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Hamburg Parliament

The Hamburg Parliament (Bürgerschaft) is one of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg’s three constitutional bodies. The other two are the Senate and the Constitutional Court. It is the only one whose representatives are directly elected by the people. That means that the population is represented in the Bürgerschaft by elected members. Because Hamburg is both a German federal state (Land) and a municipality, the Bürgerschaft not only works as a Land parliament but also carries out tasks typical of a local council. The Bürgerschaft is made up of Members who belong to various parliamentary groups, the Council and the Council of Elders. Parliamentary debates are open to the public.

Our topics:

    Deputees in the Plenary Hall raise their hands.

    What parliament does

    Parliament’s most important functions are making laws, checking the work of the Senate and setting the budget. It also elects the First Mayor and confirms Senators’ appointments.

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    Plenary session in the Plenary Hall.

    Members of Parliament

    The 121 Members of Parliament represent the whole population of Hamburg. They were elected in March 2025. Get to know your elected representatives.

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    A semi-circular pie chart shows the distribution of the parliamentary groups in the Hamburg Parliament.

    Parliamentary groups

    Members from the same party or with the same political views usually join to form parliamentary groups. Here they agree on parliamentary initiatives such as proposals for legislation.

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    Präsidiumsmitglieder im Plenarsaal.

    Council (Presidium)

    Parliament is headed by the President. Together with the Council, she has the task of safeguarding the rights of Parliament and its Members and preserving its dignity.

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Deputees during a committee meeting.

Committees

The Parliament sets up standing committees to help it manage its varied responsibilities. Here, Members of Parliament discuss motions and bills sent to them by the plenary sitting.

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International contacts

The Hamburg Bürgerschaft has maintained international contacts and friendships with foreign parliaments for many years. They include the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference and the Parliamentary Forum for the Southern Baltic.

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Meeting of the Council of Elders.

Council of Elders

The Council of Elders assists the President in the performance of her duties. It gets the parliamentary groups to agree on the agenda and order of business for Bürgerschaft sittings and the parliamentary work programme.

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Get involved

    Petitions

    Do you consider yourself unfairly treated by one of Hamburg’s official bodies? Do you object to the working methods of authorities or agencies? You can turn to Parliament’s Petitions Committee.

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    Elections

    The people of Hamburg vote every five years to elect their regional parliament, the Bürgerschaft. You can find a summary of important facts about the elections here.

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    Someone os holding a clipboard with a sheet of paper that another person is signing.

    Direct legislation

    Citizens can influence parliamentary decision-making in Hamburg. The three ways of doing this are popular initiatives, petitions for referendums, and referendums.

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Accessibility

The Hamburg Parliament is committed to promoting access for all visitors to the City Hall, to the work of parliament and to all events. We offer a range of facilities and targeted services to enable visitors with various needs to access the parliament.

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