Hendrik Hering leaves Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag after 25 years to practice law

Transition to private legal practice

Hendrik Hering, the long-serving president of the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament, is leaving politics at the end of August 2026. The 62-year-old Social Democratic Party lawmaker announced his decision to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Mainz, confirming that he will join a commercial law firm in Koblenz as an attorney specializing in construction law. Hering, who is a trained jurist and lawyer, spent a cumulative 25 years as an elected member of the state legislature in Mainz and a decade presiding over parliament. His departure will bring his legislative career to an end as his parliamentary seat passes to Thomas Mockenhaupt, a fellow politician from the Westerwald region and a former employee in Hering's office. Reflecting on his age and his decision to pursue a career change, Hering noted his personal outlook on remaining active.

You have to dare to do something new and challenge yourself, then you stay young.

Twenty-five years in state politics

Hering was born in the Westerwald region, where he continues to reside. He entered electoral politics at the municipal level as the mayor of Hachenburg before winning election to the state parliament in Mainz. His first stint in the Landtag ran from 1996 until 2001, followed by a return to parliament in 2006 that lasted through 2026. Over this span, Hering accumulated executive experience in multiple cabinet positions. He served as state secretary in the ministries of the environment and the interior before his appointment as the state minister for economic affairs in 2006. In 2011, he took over the leadership of the SPD parliamentary group in the Landtag. He remained in that post until 2014, when a cabinet reshuffle initiated by Minister-President Malu Dreyer led to his departure over controversies surrounding the state-funded expansion of the Nuerburgring racetrack.

State presidency and recent coalition shifts

In 2016, Hering assumed the office of Landtag president, steering parliamentary proceedings until the formation of a new state government in May 2026. That government change saw Rhineland-Palatinate transition from a three-party coalition to its first grand coalition between the SPD and the Christian Democratic Union. Following the coalition pact in May, the two governing parties agreed to restructure the state-run lottery operator, Lotto Rheinland-Pfalz, by creating two managing director positions and slating Hering for one of the executive seats. The arrangement faced sharp public criticism, prompting Hering to decline the appointment and reconsider his professional path outside public administration.

Ongoing civic and educational commitments

Despite his departure from legislative office and state administration, Hering intends to maintain several regional leadership roles in a voluntary capacity. He will continue serving as the head of the Association of Rhineland-Palatinate Adult Education Centres. In addition, he remains chairman of the board of Europahaus in Bad Marienberg. Founded in 1951, the international meeting and education centre for youth and adult political education is recognized as the oldest Europahaus facility in Europe. His successor in the Landtag, Thomas Mockenhaupt, will assume his vacated parliamentary mandate ahead of the next legislative sitting.