Social–liberal coalition

Social–liberal coalition (German: Sozialliberale Koalition) in the politics of Germany refers to a governmental coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). From 1969 to 1982 social–liberal coalitions led by Federal Chancellors Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt governed the Federal Republic of Germany.

The term stems from social democracy of the SPD and the liberalism of the FDP. Because of the colours traditionally used to symbolise the two parties (red for SPD and yellow for FDP), such a coalition is also referred to as a "red–yellow" coalition (rot–gelbe Koalition). The FDP is basically an economic/classical liberal party, but under the coalition, the FDP and the SPD are close to left-liberalism (Linksliberalismus).

Social–liberal coalitions are currently rare, as the SPD usually governs with the Alliance '90/The Greens and the FDP orients itself towards long-term co-operation with the Christian Democratic Union and Bavarian Christian Social Union. However, a social–liberal coalition ruled from 1991 to 2006 in the German State of Rhineland-Palatinate and would have continued to do so, had the SPD not won an absolute majority. Social–liberal coalitions have previously been in power in many other federal states of Germany as well.

The traffic light coalition is a combination of the social-liberal coalition and the red-green coalition insofar as it includes the Social Democratic Party, the FDP and the greens, which are the constituent elements of the other two coalitions. The Weimar Coalition was a similar constellation of parties as it included the Social Democratic Party as well as a left-liberal party (the then German Democratic Party one of the predecessors of the FDP) and the liberal-conservative/conservative-liberal element also present in the FDP with the Zentrumspartei. However, the political Catholicism espoused by the Zentrum is absent in the postwar social-liberal coalition.

Social–liberal coalitions at the federal state level

After the term, the leader of the government is given.

Berlin

• 1963–66 Willy Brandt (despite having an absolute majority)
• 1966–67 Heinrich Albertz (despite having an absolute majority)
• 1967–71 Klaus Schütz (despite having an absolute majority)
• 1975–77 Klaus Schütz
• 1977–81 Dietrich Stobbe
• 1981 Hans-Jochen Vogel

Bremen

• 1959–65 Wilhelm Kaisen
• 1967–71 Hans Koschnick

Hamburg

• 1957–61 Max Brauer
• 1961–65 Paul Nevermann
• 1965–66 Herbert Weichmann
• 1970–71 Herbert Weichmann
• 1971–74 Peter Schulz
• 1974–78 Hans-Ulrich Klose
• 1987–88 Klaus von Dohnanyi
• 1988–91 Henning Voscherau

Hesse

• 1970–76 Albert Osswald
• 1976–82 Holger Börner

Lower Saxony

• 1963–65 Georg Diederichs
• 1974–76 Alfred Kubel

North Rhine-Westphalia

• 1956–58 Fritz Steinhoff
• 1966–78 Heinz Kühn
• 1978–80 Johannes Rau

Rhineland-Palatinate

• 1991–94 Rudolf Scharping
• 1994–2006 Kurt Beck

See also

• German governing coalition
• Grand coalition (Germany)
• Traffic light coalition
• Jamaica coalition
• Red–green alliance
• Lib–Lab pact, the equivalent in British politics
• Social Liberal Union and National Coalition for Romania, the equivalents in Romanian politics
• Purple coalition, the equivalent in the Benelux