Hanover (region)

Hanover (German: Hannover) was a Regierungsbezirk of the German state of Lower Saxony from 1946 until 2004. It was located in the south of the state, centered around the Lower Saxon capital of Hanover.

There was a similar, equally named administrative unit within the then Prussian Province of Hanover from 1885 until the end of World War II; and before that, a 1823 established Landdrostei within the Kingdom of Hanover.

Coordinates: 52°22′00″N 9°44′00″E / 52.3667°N 9.7333°E / 52.3667; 9.7333

Hanover Region

Hanover Region (German: Region Hannover) is a sui generis district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Heidekreis, Celle, Gifhorn, Peine, Hildesheim, Hamelin-Pyrmont, Schaumburg and Nienburg.

The District of Hanover has a unique legal status among the districts of Lower Saxony. It includes the City of Hanover, the state capital, which has the same privileges as a city that is not part of a district. As a consequence, the District is much larger in population than any other district of the state. Its administrative body is the Regionsparlament (engl.: "regional parliament"), headed by the Regionspräsident or "region president" (Hauke Jagau (SPD) since 2006). The members of the Regionsparlament are elected once every five years and the Regionspräsident is elected once every eight years in local elections.

History

The City of Hanover was not part of the district until 2001, when the old Hanover District and the city (then known officially as Kreisfreie Stadt Hannover, which means "District Free city of Hanover") were merged in order to form the new Region Hannover district (not to be confused with the former Regierungsbezirk Hannover).