
* FDP (5)
* The Left (3)
* FW (3)

|

Minor parties|

* Volt (3)
* Die PARTEI (2)
* PMUT (1)
* ÖDP (1)
* Family Party (1)
* Party of Progress (1)

Represented in the
16 state parliaments
(1,891 seats)|

| Major parties|

* SPD (450, 16/16)
* CDU (531, 15/16, not in Bavaria)
* AfD (285, 15/16)
* The Greens (285, 13/16)
* FDP (66, 8/16)
* The Left (85, 7/16)
* BSW (46, 5/16)
* FW (44, 3/16)

|

Regional parties|

* CSU (85; only in Bavaria)
* SSW (4; only in Schleswig-Holstein)

Minor parties|

* BD (7; in Bremen)
* Values Union (1; in Lower Saxony)

Minor parties
(without representation
at the state level or above)|

* Alliance C
* Animal Protection Alliance
* APPD
* Basic Income Alliance
* Bavaria Party
* Bergpartei, die ÜberPartei
* BüSo
* BVB/FW
* Centre Party
* DAVA
* Democracy in Motion
* dieBasis
* DSU
* Feminist Party
* Free Saxony
* German Communist Party
* Last Generation
* Marxist–Leninist Party
* Party of Reason
* Pirates
* Socialist Equality Party
* Statt Party
* The Homeland
* The Humanists
* The Third Path
* The Republicans
* The Urbans
* Verjüngungsforschung
* V-Partei3
* Wir Bürger

Notes:

* CDU: does not participate in state elections in Bavaria, an associated party CSU participates here.

* AfD: is currently not in the state parliament of Schleswig-Holstein.

* The Greens: are currently not in the state parliaments of Brandenburg, Saarland and Thuringia.

* FDP: is currently only in the state parliaments of Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, and Schleswig-Holstein.

* The Left: is currently only in the state parliaments of Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia.

* BSW: is currently only in the state parliaments of Berlin, Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, and Thuringia.

* FW: is currently only in the state parliaments of Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony; does not participate in state elections in Brandenburg, an associated party BVB/FW participates here.

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