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class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">1961 West German federal election</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 20 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-20" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">20 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%BA%D1%96%D1%8F_%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8B_%D1%9E_%D0%93%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%96%D1%96_(1961)" title="Парламенцкія выбары ў Германіі (1961) – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Парламенцкія выбары ў Германіі (1961)" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleccions_federals_alemanyes_de_1961" title="Eleccions federals alemanyes de 1961 – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Eleccions federals alemanyes de 1961" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbundsdagsvalget_1961" title="Forbundsdagsvalget 1961 – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Forbundsdagsvalget 1961" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundestagswahl_1961" title="Bundestagswahl 1961 – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Bundestagswahl 1961" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961._aasta_L%C3%A4%C3%A4ne-Saksamaa_parlamendivalimised" title="1961. aasta Lääne-Saksamaa parlamendivalimised – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="1961. aasta Lääne-Saksamaa parlamendivalimised" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elecciones_federales_de_Alemania_Occidental_de_1961" title="Elecciones federales de Alemania Occidental de 1961 – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Elecciones federales de Alemania Occidental de 1961" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lections_f%C3%A9d%C3%A9rales_ouest-allemandes_de_1961" title="Élections fédérales ouest-allemandes de 1961 – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Élections fédérales ouest-allemandes de 1961" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961%EB%85%84_%EB%8F%85%EC%9D%BC_%EC%97%B0%EB%B0%A9%EC%9D%98%ED%9A%8C_%EC%84%A0%EA%B1%B0" title="1961년 독일 연방의회 선거 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="1961년 독일 연방의회 선거" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemilihan_umum_federal_Jerman_Barat_1961" title="Pemilihan umum federal Jerman Barat 1961 – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Pemilihan umum federal Jerman Barat 1961" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elezioni_federali_in_Germania_del_1961" title="Elezioni federali in Germania del 1961 – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Elezioni federali in Germania del 1961" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondsdagverkiezingen_1961" title="Bondsdagverkiezingen 1961 – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Bondsdagverkiezingen 1961" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961%E5%B9%B4%E3%83%89%E3%82%A4%E3%83%84%E9%80%A3%E9%82%A6%E8%AD%B0%E4%BC%9A%E9%81%B8%E6%8C%99" title="1961年ドイツ連邦議会選挙 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="1961年ドイツ連邦議会選挙" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbundsdagsvalget_i_Tyskland_1961" title="Forbundsdagsvalget i Tyskland 1961 – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Forbundsdagsvalget i Tyskland 1961" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wybory_parlamentarne_w_Niemczech_w_1961_roku" title="Wybory parlamentarne w Niemczech w 1961 roku – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Wybory parlamentarne w Niemczech w 1961 roku" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elei%C3%A7%C3%A3o_federal_na_Alemanha_Ocidental_em_1961" title="Eleição federal na Alemanha Ocidental em 1961 – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Eleição federal na Alemanha Ocidental em 1961" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alegeri_legislative_%C3%AEn_Germania_de_Vest,_1961" title="Alegeri legislative în Germania de Vest, 1961 – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Alegeri legislative în Germania de Vest, 1961" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8B_%D0%B2_%D0%A4%D0%A0%D0%93_(1961)" title="Парламентские выборы в ФРГ (1961) – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Парламентские выборы в ФРГ (1961)" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%B6rbundsdagsvalet_i_V%C3%A4sttyskland_1961" title="Förbundsdagsvalet i Västtyskland 1961 – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Förbundsdagsvalet i Västtyskland 1961" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8_%D0%B4%D0%BE_%D0%91%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B3%D1%83_1961" title="Вибори до Бундестагу 1961 – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Вибори до Бундестагу 1961" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961%E5%B9%B4%E8%A5%BF%E5%BE%B7%E8%81%AF%E9%82%A6%E8%AD%B0%E9%99%A2%E9%81%B8%E8%88%89" title="1961年西德聯邦議院選舉 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="1961年西德聯邦議院選舉" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> 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.infobox-subheader{line-height:130%}.mw-parser-output .ib-election .infobox-header{font-weight:normal}@media(max-width:640px){body.skin--responsive:not(.skin-monobook):not(.skin-timeless) .mw-parser-output .ib-election .notpageimage.noresize img{height:80px!important;width:auto!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .ib-election .mw-file-description img{background-color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .ib-election .mw-file-description img{background-color:#f8f9fa}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1152813436">.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap}</style><table class="infobox ib-election infobox-table vevent" style="width:333px"><caption class="infobox-title summary">1961 West German federal election</caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/50px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="30" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/75px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/100px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></span></span></span><hr /></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader"><table style="width:100%; margin:1px; display:inline-table;"><tbody><tr> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:middle; padding:0 0.5em 0 0;width:20%;" class="noprint">← <a href="/wiki/1957_West_German_federal_election" title="1957 West German federal election">1957</a></td> <td style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;; padding:0 1px;width:60%;" class=""><b>17 September 1961<span style="display:none"> (<span class="bday dtstart published updated itvstart">1961-09-17</span>)</span></b></td> <td style="text-align:right; vertical-align:middle;; padding:0 0 0 0.5em;width:20%;" class="noprint"><a href="/wiki/1965_West_German_federal_election" title="1965 West German federal election">1965</a> →</td> </tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader"><div style="width:100%"><div style="float: left; text-align:left;padding-right:0.5em;width:40%; text-align:center;" class="noprint">← <a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_3rd_Bundestag" title="List of members of the 3rd Bundestag">outgoing members</a></div><div style="float: right; text-align:right;padding-left:0.5em;width:40%; text-align:center;" class="noprint"><a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_4th_Bundestag" title="List of members of the 4th Bundestag">elected members</a> →</div></div></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header"><hr />All 499 seats in the <a href="/wiki/Bundestag" title="Bundestag">Bundestag</a><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><br />250 seats needed for a majority</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Registered</th><td class="infobox-data">37,440,715 (<span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Increase"><img alt="Increase" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/17px-Increase2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/22px-Increase2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 5.8%)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Turnout</th><td class="infobox-data">87.7% (<span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Decrease"><img alt="Decrease" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/11px-Decrease2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/17px-Decrease2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/22px-Decrease2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 0.1<a href="/wiki/Percentage_point" title="Percentage point">pp</a>)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"> <table style="background:transparent; color: inherit; width:100%;"> <tbody><tr class="sr-only"> <th style="text-align:left;">  </th> <th style="text-align:center">First party </th> <th style="text-align:center">Second party </th> <th style="text-align:center">Third party </th></tr> <tr> <td>  </td> <td class="notheme" style="text-align:center;border-bottom: 6px solid #151518;"><div class=""> <div style="width: 120px; height: 160px; overflow: hidden;"> <div style="position: relative; top: -0px; left: -0px; width: 120px"><div class="noresize"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Audenauer,_Bestanddeelnr_912-8736.