Waldeck (electoral district)

German Bundestag constituency

166 Waldeck

Electoral district
for the Bundestag

Waldeck in 2025

State| Hesse
Population| 234,200 (2019)
Electorate| 184,073 (2021)
Major settlements| Baunatal
Korbach
Bad Wildungen
Area| 2,167.3 km2
Current electoral district
Created| 1949
Party| CDU
Member| Jan-Wilhelm Pohlmann
Elected| 2025

Waldeck is an electoral constituency (German: Wahlkreis) represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 166. It is located in northern Hesse, comprising most of the Landkreis Kassel district and the northern part of the Waldeck-Frankenberg district.[1]

Waldeck was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. From 2017 to 2025, it has been represented by Esther Dilcher of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).[2] Since 2025 it is been represented by Jan-Wilhelm Pohlmann of the CDU.

## Geography

[edit]

Waldeck is located in northern Hesse. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the entirety of the Landkreis Kassel district excluding the municipalities of Ahnatal, Espenau, Fuldabrück, Fuldatal, Helsa, Kaufungen, Lohfelden, Nieste, Niestetal, Söhrewald, and Vellmar, as well as the entirety of the Waldeck-Frankenberg district excluding the municipalities of Allendorf (Eder), Battenberg (Eder), Bromskirchen, Burgwald, Frankenau, Frankenberg, Gemünden (Wohra), Haina, Hatzfeld, Rosenthal, and Vöhl.[1]

## History

[edit]

Waldeck was created in 1949. In the 1949 election, it was Hesse constituency 1 in the numbering system. From 1953 through 1976, it was number 126. From 1980 through 1998, it was number 124. In the 2002 and 2005 elections, it was number 169. In the 2009 election, it was number 168. In the 2013 through 2021 elections, it was number 167. From the 2025 election, it has been number 166.

Originally, the constituency comprised the districts of Waldeck, Hofgeismar, and Wolfhagen. In the 1972 election, it comprised the Waldeck district and the municipalities of Breuna, Calden, Emstal, Grebenstein, Habichtswald, Hofgeismar, Immenhausen, Karlshafen, Liebenau, Naumburg, Oberweser, Reinhardshagen, Trendelburg, Wahlsburg, Wolfhagen, and Zierenberg from the Landkreis Kassel district. In the 1976 election, it acquired borders very similar to its current configuration, but excluding the Baunatal and Schauenburg municipalities from Landkreis Kassel district. It acquired its current borders in the 2002 election.

Election  | No. | Name  | Borders

|
|
|

1949 | 1 | Waldeck  |

* Waldeck district
* Hofgeismar district
* Wolfhagen district

1953 | 126
1957
1961
1965
1969
1972 |

* Waldeck district
* Landkreis Kassel district (only Breuna, Calden, Emstal, Grebenstein, Habichtswald, Hofgeismar, Immenhausen, Karlshafen, Liebenau, Naumburg, Oberweser, Reinhardshagen, Trendelburg, Wahlsburg, Wolfhagen, and Zierenberg municipalities)

1976 |

* Landkreis Kassel district (excluding Ahnatal, Baunatal, Espenau, Fuldabrück, Fuldatal, Helsa, Kaufungen, Lohfelden, Nieste, Niestetal, Schauenburg, Söhrewald, and Vellmar municipalities)
* Waldeck-Frankenberg district (excluding Allendorf (Eder), Battenberg (Eder), Bromskirchen, Burgwald, Frankenau, Frankenberg (Eder), Gemünden (Wohra), Haina (Kloster), Hatzfeld (Eder), Rosenthal, and Vöhl municipalities)

1980 | 124
1983
1987
1990
1994
1998
2002 | 169  |

* Landkreis Kassel district (excluding Ahnatal, Espenau, Fuldabrück, Fuldatal, Helsa, Kaufungen, Lohfelden, Nieste, Niestetal, Söhrewald, and Vellmar municipalities)
* Waldeck-Frankenberg district (excluding Allendorf (Eder), Battenberg (Eder), Bromskirchen, Burgwald, Frankenau, Frankenberg (Eder), Gemünden (Wohra), Haina (Kloster), Hatzfeld (Eder), Rosenthal, and Vöhl municipalities)

