Social:Party of Humanists
Party of Humanists Partei der Humanisten | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | PdH |
| Chairperson | Felicitas Klings[1] |
| General Secretary | Sascha Klughardt[1] |
| Founded | 4 October 2014 |
| Headquarters | Beilsteiner Str. 21, 12681 Berlin |
| Membership (September 2024) | |
| Ideology | Secular humanism Secular liberalism Social liberalism[3] Civil libertarianism Progressivism |
| Political position | Centre-left[3] |
| Colours |
|
| Bundestag | 0 / 630
|
| State Parliaments | 0 / 1,821
|
| European Parliament | 0 / 96
|
| Website | |
| pdh | |
The Party of Humanists (German: Partei der Humanisten) is a minor political party in Germany that first participated in the 2017 federal election.[4] It is considered left-of-centre and supports socially liberal and secular policies, such as a federal European state, openness towards technologies such as stem cell research and strict separation between state and religion.[5] The party contested the 2017 and 2021 federal elections, the 2019 European elections and numerous state elections from 2018 onwards. It also contested the 2024 European Parliament election in Germany.[6]
History
In spring 2012, the Facebook group "Initiative Humanismus" created the "Manifesto of the Initiative Humanismus", which was to serve as the basis for a humanist party. The Party of Humanists was founded on the basis of this document on 4 October 2014 in Berlin.[7][8] The provisional executive committee consisted of eight spokespersons for various subject areas.[9]
At the first ordinary federal party conference in March 2015, David Helmus was elected as the party's first chairman.[10] Beka Kobaidze served as secretary general, while Ioana Hauke took over as treasurer. According to the chairman, the party had around 75 members in September of the same year.[11]
The Berlin regional association was founded on 2 April 2016.[12] A few months later, the regional associations of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg were founded.[13][14] Shortly afterwards, in February of the following year, the Bavarian state association was also founded.[15]
On 21 March 2017, the Party held a joint press conference along with the Pirate Party Germany, the Liberal Democrats, the New Liberals, the Transhuman Party Germany, and the youth organization of The Left to announce a "social-liberal proclamation" and better cooperation among the participating organizations.[16][17][18][19][20]
In the 2017 German federal election, the Humanist Party took part in an election for the first time, although it was initially only electable in North Rhine-Westphalia. For this purpose, various teams were set up within the party, which now has around 600 members, for internal party organisation.[21] In the election, the party received 5.991 second votes.[22] After the federal election, the party received an influx of new members. As a result, state associations were founded in Hamburg and Lower Saxony in the same year, as well as state associations in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein in 2018.[23][24]
In January 2019, Steven Pinker was accepted onto the advisory board of the Humanist Party. One month later, in February 2019, Michael Shermer, founder of the American Skeptics Society, also became a member of the advisory board.[25][26]
The Humanist Party was registered for the European elections on 15 March 2019, in which it took part with its lead candidate Robin Thiedmann. It achieved 0.2% of 62,604 votes, but missed out on a place in the European Parliament.[27] In 2021, the last four state associations, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Thuringia and Saarland were founded.[28][29] Shortly after the founding of the Brandenburg state association, the party celebrated its new size of 1800 members.[30] In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first digital federal party conference was held on 29 January and 20 February 2022.
