1998 German Federal Election
27 September 1998 · The Berlin Republic · 669 seats, 335 for a majority
A federal election was held in Germany on 27 September 1998 to elect the members of the 14th Bundestag. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) emerged as the largest faction in parliament for the first time since 1972, with its leader Gerhard Schröder becoming chancellor.
Chancellor before
Helmut Kohl
CDU
Chancellor after
Gerhard Schröder
SPD
Largest force
SPD
298 of 669 seats
Turnout
82.2%
The result
| Share of the chamber | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPD | Gerhard Schröder | 298 | +46 | 20.181.269 | 40.9% | +4.5 | |
| CDU/CSU | Helmut Kohl | 245 | -49 | 17.329.388 | 35.1% | -6.3 | |
| Greens | Joschka Fischer | 47 | -2 | 3.301.624 | 6.7% | -0.6 | |
| FDP | Wolfgang Gerhardt | 43 | -4 | 3.080.955 | 6.2% | -0.7 | |
| PDS | Lothar Bisky | 36 | +6 | 2.515.454 | 5.1% | +0.7 |