Cloppenburg – Vechta is an electoral constituency (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

. It elects one member via

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 32. It is located in northwestern

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

, comprising the Cloppenburg and Vechta districts. Cloppenburg – Vechta was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. Since 2017, it has been represented by

Silvia Breher Silvia Breher ( Lucke; born 23 July 1973) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She has been Member of the Bundestag for the constituency of Cloppenburg – Vechta since the 2017 federal election. At the CD ...

of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). It is considered one of the safest seats for the CDU, which often receives an absolute majority of the popular vote. This is partly due to the region being very catholic in an otherwise majority-protestant state.

Geography

Cloppenburg – Vechta is located in northwestern

. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the entirety of the Cloppenburg and Vechta districts.

History

Cloppenburg – Vechta was created in 1949, then known as ''Vechta – Cloppenburg''. From 1965 to 1980, it was named ''Cloppenburg''. It acquired its current name in the 1980 election. In the inaugural Bundestag election, it was Lower Saxony constituency 9 in the numbering system. From 1953 through 1961, it was number 31. From 1965 through 1998, it was number 27. From 2002 through 2009, it was number 33. Since 2013, it has been constituency 32. Originally, the constituency comprised the districts of Cloppenburg and Vechta, as well as the municipalities of

Großenkneten Großenkneten is a municipality in the district of Oldenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Großenkneten is one of the largest municipalities in Germany, in terms of its area, and is situated between the rivers Hunte and Lethe, in the land ...

Hatten Hatten is a municipality in Oldenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated southeast of Oldenburg, on the North-West edge of the Wildeshausen Geest Nature Park. Activities Tourism endeavours emphasise the recreational and sporting opportun ...

Wardenburg Wardenburg is a municipality in the district of Oldenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hunte Hunte is a long river in north-western Germany (Lower Saxony), a left tributary of the Weser. The Hunte rises in the Wiehen ...

, and Wüsting from the

Landkreis Oldenburg The district of Oldenburg (German: ''Landkreis Oldenburg'', not to be confused with the cities of Oldenburg and Oldenburg in Holstein) is a district in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the district ...

district. Since the 1965 election, it has comprised only the districts of Cloppenburg and Vechta.

Members

The constituency has been held continuously by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since its creation. It is a traditional stronghold of the CDU, frequently the party's safest constituency. Its first representative was Georg Kühling, who served a single term from 1949 to 1953. He was succeeded by Kurt Schmücker, who served five terms.

Manfred Carstens Manfred Carstens (born 23 February 1943, in Molbergen) is a German politician of Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU). Life In Emstek Carstens worked for a local bank. Carstens worked as a German politician for party CDU. From 1972 to ...

then represented it for nine terms from 1972 to 2005.

Franz-Josef Holzenkamp Franz-Josef Holzenkamp (born 8 January 1960) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served in the Bundestag between 2005 and 2017. Political career From 2005 until 2017, Holzenkamp was a Member of the German Parliam ...

served until 2017. Silvia Breher won the constituency in 2017, and was re-elected in 2021.

Election results

2021 election

2017 election

2013 election

2009 election

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cloppenburg - Vechta Federal electoral districts in Lower Saxony Cloppenburg (district) Vechta (district) 1949 establishments in West Germany Constituencies established in 1949