On September 28, 2024, Thadäus König of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was elected as the new president of Thuringia's parliament, securing 54 out of 87 votes. His opponent, Wiebke Muhsal from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), received 32 votes, matching the number of seats held by the AfD in the parliament.
The inaugural session of the new parliament had begun on September 26 but was interrupted due to heated debates between AfD and other party members. The Thuringian Constitutional Court intervened, allowing for a swift election of the presidency after ruling unanimously that the parliament could amend its regulations prior to electing a new leadership.
This ruling enabled the parliament to establish new candidate nomination rules. Previously, the oldest member, Jürgen Treutler of AfD, who chaired the initial session, had denied requests to change the rules, leading to a postponement of the session until the court's decision.
Thadäus König, a member of the Thuringian parliament since 2019, is an expert on social and sports policy, as well as labor market policy within the CDU's regional faction. He previously served as the head of the Kolping Foundation, an international organization for Catholic youth.
The AfD holds the largest faction in the new parliament with 32 seats, followed by the CDU with 23, the Union of Sahra Wagenknecht with 15, the Left Party with 12, and the Social Democrats with 6 seats.