In April 2023, 19-year-old Lasse Schäfer was elected as the new national chairman. This makes him the youngest party chairman in Germany.[31]
Party platform
The underlying ideology is evolutionary humanism.[32] The core themes of the Humanist Party are science and education, the right of self-determination of the individual, and secularization.[33] For example, the party supports the liberal and self-responsible use of drugs,[34] supports legal voluntary euthanasia[35][36] and is against circumcision of children.[37] The party also supports the implementation of universal basic income.[33] The party is considered left of the political centre.[3]
Currently, the Party of Humanists is the only party in Germany that specifically targets non-religious people, freethinkers, and atheists as voters.[38]
Programme
Health and science
- Compulsory health insurance should only cover evidence based medicine, not pseudomedicine such as homeopathy
- Legalization of active euthanasia under specific circumstances
- Legalization of all drugs, but only for adults and with more prevention measures such as education, drug-checking, regulated production and sale[39]
- Openness towards new technology and impartial assessment of the harms benefits, e. g. with respect to genome editing[40] and stem cell research
- Reduction of antibiotic use in livestock farming in order to avoid emerging resistances
- Funding for in-vitro-meat research
EU and military
- Founding of a united European Federal Republic. Today's national states shall be converted into strong sovereign regions.[41]
- Rejection of a compulsory military service year for young adults
- Establishing a united European military
Economy
- Simplification of the tax system by eliminating exemptions as well as cutback on unnecessary subsidies
- Deregulation of shop opening hours on Sundays
- Trialing and implementation of universal basic income
Climate
- Stopping the nuclear energy phase-out in Germany and utilization of new reactor types to combat climate change
Social topics
- Legalization of surrogate motherhood
- Legalization of sex work, modeling after New Zealand
- Legalization of abortion regardless of gestation age, modeling after Canadian abortion laws
Freedom of speech and the Internet
- Repeal of upload-filters and protection of net-neutrality
Religion

- Complete separation of church and state
- Introduction of unified ethics education instead of compulsory religious education in schools[42]
- Removing references to god from the constitution and other laws
- Prohibition of medically not-indicated religious circumcision in children unable to consent
Leadership

Since 15 July 2024, the party's leadership has consisted of:[1]
- Felicitas Klings (Party Leader)
- Sascha Klughardt (General Secretary)
- Narek Avetisyan (Treasurer)
Federal executive board
The party's federal executive board is made up of:[1]
- Ole Teschke
- Dominic Vice
- Josephine Keller
- Andreas Stirner
- Daniel Keye
- Dr. Jochen Sieck
- Manuel Cran
- Ricardo Reitz
Federal state parties
| Federal state party | Date of Founding | Chairman | Last state election participation | Last country-wide election participation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 3 December 2016 | Steven Schmitt | 2021 Baden-Württemberg state election | 2021 German federal election |
| Bavaria | 11 February 2017 | Frederic Forkel | 2018 Bavarian state election | 2021 German federal election |
| Berlin[43] | 2 April 2017 | Barend Wolf | 2021 Berlin state election | 2021 German federal election |
| Brandenburg | 13 March 2021 | Tim Ewert | - | 2021 German federal election |
| Bremen[44] | 9 June 2018 | Julia Kreitz | 2019 Bremen state election | 2021 German federal election |
| Hamburg[45] | 1 October 2017 | Michael Brandt | 2020 Hamburg state election | 2021 German federal election |
| Hesse[46] | 25 September 2016 | Dennis Wörner | 2018 Hessian state election | 2021 German federal election |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 24 May 2021 | Tom Kühnel | 2021 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election | 2021 German federal election |
| Lower Saxony[47] | 25 November 2017 | Rainer Rößler | - | 2021 German federal election |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 22 October 2016 | Leonard Niesik | - | 2021 German federal election |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 15 April 2018 | Tristan Marsell | - | 2021 German federal election |
| Saarland[48] | 20 November 2021 | Fabian Grünewald | - | 2019 European Parliament election |
| Saxony | 7 January 2018 | Jonas Lehn | 2019 Saxony state election | 2021 German federal election |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 31 March 2018 | Konstantin Zisiadis | 2021 Saxony-Anhalt state election | 2021 German federal election |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 20 October 2018 | Marvin Weidemeier | 2022 Schleswig-Holstein state election | 2021 German federal election |
| Thuringia | 29 May 2021 | Anthony Ramstedt | - | 2021 German federal election |
Election results
Federal parliament (Bundestag)
| Election | Leader | Constituency | Party list | Seats | +/– | Government | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||||
| 2017 | Felix Bölter | N/A | 5,991 | 0.01 (#28) | 0 / 709
|
New | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2021 | Alexander Mucha | 12,672 | 0.03 (#19) | 47,526 | 0.10 (#19) | 0 / 735
|
Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2025 | Felicitas Klings | 1,873 | 0.00 (#23) | 14,446 | 0.03 (#20) | 0 / 630
|
Extra-parliamentary | |
European Parliament
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Robin Thiedmann | 62,604 | 0.17 (#26) | 0 / 96
|
New | – |
| 2024 | Sascha Boelcke | 82,275 | 0.21 (#23) | 0 / 96
|
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Bundesvorstand". Party of Humanists. https://www.pdh.eu/gremien/bundesvorstand/.