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Audenauer, Bestanddeelnr 912-8736.jpg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Audenauer%2C_Bestanddeelnr_912-8736.jpg/120px-Audenauer%2C_Bestanddeelnr_912-8736.jpg" decoding="async" width="120" height="168" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Audenauer%2C_Bestanddeelnr_912-8736.jpg/180px-Audenauer%2C_Bestanddeelnr_912-8736.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Audenauer%2C_Bestanddeelnr_912-8736.jpg/240px-Audenauer%2C_Bestanddeelnr_912-8736.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1411" data-file-height="1971" /></a></span></div></div> </div> </div> </td> <td class="notheme" style="text-align:center;border-bottom: 6px solid #E3000F;"><div class=""> <div style="width: 120px; height: 160px; overflow: hidden;"> <div style="position: relative; top: -0px; left: -0px; width: 120px"><div class="noresize"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Willy_Brandt.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Willy Brandt.jpg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Willy_Brandt.jpg/120px-Willy_Brandt.jpg" decoding="async" width="120" height="164" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Willy_Brandt.jpg/180px-Willy_Brandt.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Willy_Brandt.jpg/240px-Willy_Brandt.jpg 2x" data-file-width="762" data-file-height="1043" /></a></span></div></div> </div> </div> </td> <td class="notheme" style="text-align:center;border-bottom: 6px solid #FFED00;"><div class=""> <div style="width: 120px; height: 160px; overflow: hidden;"> <div style="position: relative; top: -0px; left: -0px; width: 120px"><div class="noresize"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-87989-0060,_Erich_Mende.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Bundesarchiv Bild 183-87989-0060, Erich Mende.jpg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-87989-0060%2C_Erich_Mende.jpg/120px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-87989-0060%2C_Erich_Mende.jpg" decoding="async" width="120" height="182" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-87989-0060%2C_Erich_Mende.jpg/180px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-87989-0060%2C_Erich_Mende.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-87989-0060%2C_Erich_Mende.jpg/240px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-87989-0060%2C_Erich_Mende.jpg 2x" data-file-width="436" data-file-height="660" /></a></span></div></div> </div> </div> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="width:75px;text-align:left">Candidate </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/Konrad_Adenauer" title="Konrad Adenauer">Konrad Adenauer</a> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/Willy_Brandt" title="Willy Brandt">Willy Brandt</a> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/Erich_Mende" title="Erich Mende">Erich Mende</a> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="width:75px;text-align:left">Party </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/CDU/CSU" title="CDU/CSU">CDU/CSU</a> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany" title="Social Democratic Party of Germany">SPD</a> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/Free_Democratic_Party_(Germany)" title="Free Democratic Party (Germany)">FDP</a> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Last election </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">50.2%, 270 seats </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">31.8%, 169 seats </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">7.7%, 41 seats </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Seats won </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><b>242</b><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>b<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">190<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>c<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">67 </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Seat change </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Decrease"><img alt="Decrease" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/11px-Decrease2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/17px-Decrease2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/22px-Decrease2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 28 </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Increase"><img alt="Increase" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/17px-Increase2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/22px-Increase2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 21 </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Increase"><img alt="Increase" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/17px-Increase2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/22px-Increase2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 26 </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Popular vote </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><b>14,298,372</b> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">11,427,355 </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">4,028,766 </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Percentage </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><b>45.3%</b> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">36.2% </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">12.8% </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Swing </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Decrease"><img alt="Decrease" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/11px-Decrease2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/17px-Decrease2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/22px-Decrease2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 4.9pp </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Increase"><img alt="Increase" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/17px-Increase2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/22px-Increase2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 4.4pp </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Increase"><img alt="Increase" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/17px-Increase2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/22px-Increase2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 5.1pp </td></tr> </tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><hr /><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:1961_German_federal_election_-_Results_by_constituency.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/1961_German_federal_election_-_Results_by_constituency.svg/333px-1961_German_federal_election_-_Results_by_constituency.svg.png" decoding="async" width="333" height="387" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/1961_German_federal_election_-_Results_by_constituency.svg/500px-1961_German_federal_election_-_Results_by_constituency.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/1961_German_federal_election_-_Results_by_constituency.svg/666px-1961_German_federal_election_-_Results_by_constituency.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="595" /></a></span><div>Results by constituency (left) and seats by state (right). The pie chart over West Berlin shows the composition of its legislature.</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><hr /> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="background:transparent; color: inherit; width:100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="width:50%; text-align:left;"><b><a href="/wiki/Cabinet_of_Germany" title="Cabinet of Germany">Government</a> before election</b><br /> <p><a href="/wiki/Third_Adenauer_cabinet" title="Third Adenauer cabinet">Third Adenauer cabinet</a><br /> <a href="/wiki/CDU/CSU" title="CDU/CSU">CDU/CSU</a> </p> </td> <td style="width:50%; text-align:right;"><b>Government after election</b> <br /> <p><a href="/wiki/Fourth_Adenauer_cabinet" title="Fourth Adenauer cabinet">Fourth Adenauer cabinet</a><br /> <a href="/wiki/CDU/CSU" title="CDU/CSU">CDU/CSU</a>–<a href="/wiki/Free_Democratic_Party_(Germany)" title="Free Democratic Party (Germany)">FDP</a> </p> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><style 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.plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><table class="sidebar sidebar-collapse nomobile nowraplinks vcard hlist" style="width:22.0em; border: 4px double var(--background-color-inverted, #101418);"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle"><b><span style="color:var(--color-base, #101112)">This article is part of a series on the</span></b></td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle" style="background:#d33; border: 1px double #8C959A;"><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Germany" title="Politics of Germany"><span style="color: white;"><small>Politics of </small><br />Germany</span></a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><figure