2001 Hamburg state election

2001 Hamburg state election

← 1997 23 September 2001 2004 →
All 121 seats in the Hamburg Parliament 61 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	850,668 (71.1%) 2.4%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Ortwin Runde Ole von Beust Ronald Schill Party SPD CDU Schill Last election 54 seats, 36.2% 46 seats, 30.7% Did not exist Seats won 46 33 25 Seat change 8 13 25 Popular vote 310,362 223,015 165,421 Percentage 36.5% 26.2% 19.4% Swing 0.3% 4.5% New party   Fourth party Fifth party   Party Greens FDP Last election 21 seats, 13.9% 0 seats, 3.5% Seats won 11 6 Seat change 10 6 Popular vote 72,771 43,214 Percentage 8.6% 5.1% Swing 5.3% 1.6%
Mayor before election Ortwin Runde SPD Elected Mayor Ole von Beust CDU

The 2001 Hamburg state election was held on 23 September 2001 to elect the members of the 17th Hamburg Parliament. The incumbent coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Green Alternative List (GAL) led by First Mayor Ortwin Runde was defeated, ending 44 years of uninterrupted SPD rule in the city-state.

The most significant change of the election was the entry of the Party for a Rule of Law Offensive ("Schill party") led by Ronald Schill into Parliament with 19.4% of the vote and 25 seats. This can partly be attributed to the general feeling of insecurity due to the September 11 attacks less than two weeks earlier, especially since three of the terrorists involved, including ringleader Mohamed Atta, had been members of the Hamburg cell.^[1][2]

The Free Democratic Party (FDP) also re-entered Parliament. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) subsequently formed a coalition with the Schill party and FDP, and CDU leader Ole von Beust was elected as First Mayor.^[3]