2005
2009 | 168
2013 | 167
2017
2021
2025 | 166

## Members

[edit]

The constituency has been held by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) during all but three Bundestag terms since 1949. It was first represented by Karl Rüdiger of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) from 1949 until his death in 1951. Hans Merten of the SPD won the subsequent by-election, but was defeated at the 1953 federal election by FDP candidate Heinrich Fassbender. Karl Bechert of the SPD was elected in 1957 and served until 1972. He was succeeded by Rudi Walther, who served until 1994. Alfred Hartenbach was then representative until 2009. Ullrich Meßmer served one term from 2009 to 2013, when Thomas Viesehon of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won the constituency. Esther Dilcher regained it for the SPD in 2017 and was re-elected in 2021.

Election  | Member  | Party  | %

|
|
|

| 1949 | Karl Rüdiger | FDP | 35.2
| 1951 | Hans Merten  | SPD | 47.2
| 1953 | Heinrich Fassbender | FDP | 52.5
| 1957 | Karl Bechert | SPD | 35.6
1961 | 42.4
1965 | 46.7
1969 | 50.1
| 1972 | Rudi Walther | SPD | 53.6
1976 | 49.7
1980 | 52.1
1983 | 48.6
1987 | 49.5
1990 | 48.6
| 1994 | Alfred Hartenbach | SPD | 47.4
1998 | 53.0
2002 | 52.1
2005 | 50.2
| 2009 | Ullrich Meßmer | SPD | 37.8
| 2013 | Thomas Viesehon | CDU | 41.5
| 2017 | Esther Dilcher | SPD | 35.1
2021 | 38.0
| 2025 | Jan-Wilhelm Pohlmann | CDU | 31.1

## Election results

[edit]

### 2025 election

[edit]

Federal election (2025): Waldeck[3]

Notes:  |

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%  | Party votes  | %  | ±%
| CDU | Jan-Wilhelm Pohlmann | 46,166  | 31.1  |  4.8  | 42,778  | 28.8  |  6.4
| SPD | N Esther Dilcher | 41,883  | 28.2  |  9.7  | 33,994  | 22.9  |  13.2
| AfD | Jan Nolte | 31,701  | 21.4  |  12.1  | 31,359  | 21.1  |  11.6
| Greens | Ilka Deutschendorf  | 10,559  | 7.1  |  2.9  | 12,718  | 8.6  |  2.3
| Left | Stefan Giebel  | 8,462  | 5.7  |  2.6  | 9,115  | 6.1  |  2.9
| BSW |  | 6,502  | 4.4  | New
| FDP | Jochen Rube  | 4,863  | 3.3  |  5.6  | 5,921  | 4.0  |  7.3
| FW | Michael Maiweg  | 4,807  | 3.2  |  0.5  | 2,496  | 1.7  |  0.4
| Tierschutzpartei |  | 2,152  | 1.4  |  0.0
| PARTEI |  | 658  | 0.4  |  0.3
| Volt |  | 623  | 0.4  |  0.3
| BD |  | 237  | 0.2  | New
| Humanists |  | 119  | 0.1  |  0.0
| MLPD |  | 38  | <0.1  |  0.0
Informal votes  | 1,662  |  |  | 1,393  |  |
Total valid votes | 148,441  |  |  | 148,710  |  |
Turnout | 150,103  | 83.2  |  8.1  |
| CDU gain from SPD | Majority | 4,282  | 2.9  | N/A |

### 2021 election

[edit]

Federal election (2021): Waldeck[4]