class="mw-halign-center" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg/90px-Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg.png" decoding="async" width="90" height="116" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg/135px-Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg/180px-Coat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="396" data-file-height="510" /></a><figcaption></figcaption></figure></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCC00; color:black; border: 1px double #8C959A;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Basic_Law_for_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany" title="Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany"><span style="color:#000;">Constitution <span style="font-size:85%;">(Basic Law)</span></span></a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Federal_Constitutional_Court_of_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Federal Constitutional Court of Germany">Federal Constitutional Court</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_rights_in_Germany" title="Human rights in Germany">Human rights</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCC00; color:black; border: 1px double #8C959A;;color: var(--color-base)">Head of State</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/President_of_Germany" title="President of Germany">President of Germany</a></b></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Frank-Walter_Steinmeier" title="Frank-Walter Steinmeier">Frank-Walter Steinmeier</a> (<a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany" title="Social Democratic Party of Germany">SPD</a>)</li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCC00; color:black; border: 1px double #8C959A;;color: var(--color-base)">Executive</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Chancellor_of_Germany_(1949%E2%80%93)" class="mw-redirect" title="Chancellor of Germany (1949–)">Chancellor of Germany</a></b> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_chancellors_of_Germany" title="List of chancellors of Germany">list</a>)</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Olaf_Scholz" title="Olaf Scholz">Olaf Scholz</a> (<a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany" title="Social Democratic Party of Germany">SPD</a>)</li></ul> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Vice-Chancellor_of_Germany" title="Vice-Chancellor of Germany">Vice Chancellor of Germany</a></b></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Robert_Habeck" title="Robert Habeck">Robert Habeck</a> (<a href="/wiki/Alliance_90/The_Greens" title="Alliance 90/The Greens">Grüne</a>)</li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cabinet_of_Germany" title="Cabinet of Germany">Cabinet</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Scholz_cabinet" title="Scholz cabinet">Scholz</a></dd></dl></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Federal_agency_(Germany)" title="Federal agency (Germany)">Federal agencies</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCC00; color:black; border: 1px double #8C959A;;color: var(--color-base)">Legislature</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Bundestag" title="Bundestag">Bundestag</a></b> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/List_of_Bundestag_constituencies" title="List of Bundestag constituencies">constituencies</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Member_of_the_German_Bundestag" title="Member of the German Bundestag">members</a></dd></dl></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Bundesrat_of_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Bundesrat of Germany">Bundesrat</a></b></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Vermittlungsausschuss&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Vermittlungsausschuss (page does not exist)"><i>Vermittlungsausschuss</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gemeinsamer_Ausschuss" title="Gemeinsamer Ausschuss"><i>Gemeinsamer Ausschuss</i></a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCC00; color:black; border: 1px double #8C959A;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Judiciary_of_Germany" title="Judiciary of Germany"><span style="color:#000;">Judiciary</span></a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Federal_Constitutional_Court" title="Federal Constitutional Court">Federal Constitutional Court</a></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li>Federal courts</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Federal_Court_of_Justice" title="Federal Court of Justice">Ordinary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Federal_Administrative_Court_(Germany)" title="Federal Administrative Court (Germany)">Administrative</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Federal_Fiscal_Court" title="Federal Fiscal Court">Fiscal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Federal_Labour_Court" title="Federal Labour Court">Labour</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Federal_Social_Court" title="Federal Social Court">Social</a></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Joint_Senate_of_the_Supreme_Courts_of_the_Federation" title="Joint Senate of the Supreme Courts of the Federation">Joint Senate</a></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Judiciary_of_Germany#Courts" title="Judiciary of Germany">Other courts</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCC00; color:black; border: 1px double #8C959A;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Administrative divisions of Germany"><span style="color:#000;">Subdivisions</span></a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/States_of_Germany" title="States of Germany">State (<i>Land</i>)</a></b></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Minister_President_(Germany)" class="mw-redirect" title="Minister President (Germany)">Minister president</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/State_Parliament_(Germany)" title="State Parliament (Germany)">State Parliament (<i>Landtag</i>)</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Composition_of_the_German_state_parliaments" title="Composition of the German state parliaments">composition</a></dd></dl></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Regierungsbezirk" title="Regierungsbezirk"><i>Regierungsbezirk</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Districts_of_Germany" title="Districts of Germany">District (<i>Kreis</i>)</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/List_of_districts_of_Germany" title="List of districts of Germany">list</a></dd></dl></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amt_(country_subdivision)" class="mw-redirect" title="Amt (country subdivision)">Collective municipality (<i>Amt</i>)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Municipalities_of_Germany" title="Municipalities of Germany">Municipality (<i>Gemeinde</i>)</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/List_of_municipalities_in_Germany" title="List of municipalities in Germany">list</a></dd></dl></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCC00; color:black; border: 1px double #8C959A;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Elections_in_Germany" title="Elections in Germany"><span style="color:#000;">Elections</span></a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Electoral_system_of_Germany" title="Electoral system of Germany">Electoral system</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Germany" title="List of political parties in Germany">Political parties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Referendums_in_Germany" title="Referendums in Germany">Referendums</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_governing_coalition" title="German governing coalition">Coalitions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Federal_Convention_(Germany)" title="Federal Convention (Germany)">Federal Convention (<i>Bundesversammlung</i>)</a></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><b>Presidential elections</b></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/President_of_Germany_(1919%E2%80%931945)" title="President of Germany (1919–1945)">Weimar Republic (1919–1933)</a></li></ul> <div class="plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1919_German_presidential_election" title="1919 German presidential election">1919</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1925_German_presidential_election" title="1925 German presidential election">1925</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1932_German_presidential_election" title="1932 German presidential election">1932</a></li></ul> </div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/President_of_East_Germany" title="President of East Germany">East Germany (1949–1960)</a></li></ul> <div class="plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1949_East_German_presidential_election&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1949 East German presidential election (page does not exist)">1949</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1953_East_German_presidential_election&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1953 East German presidential election (page does not