Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg 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 195. It is located in southwestern Thuringia, comprising the city of Suhl and the districts of Hildburghausen, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, and Sonneberg. The constituency is almost exactly coterminous with the Bezirk Suhl of East Germany.
Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg was created for the inaugural 1990 federal election after German reunification. From 2021 to 2025, it was represented by Frank Ullrich of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Since 2025 it has been represented by Robert Teske of the AfD.
Geography Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg is located in southwestern Thuringia. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the independent city of Suhl and the districts of Hildburghausen, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, and Sonneberg.
History Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg was created after German reunification in 1990, then known as Suhl – Schmalkalden – Ilmenau – Neuhaus. In the 2002 through 2013 elections, it was named Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen. It acquired its current name in the 2017 election. In the 1990 through 1998 elections, it was constituency 307 in the numbering system. In the 2002 election, it was number 199. In the 2005 election, it was number 198. In the 2009 and 2013 elections, it was number 197. In the 2017 and 2021 elections, it was number 196. From the 2025 election, it has been number 195.
Originally, the constituency comprised the city of Suhl and the districts of Landkreis Suhl, Schmalkalden, Ilmenau, and Neuhaus. In a 1994 district reform, most of these districts were merged. From 2002 through 2013, it comprised the city of Suhl and the new districts of Schmalkalden-Meiningen and Hildburghausen. It acquired its current borders in the 2017 election, adding the small southern district of Sonneberg.
Election Name Borders 1990 307 Suhl – Schmalkalden – Ilmenau – Neuhaus Suhl city Landkreis Suhl district Schmalkalden district Ilmenau district Neuhaus district 1994 1998 2002 199 Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen Suhl city Hildburghausen district Schmalkalden-Meiningen district 2005 198 2009 197 2013 2017 196 Suhl – Schmalkalden-Meiningen – Hildburghausen – Sonneberg Suhl city Hildburghausen district Schmalkalden-Meiningen district Sonneberg district 2021 2025 195
Members The constituency was first represented by Claudia Nolte of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1990 to 1998. of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was representative from 1998 to 2009. Jens Petermann of The Left was elected in 2009 and served a single term. Mark Hauptmann of the CDU was elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2017. Frank Ullrich won the constituency for the SPD in 2021. Ullrich's win was widely watched, as he beat controversial former Office for the Protection of the Constitution President Hans-Georg Maaßen.
Election Member Party % 1990 Claudia Nolte CDU 42.6 1994 44.9 1998 SPD 33.6 2002 35.6 2005 30.4 2009 Jens Petermann LINKE 32.2 2013 Mark Hauptmann CDU 42.0 2017 33.6 2021 Frank Ullrich SPD 33.6 2025 Robert Teske AfD 42.1
Election results
2025 election
2021 election
2017 election
2013 election
2009 election
2005 election
References