- ↑ "Tu es, es wird dich bereichern!". Party of Humanists. https://www.pdh.eu/mitglied-werden/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Partei der Humanisten" (in de). 2024. https://web.de/magazine/politik/thema/partei-der-humanisten. ""Die Partei der Humanisten ist im politischen Links- und Sozialliberalen Spektrum anzusiedeln.""
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten". https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/drehscheibe/partei-humanisten-100.html.
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten" (in de). 2024. https://web.de/magazine/politik/thema/partei-der-humanisten.
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten" (in de). Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. https://www.bpb.de/politik/wahlen/wer-steht-zur-wahl/bundestagswahl-2017/254484/die-humanisten.
- ↑ ""Partei der Humanisten" gegründet". 7 October 2014. https://hpd.de/artikel/10227.
- ↑ "Pressemitteilung zur Gründung – Partei der Humanisten". 8 October 2014. https://parteiderhumanisten.de/wp2/2014/10/08/pressemitteilung-zur-gruendung/.
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten gegründet" (in de). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 7 October 2014. https://hpd.de/artikel/10227.
- ↑ "Gremien der Partei der Humanisten gewählt" (in de). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 17 March 2015. https://hpd.de/artikel/11430.
- ↑ "In allen anderen Parteien wären wir noch die Jugendorganisation" (in de). Humanistischer Pressedienst. September 2015. https://hpd.de/artikel/12114.
- ↑ "Landesverband der Partei der Humanisten gegründet" (in de). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 4 April 2016. https://hpd.de/artikel/landesverband-partei-humanisten-gegruendet-12925.
- ↑ "Landesverband in Hessen gegründet" (in de). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 28 September 2016. https://hpd.de/artikel/landesverband-hessen-gegruendet-13560.
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten gründet Landesverband in Nordrhein-Westfalen" (in de). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 23 November 2016. https://hpd.de/artikel/partei-humanisten-gruendet-landesverband-nordrhein-westfalen-13801.
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten Bayern wählter neuen Landesvorstand" (in de). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 24 April 2018. https://hpd.de/artikel/partei-humanisten-bayern-waehlt-neuen-landesvorstand-15512.
- ↑ ""Sozialliberale Offensive" in Berlin vorgestellt". 22 March 2017. https://hpd.de/artikel/sozialliberale-offensive-berlin-vorgestellt-14225.
- ↑ "Die Humanisten starten bundesweite sozialliberale Offensive – Partei der Humanisten". 21 March 2017. https://parteiderhumanisten.de/wp2/2017/03/21/humanisten-starten-sozialliberalie-offensive/.
- ↑ "die Sozialliberalen". http://www.die-sozialliberalen.de/.
- ↑ "Gemeinsame Erklärung: Sechs Parteien und Organisationen starten bundesweite sozialliberale Offensive › Piratenpartei Deutschland". 21 March 2017. https://www.piratenpartei.de/2017/03/21/live-pressekonferenz-buendelung-der-sozialliberalen-kraefte/.
- ↑ "Live Pressekonferenz » Neue Liberale". https://www.neueliberale.org/2017/03/21/live-pressekonferenz/.
- ↑ "Zwischenbilanz humanistischer Politik" (in de). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 23 November 2017. https://hpd.de/artikel/zwischenbilanz-humanistischer-politik-15019.
- ↑ "Bundestagswahl 2017, Ergebnisse, Nordrhein-Westfalen" (in de). Die Bundeswahlleiterin. https://www.bundeswahlleiterin.de/bundestagswahlen/2017/ergebnisse/bund-99/land-5.html.
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten gründet Landesverband in Rheinland-Pfalz" (in de). Humanistischer Pressedienst. 17 April 2018. https://hpd.de/artikel/partei-humanisten-gruendet-landesverband-rheinland-pfalz-15488.
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten gründet Landesverband Schleswig-Holstein" (in de). SHZ. 21 October 2018. https://www.shz.de/deutschland-welt/politik/artikel/partei-der-humanisten-gruendet-landesverband-schleswig-holstein-41711703.
- ↑ "Facebook post" (in de). Partei der Humanisten. https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1388137467988190&id=499613946840551.
- ↑ "Beirat" (in de). https://www.diehumanisten.de/partei/beirat/.