exist)">1953</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1957_East_German_presidential_election&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1957 East German presidential election (page does not exist)">1957</a></li></ul> </div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/President_of_Germany" title="President of Germany">Federal Republic of Germany (since 1949)</a></li></ul> <div class="plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1949_West_German_presidential_election" title="1949 West German presidential election">1949</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1954_West_German_presidential_election" title="1954 West German presidential election">1954</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1959_West_German_presidential_election" title="1959 West German presidential election">1959</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1964_West_German_presidential_election" title="1964 West German presidential election">1964</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1969_West_German_presidential_election" title="1969 West German presidential election">1969</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1974_West_German_presidential_election" title="1974 West German presidential election">1974</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1979_West_German_presidential_election" title="1979 West German presidential election">1979</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1984_West_German_presidential_election" title="1984 West German presidential election">1984</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1989_West_German_presidential_election" title="1989 West German presidential election">1989</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1994_German_presidential_election" title="1994 German presidential election">1994</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1999_German_presidential_election" title="1999 German presidential election">1999</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2004_German_presidential_election" title="2004 German presidential election">2004</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2009_German_presidential_election" title="2009 German presidential election">2009</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2010_German_presidential_election" title="2010 German presidential election">2010</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2012_German_presidential_election" title="2012 German presidential election">2012</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2017_German_presidential_election" title="2017 German presidential election">2017</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2022_German_presidential_election" title="2022 German presidential election"><i>2022</i></a></li></ul> </div> <hr /> <ul><li><b>Parliamentary election</b></li></ul> <hr /> <div class="plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/February_1867_North_German_federal_election" title="February 1867 North German federal election">1867 (Feb)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/August_1867_North_German_federal_election" title="August 1867 North German federal election">1867 (Aug)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1868_Zollparlament_election" title="1868 Zollparlament election">1868</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1871_German_federal_election" title="1871 German federal election">1871</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1874_German_federal_election" title="1874 German federal election">1874</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1877_German_federal_election" title="1877 German federal election">1877</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1878_German_federal_election" title="1878 German federal election">1878</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1881_German_federal_election" title="1881 German federal election">1881</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1884_German_federal_election" title="1884 German federal election">1884</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1887_German_federal_election" title="1887 German federal election">1887</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1890_German_federal_election" title="1890 German federal election">1890</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1893_German_federal_election" title="1893 German federal election">1893</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1898_German_federal_election" title="1898 German federal election">1898</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1903_German_federal_election" title="1903 German federal election">1903</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1907_German_federal_election" title="1907 German federal election">1907</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1912_German_federal_election" title="1912 German federal election">1912</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1919_German_federal_election" title="1919 German federal election">1919</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1920_German_federal_election" title="1920 German federal election">1920</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/May_1924_German_federal_election" title="May 1924 German federal election">1924 (May)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/December_1924_German_federal_election" title="December 1924 German federal election">1924 (Dec)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1928_German_federal_election" title="1928 German federal election">1928</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1930_German_federal_election" title="1930 German federal election">1930</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/July_1932_German_federal_election" title="July 1932 German federal election">1932 (July)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/November_1932_German_federal_election" title="November 1932 German federal election">1932 (Nov)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/March_1933_German_federal_election" title="March 1933 German federal election">1933 (Mar)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/November_1933_German_parliamentary_election" title="November 1933 German parliamentary election">1933 (Nov)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1936_German_parliamentary_election_and_referendum" title="1936 German parliamentary election and referendum">1936</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1938_German_parliamentary_election_and_referendum" title="1938 German parliamentary election and referendum">1938</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1949_West_German_federal_election" title="1949 West German federal election">1949</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1953_West_German_federal_election" title="1953 West German federal election">1953</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1957_West_German_federal_election" title="1957 West German federal election">1957</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">1961</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1965_West_German_federal_election" title="1965 West German federal election">1965</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1969_West_German_federal_election" title="1969 West German federal election">1969</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1972_West_German_federal_election" title="1972 West German federal election">1972</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1976_West_German_federal_election" title="1976 West German federal election">1976</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1980_West_German_federal_election" title="1980 West German federal election">1980</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1983_West_German_federal_election" title="1983 West German federal election">1983</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1987_West_German_federal_election" title="1987 West German federal election">1987</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1990_German_federal_election" title="1990 German federal election">1990</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1994_German_federal_election" title="1994 German federal election">1994</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1998_German_federal_election" title="1998 German federal election">1998</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2002_German_federal_election" title="2002 German federal election">2002</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2005_German_federal_election" title="2005 German federal election">2005</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2009_German_federal_election" title="2009 German federal election">2009</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2013_German_federal_election" title="2013 German federal election">2013</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2017_German_federal_election" title="2017 German federal election">2017</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2021_German_federal_election" title="2021 German federal election">2021</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2025_German_federal_election" title="2025 