Notes:  |

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%  | Party votes  | %  | ±%
| SPD | Y Esther Dilcher | 51,613  | 38.0  |  2.9  | 49,064  | 36.1  |  5.2
| CDU | Armin Schwarz | 35,734  | 26.3  |  7.3  | 30,392  | 22.3  |  7.7
| Greens | Peter Koswig  | 13,581  | 10.0  |  4.3  | 14,775  | 10.9  |  4.0
| AfD | Jan Nolte | 12,536  | 9.2  |  1.8  | 12,899  | 9.5  |  2.2
| FDP | Jochem Rube  | 12,062  | 8.9  |  1.8  | 15,288  | 11.2  |  1.3
| Left | Regina Preysing  | 4,208  | 3.1  |  3.0  | 4,441  | 3.3  |  3.8
| FW | Kira Hauser  | 3,763  | 2.8  |  1.4  | 2,791  | 2.1  |  1.2
| Tierschutzpartei |  | 1,946  | 1.4  |  0.5
| dieBasis | Daniele Saracino  | 1,626  | 1.2  |  | 1,528  | 1.1  |
| PARTEI |  | 964  | 0.7  |  0.1
| Independent | Gerd Erwin Müller  | 716  | 0.5  |  |
| Pirates |  | 452  | 0.3  |  0.0
| Team Todenhöfer |  | 374  | 0.3  |
| Volt |  | 223  | 0.2  |
| Gesundheitsforschung |  | 218  | 0.2  |
| NPD |  | 159  | 0.1  |  0.2
| Independent | Barbara Meyer  | 151  | 0.1  |  |
| Bündnis C |  | 114  | 0.1  |
| ÖDP |  | 106  | 0.1  |  0.0
| Humanists |  | 87  | 0.1  |
| V-Partei3 |  | 83  | 0.1  |  0.0
| Bündnis 21  |  | 41  | 0.0  |
| MLPD |  | 40  | 0.0  |  0.0
| LKR |  | 31  | 0.0  |
| DKP |  | 27  | 0.0  |  0.0
Informal votes  | 2,140  |  |  | 2,087  |  |
Total valid votes | 135,990  |  |  | 136,043  |  |
Turnout | 138,130  | 75.0  |  1.4  |
| SPD hold | Majority | 15,879  | 11.7  |  10.2  |

### 2017 election

[edit]

Federal election (2017): Waldeck[5]

Notes:  |

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%  | Party votes  | %  | ±%
| SPD | Esther Dilcher | 49,341  | 35.1  |  6.2  | 43,446  | 30.9  |  5.2
| CDU | N Thomas Viesehon | 47,269  | 33.6  |  7.9  | 42,232  | 30.0  |  6.5
| AfD | Jan Ralf Nolte  | 15,438  | 11.0  |  | 16,411  | 11.7  |  6.6
| FDP | Jochen Rube  | 9,930  | 7.1  |  4.4  | 13,918  | 9.9  |  5.1
| Left | Regina Preysing  | 8,600  | 6.1  |  0.7  | 9,891  | 7.0  |  1.6
| Greens | Jürgen Frömmrich  | 8,062  | 5.7  |  0.6  | 9,660  | 6.9  |  1.2
| Tierschutzpartei |  | 1,329  | 0.9  |
| FW | Vera Gleuel  | 1,910  | 1.4  |  | 1,268  | 0.9  |  0.1
| PARTEI |  | 900  | 0.6  |  0.2
| Pirates |  | 497  | 0.4  |  1.3
| NPD |  | 442  | 0.3  |  0.5
| BGE |  | 203  | 0.1  |
| DM  |  | 175  | 0.1  |
| V-Partei³ |  | 155  | 0.1  |
| ÖDP |  | 127  | 0.1  |
| Independent | Karin Puppel  | 88  | 0.1  |  |
| MLPD |  | 45  | 0.0  |  0.0
| BüSo |  | 17  | 0.0  |  0.0
| DKP |  | 17  | 0.0  |
Informal votes  | 2,214  |  |  | 2,119  |  |
Total valid votes | 140,638  |  |  | 140,733  |  |
Turnout | 142,852  | 76.5  |  3.4  |
| SPD gain from CDU | Majority | 2,072  | 1.5  |  |

### 2013 election

[edit]

Federal election (2013): Waldeck[6]

