The DPA learned on Tuesday that the prime minister of Northern Germany’s North Saxony is scheduled to resign in May.
Stephan Weil, from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), is expected to announce his resignation Tuesday after leading the state since 2013.
The 66-year-old is the former mayor of the state’s capital, Hanover, and the third-longest prime minister.
The move comes two years before the state elections in Lower Saxony in 2027, with the SPD facing a fight to maintain control within one of its traditional power bases.
The party fell to third place with a 16.4% hit rate in February’s national parliamentary elections, but the party regularly has high votes with 30%.
Weil will be replaced by state economy secretary Olaf’s lie to the Prime Minister and SPD head of Lower Saxony.
The 57-year-old lies were nearly defeated by Weil in the leadership competition, but will now have a chance to lead the Hanoverian government.
Politicians from Lower Saxony dominated the upper echelon of the SPD, including Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and party co-leader Lars Klingbeil, who are in consultation with the conservative group on the formation of the next federal government in Berlin.
Outgoing Prime Minister Olaf Scholz was also born in the state before becoming mayor of Hamburg.