German federal election"><i>2025</i></a></li></ul> </div> <hr /> <ul><li><b>European elections</b></li></ul> <hr /> <div class="plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1979_European_Parliament_election_in_West_Germany" title="1979 European Parliament election in West Germany">1979</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1984_European_Parliament_election_in_West_Germany" title="1984 European Parliament election in West Germany">1984</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1989_European_Parliament_election_in_West_Germany" title="1989 European Parliament election in West Germany">1989</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1994_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="1994 European Parliament election in Germany">1994</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1999_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="1999 European Parliament election in Germany">1999</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2004_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="2004 European Parliament election in Germany">2004</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2009_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="2009 European Parliament election in Germany">2009</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2014_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="2014 European Parliament election in Germany">2014</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2019_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="2019 European Parliament election in Germany">2019</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2024_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="2024 European Parliament election in Germany"><i>2024</i></a></li></ul> </div> <hr /></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCC00; color:black; border: 1px double #8C959A;;color: var(--color-base)">State and local politics</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><b>State Politics</b></li></ul> <hr /> <div class="plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg" title="Politics of Baden-Württemberg">Baden-Württemberg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Bavaria" title="Politics of Bavaria">Bavaria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Berlin" title="Politics of Berlin">Berlin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Brandenburg" title="Politics of Brandenburg">Brandenburg</a></li> <li><a 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href="/wiki/Politics_of_Saxony-Anhalt" title="Politics of Saxony-Anhalt">Saxony-Anhalt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Schleswig-Holstein" title="Politics of Schleswig-Holstein">Schleswig-Holstein</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Thuringia" title="Politics of Thuringia">Thuringia</a></li></ul> </div></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCC00; color:black; border: 1px double #8C959A;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Germany" title="Foreign relations of Germany"><span style="color:#000;">Foreign relations</span></a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"><br /> <hr /> <ul><li><b>Foreign relations by country</b></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/France%E2%80%93Germany_relations" title="France–Germany relations">France</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Germany%E2%80%93Italy_relations" title="Germany–Italy relations">Italy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Germany%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Germany–United Kingdom relations">UK</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Germany%E2%80%93United_States_relations" title="Germany–United States relations">USA</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/China%E2%80%93Germany_relations" title="China–Germany relations">China</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Germany%E2%80%93Russia_relations" title="Germany–Russia relations">Russia</a></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><b>International Relations</b></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_European_Union" title="Politics of the European Union">Politics of the European Union</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_German_citizens" title="Visa requirements for German citizens">Visa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_passport" title="German passport">Passport</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:center; background:#FFCC00; color:black; border: 1px double #8C959A;;color: var(--color-base)">Political ideologies</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Political_culture_of_Germany" title="Political culture of Germany">Political culture</a> / <a href="/wiki/Federalism_in_Germany" title="Federalism in Germany">Federalism</a></li></ul> <hr /> <div class="plainlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Communism_in_Germany_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Communism in Germany (disambiguation)">Communism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Conservatism_in_Germany" title="Conservatism in Germany">Conservatism</a> (<a href="/wiki/Agrarian_Conservatism_in_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Agrarian Conservatism in Germany">Agrarian Conservatism</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Far-right_politics_in_Germany_(1945%E2%80%93present)" title="Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present)">Far-right</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liberalism_in_Germany" title="Liberalism in Germany">Liberalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany" title="History of the Social Democratic Party of Germany">Social Democracy</a></li></ul> </div></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below hlist"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><span class="nowrap"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="flag" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/16px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/24px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/32px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Germany" title="Portal:Germany">Germany portal</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><span class="nowrap"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:A_coloured_voting_box.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="icon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/01/A_coloured_voting_box.svg/16px-A_coloured_voting_box.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/01/A_coloured_voting_box.svg/24px-A_coloured_voting_box.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/01/A_coloured_voting_box.svg/32px-A_coloured_voting_box.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="160" data-file-height="160" /></a></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Politics" title="Portal:Politics">Politics portal</a></span></li></ul> <div class="hlist" style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_political_science#Politics_by_region" title="Outline of political science">Other countries</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Politics_of_Germany" title="Template:Politics of Germany"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Politics_of_Germany" title="Template talk:Politics of Germany"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Politics_of_Germany" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Politics of Germany"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><a href="/wiki/Federal_elections_in_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Federal elections in Germany">Federal elections</a> were held in <a href="/wiki/West_Germany" title="West Germany">West Germany</a> on 17 September 1961 to elect the members of the fourth <a href="/wiki/Bundestag" title="Bundestag">Bundestag</a>. The <a href="/wiki/CDU/CSU" title="CDU/CSU">CDU/CSU</a> remained the largest faction, winning 242 of the 499 seats. However, the loss of its majority and the <a href="/wiki/German_Party_(1947)" title="German Party (1947)">All-German Party</a> losing all its seats led to the CDU having to negotiate a coalition with the long-term junior coalition partner, the <a href="/wiki/Free_Democratic_Party_(Germany)" title="Free Democratic Party (Germany)">Free Democratic Party</a>, leading to a demand for long-term chancellor Konrad Adenauer to leave office in 1963, halfway through his term. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Campaign">Campaign</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Campaign"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_173-1326,_Bonn,_Bundestagswahl,_Wahlplakate.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Bundesarchiv_Bild_173-1326%2C_Bonn%2C_Bundestagswahl%2C_Wahlplakate.jpg/200px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_173-1326%2C_Bonn%2C_Bundestagswahl%2C_Wahlplakate.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="293" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Bundesarchiv_Bild_173-1326%2C_Bonn%2C_Bundestagswahl%2C_Wahlplakate.jpg/300px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_173-1326%2C_Bonn%2C_Bundestagswahl%2C_Wahlplakate.