Notes:  |

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%  | Party votes  | %  | ±%
| CDU | Thomas Viesehon | 55,444  | 41.5  |  6.1  | 49,063  | 36.5  |  6.6
| SPD | N Ullrich Meßmer | 55,217  | 41.3  |  3.5  | 48,420  | 36.0  |  3.0
| Greens | Caroline Chantal Tönges  | 8,486  | 6.3  |  1.8  | 10,872  | 8.1  |  1.7
| Left | Dieter Hille  | 7,253  | 5.4  |  2.2  | 7,356  | 5.5  |  3.0
| AfD |  | 6,774  | 5.0  |
| FDP | Björn Sänger  | 3,579  | 2.7  |  6.9  | 6,452  | 4.8  |  9.9
| Pirates | Arno Schröder  | 3,177  | 2.4  |  | 2,242  | 1.7  |  0.1
| NPD |  | 1,159  | 0.9  |
| FW |  | 1,013  | 0.8  |
| Independent | Werner Bracht  | 545  | 0.4  |  |
| PARTEI |  | 525  | 0.4  |
| REP |  | 237  | 0.2  |  0.2
| PRO |  | 152  | 0.1  |
| SGP |  | 71  | 0.1  |
| BüSo |  | 47  | 0.0  |  0.1
| MLPD |  | 33  | 0.0  |  0.0
Informal votes  | 4,931  |  |  | 4,216  |  |
Total valid votes | 133,701  |  |  | 134,416  |  |
Turnout | 138,632  | 73.1  |  0.1  |
| CDU gain from SPD | Majority | 227  | 0.2  |  |

### 2009 election

[edit]

Federal election (2009): Waldeck[7]

Notes:  |

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%  | Party votes  | %  | ±%
| SPD | Ullrich Meßmer | 51,737  | 37.8  |  12.5  | 45,343  | 33.0  |  11.1
| CDU | Thomas Viesehon  | 48,414  | 35.3  |  0.9  | 41,109  | 29.9  |  0.3
| FDP | Björn Sänger | 13,180  | 9.6  |  4.9  | 20,210  | 14.7  |  5.0
| Greens | Anke Pavlicek  | 11,209  | 8.2  |  3.7  | 13,498  | 9.8  |  2.3
| Left | Klaus Albrecht  | 10,400  | 7.6  |  2.9  | 11,657  | 8.5  |  3.1
| Pirates |  | 2,175  | 1.6  |
| NPD | David Giesler  | 1,756  | 1.3  |  0.1  | 1,393  | 1.0  |  0.1
| Tierschutzpartei |  | 1,121  | 0.8  |  0.2
| REP |  | 504  | 0.4  |  0.2
| Independent | Jürgen Lenz  | 311  | 0.2  |  |
| BüSo |  | 122  | 0.1  |  0.0
| DVU |  | 115  | 0.1  |
| MLPD |  | 48  | 0.0  |  0.0
Informal votes  | 3,801  |  |  | 3,513  |  |
Total valid votes | 137,007  |  |  | 137,295  |  |
Turnout | 140,808  | 73.2  |  6.3  |
| SPD hold | Majority | 3,323  | 2.5  |  13.3  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Constituency Waldeck". Federal Returning Officer.
2. ^ "Results for Waldeck". Federal Returning Officer.
3. ^ Results for Waldeck
4. ^ Results for Waldeck
5. ^ Results for Waldeck
6. ^ Results for Waldeck
7. ^ Results for Waldeck

* v
* t
* e

Electoral districts of Hesse in the German Bundestag

Current|

* Waldeck
* Kassel
* Werra-Meißner – Hersfeld-Rotenburg
* Schwalm-Eder
* Marburg
* Lahn-Dill
* Gießen
* Fulda
* Main-Kinzig – Wetterau II – Schotten
* Hochtaunus
* Wetterau I
* Rheingau-Taunus – Limburg
* Wiesbaden
* Hanau
* Main-Taunus
* Frankfurt am Main I
* Frankfurt am Main II
* Groß-Gerau
* Offenbach
* Darmstadt
* Odenwald
* Bergstraße

Other states|

* Baden-Württemberg
* Bavaria‎
* Berlin
* Brandenburg‎
* Bremen
* Hamburg‎
* Lower Saxony
* Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
* North Rhine-Westphalia
* Rhineland-Palatinate‎
* Saarland
* Saxony
* Saxony-Anhalt‎
* Schleswig-Holstein‎
* Thuringia‎

See also|

* List of Bundestag constituencies
* Elections in Germany

*[No.]: Constituency number
*[1]: Hesse 1
*[1951]: By-election
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template