Editing Essen (section)

== Politics ==
[[File:Muenster Rathaus Essen.jpg|thumb|Old and new government seats: Essen Cathedral (front) and the [[Essen City Hall|city hall]] (background)]]

=== Historical development ===
The administration of Essen had for a long time been in the hands of the [[princess-abbess]]es as heads of the [[Imperial Abbey]] of [[Essen Abbey|Essen]]. However, from the 14th century onwards, the [[city council]] increasingly grew in importance. In 1335, it started choosing two [[burgomaster]]s, one of whom was placed in charge of the treasury. In 1377, Essen was granted [[imperial immediacy]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://essen.de/de/Rathaus/Aemter/Ordner_41/Stadtarchiv/geschichte/Geschichte_Chronik_8_16.html|title=Chronik der Stadt Essen|trans-title=Time-line of the City of Essen|website=essen.de|access-date=12 May 2017|archive-date=24 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124123001/http://essen.de/de/Rathaus/Aemter/Ordner_41/Stadtarchiv/geschichte/Geschichte_Chronik_8_16.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Needs independent confirmation|date=March 2022|reason=This claim is quite contentious.}} but had to abandon this privilege later on. Between the early 15th and 20th centuries, the political system of Essen underwent several changes, most importantly the introduction of the [[Protestant Reformation]] in 1563, the [[annexation]] of 1802 by [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], and the subsequent [[secularization]] of the principality in 1803. The territory was made part of the Prussian [[Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg]] from 1815 to 1822, after which it became part of the Prussian [[Rhine Province]] until its dissolution in 1946.

During the [[German Revolution of 1918–19]], Essen was the home of the Essen Tendency ({{lang|de|Essener Richtung}}) within the [[Communist Workers' Party of Germany]]. In 1922 they founded the [[Communist Workers' International]]. Essen became one of the centres of resistance to [[Social Democracy]] and the [[Freikorps]] alike.

During the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] era (1933–1945), mayors were installed by the [[Nazi Party]]. After [[World War II]], the military government of the [[British occupation zone]] installed a new mayor and a municipal constitution modelled on that of British cities. Later, the city council was again elected by the population. The mayor was elected by the council as its head and as the city's main [[Representation (politics)|representative]]. The [[Executive (government)|administration]] was led by a full-time {{lang|de|Oberstadtdirektor}}. In 1999, the position of {{lang|de|Oberstadtdirektor}} was abolished in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] and the mayor became both main representative and administrative head. In addition, the population now elects the mayor directly.

=== Mayor ===
The current mayor of Essen is [[Thomas Kufen]] of the [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU), who was elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2020.

The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

{{election table}}
! colspan=2| Candidate
! Party
! Votes
! %
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}|
| align=left| [[Thomas Kufen]]
| align=left| [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union]]
| 115,415
| 54.3
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|
| align=left| Oliver Kern
| align=left| [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]]
| 43,093
| 20.3
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|
| align=left| Mehrdad Mostofizadeh
| align=left| [[Alliance 90/The Greens]]
| 25,924
| 12.2
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alternative for Germany}}|
| align=left| Harald Parussel
| align=left| [[Alternative for Germany]]
| 12,695
| 6.0
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| align=left| Daniel Kerekeš
| align=left| [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]]
| 5,414
| 2.5
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Die PARTEI}}|
| align=left| Annie Maria Tarrach
| align=left| [[Die PARTEI]]
| 5,168
| 2.4
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}|
| align=left| Karlgeorg Raimund Krüger
| align=left| [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]]
| 4,200
| 2.0
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|German Communist Party}}|
| align=left| Peter Köster
| align=left| [[German Communist Party]]
| 546
| 0.3
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}|
| align=left| Detlef Albert Fergeé
| align=left| [[National Democratic Party of Germany|National Democratic Party]]
| 232
| 0.1
|-
! colspan=3| Valid votes
! 212,687
! 99.1
|-
! colspan=3| Invalid votes
! 1,861
! 0.9
|-
! colspan=3| Total
! 214,548
! 100.0
|-
! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout
! 446,384
! 48.1
|-
| colspan=5| Source: [https://www.wahlergebnisse.nrw/kommunalwahlen/2020/aktuell/b113000kw2000.shtml State Returning Officer]
|}

=== City council ===
[[File:2020 Essen City Council election.svg|thumb|350px|Results of the 2020 city council election]]
The Essen city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The current coalition in the council is between the Greens and the CDU.<ref name="e663">{{cite web | title=Neue Koalition in Essen: Das wollen CDU und Grüne in Essen verändern | website=Radio Essen | date=2020-09-21 | url=https://www.radioessen.de/artikel/neue-koalition-in-essen-das-wollen-cdu-und-gruene-in-essen-veraendern-817452.html | language=de | access-date=2024-12-21}}</ref> The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