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Bundesarchiv_Bild_173-1326%2C_Bonn%2C_Bundestagswahl%2C_Wahlplakate.jpg/400px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_173-1326%2C_Bonn%2C_Bundestagswahl%2C_Wahlplakate.jpg 2x" data-file-width="547" data-file-height="800" /></a><figcaption>Election posters</figcaption></figure> <p>The election campaign occurred in the context of the Berlin Crisis and the erection of the Berlin Wall.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>For the first time, the SPD announced a Chancellor candidate who was not chairman of the party: <a href="/wiki/Willy_Brandt" title="Willy Brandt">Willy Brandt</a>, the Governing Mayor of <a href="/wiki/West_Berlin" title="West Berlin">West Berlin</a>. After the building of the <a href="/wiki/Berlin_Wall" title="Berlin Wall">Berlin Wall</a>, he gained more and more sympathy, while chancellor <a href="/wiki/Konrad_Adenauer" title="Konrad Adenauer">Konrad Adenauer</a> was criticised for not showing enough support for the people of West Berlin. Adenauer had to save the <a href="/wiki/Absolute_majority" class="mw-redirect" title="Absolute majority">absolute majority</a> of CDU and CSU, but, considering his age and his long term as chancellor, there were big doubts if he should lead the country in a fourth term. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Results">Results</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Results"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable sortable"><caption></caption><tbody><tr><th colspan="12" style="text-align:center;color:black;background:#F8F9FA"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Bundestag_1961.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Bundestag_1961.svg/360px-Bundestag_1961.svg.png" decoding="async" width="360" height="185" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Bundestag_1961.svg/540px-Bundestag_1961.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Bundestag_1961.svg/720px-Bundestag_1961.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="360" data-file-height="185" /></a></span></th></tr><tr><th scope="col" colspan="2" rowspan="2">Party</th><th scope="col" colspan="3">Party-list</th><th scope="col" colspan="3">Constituency</th><th colspan="5" scope="col">Seats</th></tr><tr><th scope="col" rowspan="1">Votes</th><th scope="col" rowspan="1">%</th><th scope="col" rowspan="1">Seats</th><th scope="col" rowspan="1">Votes</th><th scope="col" rowspan="1">%</th><th scope="col" rowspan="1">Seats</th><th scope="col">Elected</th><th scope="col"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Bundestagsabgeordneter" class="extiw" title="de:Berliner Bundestagsabgeordneter">West Berlin</a></th><th scope="col">Total</th><th scope="col">+/–</th></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#E3000F"></td><td><a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany" title="Social Democratic Party of Germany">Social Democratic Party</a></td><td style="text-align:right">11,427,355</td><td style="text-align:right">36.22</td><td style="text-align:right">99</td><td style="text-align:right">11,672,057</td><td style="text-align:right">36.47</td><td style="text-align:right">91</td><td style="text-align:right">190</td><td style="text-align:right">13</td><td style="text-align:right">203</td><td style="text-align:right">+22</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#151518"></td><td><a href="/wiki/Christian_Democratic_Union_of_Germany" title="Christian Democratic Union of Germany">Christian Democratic Union</a></td><td style="text-align:right">11,283,901</td><td style="text-align:right">35.76</td><td style="text-align:right">78</td><td style="text-align:right">11,622,995</td><td style="text-align:right">36.32</td><td style="text-align:right">114</td><td style="text-align:right">192</td><td style="text-align:right">9</td><td style="text-align:right">201</td><td style="text-align:right">−21</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#FFED00"></td><td><a href="/wiki/Free_Democratic_Party_(Germany)" title="Free Democratic Party (Germany)">Free Democratic Party</a></td><td style="text-align:right">4,028,766</td><td style="text-align:right">12.77</td><td style="text-align:right">67</td><td style="text-align:right">3,866,269</td><td style="text-align:right">12.08</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">67</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">67</td><td style="text-align:right">+24</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#008AC5"></td><td><a href="/wiki/Christian_Social_Union_in_Bavaria" title="Christian Social Union in Bavaria">Christian Social Union</a></td><td style="text-align:right">3,014,471</td><td style="text-align:right">9.55</td><td style="text-align:right">8</td><td style="text-align:right">3,104,742</td><td style="text-align:right">9.70</td><td style="text-align:right">42</td><td style="text-align:right">50</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">50</td><td style="text-align:right">−5</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#66B67F"></td><td><a href="/wiki/German_Party_(1947)" title="German Party (1947)">All-German Party</a></td><td style="text-align:right">870,756</td><td style="text-align:right">2.76</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">859,290</td><td style="text-align:right">2.68</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">−17</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#BE3075"></td><td><a href="/w/index.php?title=German_Peace_Union&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="German Peace Union (page does not exist)">German Peace Union</a><span class="noprint" style="font-size:85%; font-style: normal;"> [<a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Friedens-Union" class="extiw" title="de:Deutsche Friedens-Union">de</a>]</span></td><td style="text-align:right">609,918</td><td style="text-align:right">1.93</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">587,488</td><td style="text-align:right">1.84</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#8B4726"></td><td><a href="/wiki/Deutsche_Reichspartei" title="Deutsche Reichspartei">Deutsche Reichspartei</a></td><td style="text-align:right">262,977</td><td style="text-align:right">0.83</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">242,649</td><td style="text-align:right">0.76</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#F8F9FA"></td><td><a href="/w/index.php?title=German_Community&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="German Community (page does not exist)">German Community</a><span class="noprint" style="font-size:85%; font-style: normal;"> [<a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Gemeinschaft_(Deutschland)" class="extiw" title="de:Deutsche Gemeinschaft (Deutschland)">de</a>]</span></td><td style="text-align:right">27,308</td><td style="text-align:right">0.09</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">21,083</td><td style="text-align:right">0.07</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#003C8F"></td><td><a href="/wiki/South_Schleswig_Voters%27_Association" title="South Schleswig Voters' Association">South Schleswig Voters' Association</a></td><td style="text-align:right">25,449</td><td style="text-align:right">0.08</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">24,951</td><td style="text-align:right">0.08</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#F8F9FA"></td><td>Electoral Group for a Neutral Germany</td><td colspan="3"></td><td style="text-align:right">778</td><td style="text-align:right">0.00</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">New</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#DCDCDC"></td><td><a href="/wiki/Independent_politician" title="Independent politician">Independents</a> and voter groups</td><td colspan="3"></td><td style="text-align:right">2,164</td><td style="text-align:right">0.01</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="font-weight:bold"><td colspan="2">Total</td><td style="text-align:right">31,550,901</td><td style="text-align:right">100.00</td><td style="text-align:right">252</td><td style="text-align:right">32,004,466</td><td style="text-align:right">100.00</td><td style="text-align:right">247</td><td style="text-align:right">499</td><td style="text-align:right">22</td><td style="text-align:right">521</td><td style="text-align:right">+2</td></tr><tr class="sortbottom"><td colspan="12" style="color:black;background:#eaecf0"></td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="text-align:right"><th scope="row" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:normal;color:inherit;background:inherit">Valid votes</th><td>31,550,901</td><td>96.05</td><td></td><td>32,004,466</td><td>97.43</td><td></td><td colspan="5"></td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="text-align:right"><th scope="row" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:normal;color:inherit;background:inherit">Invalid/blank votes</th><td>1,298,723</td><td>3.95</td><td></td><td>845,158</td><td>2.57</td><td></td><td colspan="5"></td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="font-weight:bold;text-align:right"><th scope="row" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;background:inherit;color:inherit">Total