Friesland – Wilhelmshaven – Wittmund is an electoral constituency (German: Wahlkreis) represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 26. It is located in northwestern Lower Saxony, comprising the city of Wilhelmshaven and the districts of Friesland and Wittmund.
Friesland – Wilhelmshaven – Wittmund was created for the inaugural 1949 federal election. Since 2017, it has been represented by Siemtje Möller of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Geography Friesland – Wilhelmshaven – Wittmund is located in northwestern Lower Saxony. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the independent city of Wilhelmshaven and the entirety of the districts of Friesland and Wittmund.
History Unterems was created in 1949. In the 1949 election, it was Lower Saxony constituency 3. For the 1953 through 1961 elections, it was constituency 25 in the numbering system. From 1965 through 1998, it was constituency 21; from 2002 through 2009, it was constituency 27. Since the 2013 election, it has been constituency 26.
Originally, it comprised the city of Wilhelmshaven and the district of Friesland. At this time, it was named Wilhelmshaven – Friesland. In the 1965 election, the constituency gained the districts of Aurich and Wittmund, while losing the municipalities of Bockhorn, Neuenburg, Sande, Varel, Varel-Land, and Zetel, which were transferred to the Oldenburg constituency. Due to administrative reforms, in the 1976 election, it lost the municipality of Gödens.
In the 1980 election, the constituency was renamed to Friesland – Wilhelmshaven, and gained the municipality of Sande. The municipalities of Bockhorn, Varel, and Zetel also returned to the constituency in the 2002 election. In the 2013 election, it acquired its current name of Friesland – Wilhelmshaven – Wittmund.
Election Name Borders 1949 Wilhelmshaven – Friesland Wilhelmshaven city Friesland district 1953 25 1957 1961 1965 21 Wilhelmshaven city Friesland district (excluding Bockhorn, Neuenburg, Sande, Varel, Varel-Land, and Zetel municipalities) Aurich district Wittmund district 1969 1972 1976 1980 Friesland – Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven city Friesland district (excluding Bockhorn, Varel, and Zetel municipalities) Wittmund district 1983 1987 1990 1994 1998 2002 27 Wilhelmshaven city Friesland district Wittmund district 2005 2009 2013 26 Friesland – Wilhelmshaven – Wittmund 2017 2021 2025
Members The constituency has been held by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) during all but three Bundestag terms since 1949; it has returned a representative from the SPD in every federal election since 1969. Its first representative was Johann Cramer of the SPD, who served a single term from 1949 to 1953. In 1953, the constituency was won by Hellmuth Heye of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who served until 1961. Cramer won the constituency back for the SPD in 1961, but Felix von Eckardt of the CDU won it in 1965. Cramer again won the constituency in 1969, and served a third term. He was succeeded by Herbert Ehrenberg in 1972, who served until 1990. Gabriele Iwersen served from 1990 to 2002, followed by Karin Evers-Meyer from 2002 to 2017. Siemtje Möller won the constituency in 2017.
Election Member Party % 1949 Johann Cramer SPD 32.6 1953 Hellmuth Heye CDU 37.8 1957 43.2 1961 Johann Cramer SPD 44.3 1965 Felix von Eckardt CDU 44.5 1969 Johann Cramer SPD 48.3 1972 Herbert Ehrenberg SPD 57.2 1976 53.8 1980 54.6 1983 47.2 1987 48.1 1990 Gabriele Iwersen SPD 43.6 1994 47.9 1998 53.3 2002 Karin Evers-Meyer SPD 54.8 2005 50.4 2009 39.9 2013 44.1 2017Siemtje MöllerSPD 39.72021 45.42025 35.4
Election results 2025 election
2021 election
2017 election
2013 election
2009 election
2005 election
References