- ↑ "Europawahl 2019: Vorläufiges amtliches Ergebnis" (in de). Die Bundeswahlleiterin. https://www.bundeswahlleiterin.de/info/presse/mitteilungen/europawahl-2019/35_19_vorlaeufiges-ergebnis.html.
- ↑ "Thüringen startklar machen!" (in de). Partei der Humanisten. 3 June 2021. https://www.pdh.eu/2021/06/03/thueringen-startklar-machen/.
- ↑ "Hier kommt das Saarland (endlich)" (in de). Partei der Humanisten. 24 November 2021. https://www.pdh.eu/2021/11/24/hier-kommt-das-saarland-endlich/.
- ↑ "Wir feiern 1800 Mitglieder" (in de). Partei der Humanisten. 9 April 2021. https://www.pdh.eu/2021/04/09/wir-feiern-1800-mitglieder/.
- ↑ "19-jähriger Kölner ist jüngster Parteivorsitzender Deutschlands". Partei der Humanisten. 21 April 2023. https://www.pdh.eu/2023/04/21/19-jaehriger-koelner-ist-juengster-parteivorsitzender-deutschlands/.
- ↑ "Mission Statement". https://www.diehumanisten.de/mission/.
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 Bildung, Bundeszentrale für politische. "Partei der Humanisten - bpb". https://www.bpb.de/politik/wahlen/wer-steht-zur-wahl/bundestagswahl-2017/254484/die-humanisten.
- ↑ "Humanistischer Pressedienst - Legalize and Humanize it!" (in de). 13 July 2016. https://hpd.de/artikel/legalize-and-humanize-it-13307.
- ↑ Siegler, bitzinger GmbH - Tobias. "DGHS - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben - Partei der Humanisten". https://www.dghs.de/presse/aktionen/dghs-wahlpruefsteine-2017/partei-der-humanisten.html.
- ↑ "Sterbehilfe – Das Recht auf das eigene Leben". 5 November 2015. https://hpd.de/artikel/12377.
- ↑ "Weltweiter Tag der genitalen Selbstbestimmung". 6 May 2015. https://parteiderhumanisten.de/wp2/2015/05/06/weltweiter-tag-genitaler-selbstbestimmung/.
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten - "Politiker stellen sich gerne neben Religionsführer"". 8 March 2017. http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/partei-der-humanisten-politiker-stellen-sich-gerne-neben.886.de.html?dram:article_id=380293.
- ↑ "Psychoaktive Substanzen (Themenabschnitt)" (in de-DE). 2020-04-13. https://www.diehumanisten.de/2020/04/13/positionspapier-psychoaktive-substanzen/.
- ↑ "Gentechnik (Themenabschnitt)" (in de-DE). 2020-04-11. https://www.diehumanisten.de/2020/04/11/papier-gentechnik/.
- ↑ "Bundesrepublik Europa (Positionspapier)" (in de-DE). 2020-04-13. https://www.diehumanisten.de/2020/04/13/visionspapier-europa/.
- ↑ "Ethikunterricht (Themenabschnitt)" (in de-DE). 2022-06-03. https://www.diehumanisten.de/2022/06/03/themenabschnitt-ethikunterricht/.
- ↑ "Landesverband der Partei der Humanisten gegründet". 4 April 2016. https://hpd.de/artikel/landesverband-partei-humanisten-gegruendet-12925.
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten". 11 August 2023. https://diehumanisten.de/landesverbaende/.
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten gründet Hamburger Landesverband". 1 October 2017. https://parteiderhumanisten.de/wp2/2017/10/01/partei-der-humanisten-gruendet-hamburger-landesverband/.
- ↑ "Landesverband in Hessen gegründet". 28 September 2016. https://hpd.de/artikel/landesverband-hessen-gegruendet-13560.
- ↑ "Partei der Humanisten". 11 August 2023. https://parteiderhumanisten.de/wp2/landesverband-niedersachsen/.
- ↑ "Hier kommt das Saarland (endlich)" (in de-DE). 2021-11-24. https://www.diehumanisten.de/2021/11/24/hier-kommt-das-saarland-endlich/.
External links
- Offizielle Website der Partei der Humanisten (Official website of the Party German)
- Leitbild der Partei der Humanisten (Mission Statement of the Party German, English, Esperanto)
- Grundsatzprogramm der Partei der Humanisten (Principle program of the Party German)