votes</th><td>32,849,624</td><td>100.00</td><td></td><td>32,849,624</td><td>100.00</td><td></td><td colspan="5"></td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="text-align:right"><th scope="row" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:normal;color:inherit;background:inherit">Registered voters/turnout</th><td>37,440,715</td><td>87.74</td><td></td><td>37,440,715</td><td>87.74</td><td></td><td colspan="5"></td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="text-align:right"><td colspan="12" style="text-align:left">Source: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/en/bundestagswahlen/1961.html">Bundeswahlleiter</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Results_by_state">Results by state</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Results by state"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Constituency_seats">Constituency seats</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Constituency seats"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 0.9em;"> <tbody><tr> <th rowspan="3">State </th> <th rowspan="3">Total<br />seats </th> <th colspan="3">Seats won </th></tr> <tr> <th class="unsortable" style="width:30px;"><a href="/wiki/Christian_Democratic_Union_of_Germany" title="Christian Democratic Union of Germany">CDU</a> </th> <th class="unsortable" style="width:30px;"><a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany" title="Social Democratic Party of Germany">SPD</a> </th> <th class="unsortable" style="width:30px;"><a href="/wiki/Christian_Social_Union_in_Bavaria" title="Christian Social Union in Bavaria">CSU</a> </th></tr> <tr> <th style="background:#151518;"> </th> <th style="background:#E3000F;"> </th> <th style="background:#008AC5;"> </th></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg" title="Baden-Württemberg">Baden-Württemberg</a> </th> <th>33 </th> <td>27 </td> <td>6 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Bavaria" title="Bavaria">Bavaria</a> </th> <th>47 </th> <td> </td> <td>5 </td> <td>42 </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Bremen" title="Bremen">Bremen</a> </th> <th>3 </th> <td> </td> <td>3 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Hamburg" title="Hamburg">Hamburg</a> </th> <th>8 </th> <td> </td> <td>8 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Hesse" title="Hesse">Hesse</a> </th> <th>22 </th> <td>3 </td> <td>19 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Lower_Saxony" title="Lower Saxony">Lower Saxony</a> </th> <th>34 </th> <td>15 </td> <td>19 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/North_Rhine-Westphalia" title="North Rhine-Westphalia">North Rhine-Westphalia</a> </th> <th>66 </th> <td>41 </td> <td>25 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Rhineland-Palatinate" title="Rhineland-Palatinate">Rhineland-Palatinate</a> </th> <th>15 </th> <td>10 </td> <td>5 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Saarland" title="Saarland">Saarland</a> </th> <th>5 </th> <td>5 </td> <td> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Schleswig-Holstein" title="Schleswig-Holstein">Schleswig-Holstein</a> </th> <th>14 </th> <td>13 </td> <td>1 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr class="sortbottom"> <th style="text-align: left;">Total </th> <th>247 </th> <th>114 </th> <th>91 </th> <th>42 </th></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="List_seats">List seats</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: List seats"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 0.9em;"> <tbody><tr> <th rowspan="3">State </th> <th rowspan="3">Total<br />seats </th> <th colspan="4">Seats won </th></tr> <tr> <th class="unsortable" style="width:30px;"><a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany" title="Social Democratic Party of Germany">SPD</a> </th> <th class="unsortable" style="width:30px;"><a href="/wiki/Christian_Democratic_Union_of_Germany" title="Christian Democratic Union of Germany">CDU</a> </th> <th class="unsortable" style="width:30px;"><a href="/wiki/Free_Democratic_Party_(Germany)" title="Free Democratic Party (Germany)">FDP</a> </th> <th class="unsortable" style="width:30px;"><a href="/wiki/Christian_Social_Union_in_Bavaria" title="Christian Social Union in Bavaria">CSU</a> </th></tr> <tr> <th style="background:#E3000F;"> </th> <th style="background:#151518;"> </th> <th style="background:#FFED00;"> </th> <th style="background:#008AC5;"> </th></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg" title="Baden-Württemberg">Baden-Württemberg</a> </th> <th>33 </th> <td>16 </td> <td>5 </td> <td>12 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Bavaria" title="Bavaria">Bavaria</a> </th> <th>39 </th> <td>23 </td> <td> </td> <td>8 </td> <td>8 </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Bremen" title="Bremen">Bremen</a> </th> <th>2 </th> <td> </td> <td>1 </td> <td>1 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Hamburg" title="Hamburg">Hamburg</a> </th> <th>10 </th> <td>1 </td> <td>6 </td> <td>3 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Hesse" title="Hesse">Hesse</a> </th> <th>23 </th> <td>2 </td> <td>14 </td> <td>7 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Lower_Saxony" title="Lower Saxony">Lower Saxony</a> </th> <th>26 </th> <td>6 </td> <td>11 </td> <td>9 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/North_Rhine-Westphalia" title="North Rhine-Westphalia">North Rhine-Westphalia</a> </th> <th>89 </th> <td>35 </td> <td>35 </td> <td>19 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Rhineland-Palatinate" title="Rhineland-Palatinate">Rhineland-Palatinate</a> </th> <th>16 </th> <td>6 </td> <td>6 </td> <td>4 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Saarland" title="Saarland">Saarland</a> </th> <th>4 </th> <td>3 </td> <td> </td> <td>1 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: left;"><a href="/wiki/Schleswig-Holstein" title="Schleswig-Holstein">Schleswig-Holstein</a> </th> <th>10 </th> <td>7 </td> <td> </td> <td>3 </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr class="sortbottom"> <th style="text-align: left;">Total </th> <th>252 </th> <th>99 </th> <th>78 </th> <th>67 </th> <th>8 </th></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Aftermath">Aftermath</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Aftermath"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The absolute majority was lost by the conservative union due to the gains of the liberal <a href="/wiki/Freie_Demokratische_Partei" class="mw-redirect" title="Freie Demokratische Partei">FDP</a> under <a href="/wiki/Erich_Mende" title="Erich Mende">Erich Mende</a>. From 1961 on, the Union, SPD and FDP established an electoral "triopoly" in the Bundestag that would last until <a href="/wiki/1983_West_German_federal_election" title="1983 West German federal election">1983</a>. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Konrad_Adenauer" title="Konrad Adenauer">Konrad Adenauer</a> remained <a href="/wiki/Chancellor_of_Germany_(Federal_Republic)" class="mw-redirect" title="Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic)">Chancellor</a>, building a coalition between the CDU/CSU-FDP. In 1962 he had to announce a fifth cabinet: The FDP had temporarily left the coalition after the secretary of defense, <a href="/wiki/Franz_Josef_Strau%C3%9F" class="mw-redirect" title="Franz Josef Strauß">Franz Josef Strauß</a> (CSU), had ordered the arrest of five journalists for publishing a memo detailing alleged weaknesses in the German armed forces (known as the <a href="/wiki/Spiegel_scandal" class="mw-redirect" title="Spiegel scandal">Spiegel scandal</a>). In 1963 Adenauer finally retired; <a href="/wiki/Ludwig_Erhard" title="Ludwig Erhard">Ludwig Erhard</a> took over his position as head of the coalition government. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFBarnesGracePollockSperlich1962" class="citation journal cs1">Barnes, Samuel H.; Grace, Frank; Pollock, James K.; Sperlich, Peter W. (1962). "The German Party System and the 1961 Federal Election". <i><a href="/wiki/American_Political_Science_Review" title="American Political Science Review">American Political Science Review</a></i>. <b>56</b> (4): 899–914. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1952792">10.2307/1952792</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1952792">1952792</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=American+Political+Science+Review&rft.atitle=The+German+Party+System+and+the+1961+Federal+Election&rft.volume=56&rft.issue=4&rft.pages=899-914&rft.date=1962&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2307%2F1952792&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F1952792%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft.aulast=Barnes&rft.aufirst=Samuel+H.&rft.au=Grace%2C+Frank&rft.au=Pollock%2C+James+K.&rft.au=Sperlich%2C+Peter+W.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3A1961+West+German+federal+election" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/45px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/59px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Wikimedia Commons has media related to <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:1961_Germany_Bundestagswahl" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:1961 Germany Bundestagswahl">1961 Germany Bundestagswahl</a></span>.