{{election table}}
! colspan=2| Party
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}|
| align=left| [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU)
| 73,206
| 34.4
| {{increase}} 3.0
| 30
| {{increase}} 2
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|
| align=left| [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (SPD)
| 51,550
| 24.3
| {{decrease}} 9.7
| 21
| {{decrease}} 10
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|
| align=left| [[Alliance 90/The Greens]] (Grüne)
| 39,569
| 18.6
| {{increase}} 7.4
| 16
| {{increase}} 6
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alternative for Germany}}|
| align=left| [[Alternative for Germany]] (AfD)
| 15,849
| 7.5
| {{increase}} 3.7
| 6
| {{increase}} 3
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| align=left| [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]] (Die Linke)
| 8,309
| 3.9
| {{decrease}} 1.4
| 3
| {{decrease}} 2
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}|
| align=left| [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]] (FDP)
| 6,476
| 3.0
| {{decrease}} 0.2
| 3
| ±0
|-
|
| align=left| Essen Citizens' Alliance (EBB)
| 6,209
| 2.9
| {{decrease}} 1.4
| 3
| {{decrease}} 1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Die PARTEI}}|
| align=left| [[Die PARTEI]] (PARTEI)
| 5,282
| 2.5
| {{increase}} 1.7
| 2
| {{increase}} 1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Human Environment Animal Protection}}|
| align=left| [[Human Environment Animal Protection]] (Tierschutz)
| 4,396
| 2.1
| New
| 2
| New
|-
| colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey|
|-
|
| align=left| Social Liberal Alliance (SLB)
| 760
| 0.4
| New
| 0
| New
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|German Communist Party}}|
| align=left| [[German Communist Party]] (DKP)
| 463
| 0.2
| {{decrease}} 0.1
| 0
| ±0
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Volt Europa}}|
| align=left| [[Volt Europa#Germany|Volt Germany]] (Volt)
| 357
| 0.2
| New
| 0
| New
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Pirate Party Germany}}|
| align=left| [[Pirate Party Germany]] (Piraten)
| 86
| 0.0
| {{decrease}} 1.8
| 0
| {{decrease}} 2
|-
! colspan=2| Valid votes
! 212,512
! 98.9
!
!
!
|-
! colspan=2| Invalid votes
! 2,327
! 1.1
!
!
!
|-
! colspan=2| Total
! 214,839
! 100.0
!
! 86
! {{decrease}} 4
|-
! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout
! 446,384
! 48.1
! {{increase}} 2.8
!
!
|-
| colspan=7| Source: [https://www.wahlergebnisse.nrw/kommunalwahlen/2020/aktuell/a113000kw2000.shtml State Returning Officer]
|}

=== Coat of arms ===
[[File:Hotel Handelshof Essen.jpg|thumb|Hotel Handelshof with modified coat of arms and former unofficial motto]]
{{stack|[[File:DEU Essen COA.svg|thumb|upright|Essen's coat of arms]]}}
The coat of arms of the city of Essen is a heraldic peculiarity. Granted in 1886, it is a so-called [[arms of alliance]] ({{lang|de|Allianzwappen}}) and consists of two separate shields under a single crown. Most other coats of arms of cities use a [[mural crown]] instead of a heraldic crown. The crown, however, does not refer to the city of Essen itself, but instead to the [[German Mediatisation|secularized]] [[Principality|ecclesiastical principality]] of [[Essen Abbey|Essen]] under the reign of the princess-abbesses. The dexter (heraldically right) [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheon]] shows the double-headed Imperial Eagle of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], granted to the city in 1623. The sinister (heraldically left) escutcheon is one of the oldest emblems of Essen and shows a sword that people believed was used to behead the city's [[patron saint|patron]] [[Saints Cosmas and Damian]]. People tend to connect the sword in the left shield with one found in the cathedral treasury. This sword, however, is much more recent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://regesta-imperii.adwmainz.de/regesten/regshow.php?pk=8837&offset=0&bandanzeige=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311161524/http://regesta-imperii.adwmainz.de/regesten/regshow.php?pk=8837&offset=0&bandanzeige=1|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 March 2007|title=Origin of the sword in the Essen Cathedral Treasury|publisher=Regesta-imperii.adwmainz.de|access-date=6 April 2011}}</ref> A slightly modified and more heraldically correct version of the coat of arms can be found on the roof of the {{ill|Handelshof|de|Hotel Handelshof}} hotel near the [[Essen Hauptbahnhof|main station]].