</div></div> </div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-lower-alpha"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">As well as the 22 <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Bundestagsabgeordneter" class="extiw" title="de:Berliner Bundestagsabgeordneter">non-voting delegates for West Berlin</a>, elected by the West Berlin Legislature.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">As well as 9 <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Bundestagsabgeordneter" class="extiw" title="de:Berliner Bundestagsabgeordneter">non-voting delegates for West Berlin</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">As well as 13 <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Bundestagsabgeordneter" class="extiw" title="de:Berliner Bundestagsabgeordneter">non-voting delegates for West Berlin</a>.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBarnesGracePollockSperlich1962" class="citation journal cs1">Barnes, Samuel H.; Grace, Frank; Pollock, James K.; Sperlich, Peter W. (1962). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/german-party-system-and-the-1961-federal-election1/4DE5C1ABE2EC179628BFA39AAC3C14E2">"The German Party System and the 1961 Federal Election"</a>. <i>American Political Science Review</i>. <b>56</b> (4): 899–914. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1952792">10.2307/1952792</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1537-5943">1537-5943</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=American+Political+Science+Review&rft.atitle=The+German+Party+System+and+the+1961+Federal+Election&rft.volume=56&rft.issue=4&rft.pages=899-914&rft.date=1962&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2307%2F1952792&rft.issn=1537-5943&rft.aulast=Barnes&rft.aufirst=Samuel+H.&rft.au=Grace%2C+Frank&rft.au=Pollock%2C+James+K.&rft.au=Sperlich%2C+Peter+W.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cambridge.org%2Fcore%2Fjournals%2Famerican-political-science-review%2Farticle%2Fabs%2Fgerman-party-system-and-the-1961-federal-election1%2F4DE5C1ABE2EC179628BFA39AAC3C14E2&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3A1961+West+German+federal+election" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&action=edit&section=10" 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election">2017</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2021_German_federal_election" title="2021 German federal election">2021</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2025_German_federal_election" title="2025 German federal election"><i>2025</i></a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/President_of_Germany_(1919%E2%80%931945)" title="President of Germany (1919–1945)">Presidential elections</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1925_German_presidential_election" title="1925 German presidential election">1925</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1932_German_presidential_election" title="1932 German presidential election">1932</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Elections_in_the_European_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Elections in the European Union">European elections</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1979_European_Parliament_election_in_West_Germany" title="1979 European Parliament election in West Germany">1979</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1984_European_Parliament_election_in_West_Germany" title="1984 European Parliament election in West Germany">1984</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1989_European_Parliament_election_in_West_Germany" title="1989 European Parliament election in West Germany">1989</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1994_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="1994 European Parliament election in Germany">1994</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1999_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="1999 European Parliament election in Germany">1999</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2004_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="2004 European Parliament election in Germany">2004</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2009_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="2009 European Parliament election in Germany">2009</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2014_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="2014 European Parliament election in Germany">2014</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2019_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="2019 European Parliament election in Germany">2019</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2024_European_Parliament_election_in_Germany" title="2024 European Parliament election in Germany">2024</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Referendums_in_Germany" title="Referendums in Germany">Referendums</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1926_German_property_expropriation_referendum" title="1926 German property expropriation referendum">1926</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1929_German_Young_Plan_referendum" title="1929 German Young Plan referendum">1929</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1933_German_League_of_Nations_withdrawal_referendum" title="1933 German League of Nations withdrawal referendum">1933</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1934_German_head_of_state_referendum" title="1934 German head of state referendum">1934</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1936_German_parliamentary_election_and_referendum" title="1936 German parliamentary election and referendum">1936</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1938_German_parliamentary_election_and_referendum" title="1938 German parliamentary election and referendum">1938</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <dl><dd><b>See also: Elections and referendums in</b> <a href="/wiki/Template:Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg_state_elections" title="Template:Baden-Württemberg state elections">Baden-Württemberg</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Bavaria_state_elections" title="Template:Bavaria state elections">Bavaria</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Berlin_state_elections" title="Template:Berlin state elections">Berlin</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Brandenburg_state_elections" title="Template:Brandenburg state elections">Brandenburg</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Bremen_state_elections" title="Template:Bremen state elections">Bremen</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Hamburg_state_elections" title="Template:Hamburg state elections">Hamburg</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Hesse_state_elections" title="Template:Hesse state elections">Hesse</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Lower_Saxony_state_election" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Lower Saxony state election">Lower Saxony</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Mecklenburg-Vorpommern_state_election" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election">Mecklenburg-Vorpommern</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:North_Rhine-Westphalia_state_election" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:North Rhine-Westphalia state election">North Rhine-Westphalia</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Rhineland-Palatinate_state_elections" title="Template:Rhineland-Palatinate state elections">Rhineland-Palatinate</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Saarland_state_elections" title="Template:Saarland state elections">Saarland</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Saxony_state_elections" title="Template:Saxony state elections">Saxony</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Saxony-Anhalt_state_elections" title="Template:Saxony-Anhalt state elections">Saxony-Anhalt</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Schleswig-Holstein_state_elections" title="Template:Schleswig-Holstein state elections">Schleswig-Holstein</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Thuringia_state_elections" title="Template:Thuringia state elections">Thuringia</a></dd> <dd><b>former:</b> <a href="/wiki/Template:East_German_elections" title="Template:East German elections">East Germany</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Prussian_state_elections" title="Template:Prussian state elections">Free State of Prussia</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/East_Prussian_Provinzialtag_elections_in_the_Weimar_Republic" title="East Prussian Provinzialtag elections in the Weimar Republic">East Prussia</a></dd></dl> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&useformat=desktop" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&oldid=1259424293">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1961_West_German_federal_election&oldid=1259424293</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a 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