# 2017 in Germany

This list details notable events occurring in 2017 in Germany. Major events included the death of Helmut Kohl, the legalization of same-sex marriage and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) enters the Bundestag for the first time.

## Incumbents

* President:
** Joachim Gauck (until 18 March 2017)
** Frank-Walter Steinmeier (from 18 March 2017)
* Chancellor: Angela Merkel

## Events
### January

* January – 2016–2017 Tour de Ski
* January – 2016–2017 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 4
* January – 2016–2017 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 5
* 11 January – Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg opened.
* 20 January – Museum Barberini in Potsdam opened.

### February

* 1–5 February – 2017 German Masters
* 9–18 February – 67th Berlin International Film Festival
* 9 February – Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017
* 12 February – 2017 German presidential election

### March

* CeBIT in Hanover
* ITB Berlin in Berlin
* Leipzig Book Fair in Leipzig
* Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017
* In March 2017, French company Groupe PSA agreed to buy German company Opel and its English sister brand Vauxhall and their European auto lending business from General Motors for US$2.2 billion,
* 9 March – 2017 Düsseldorf axe attack
* 26 March – 2017 Saarland state election

### April

* Hanover Messe in Hanover
* Deutscher Filmpreis in Berlin
* 7 April – Opening of Internationale Gartenausstellung 2017

### May

* 7 May – 2017 Schleswig-Holstein state election
* 14 May – 2017 Nordrhein-Westfalen state election
* 29 May – 5 June – 2017 World Table Tennis Championships

### June

* Kiel Week in Kiel
* Rosenhang Museum in Weilburg opened.
* 10 June – September Documenta 14
* Merger of German company The Linde Group and Praxair.
* 27 June – Armin Laschet become Minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia.
* 28 June – Daniel Günther become Minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein.
* 30 June – The Bundestag voted to make same-sex marriage legal.

### July

* 4 July – Manuela Schwesig become Minister-president of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
* 6 July - The Transparency in Wage Structures Act goes into effect.
* 7–8 July – 2017 G20 Hamburg summit
* 28 July – 2017 Hamburg attack
* 30 July – Konstanz shooting

### August

* Hanse Sail in Rostock
* Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin in Berlin
* 15 August – Air Berlin files for bankruptcy.
* 18 August – Bain Capital and Cinven acquired German company Stada Arzneimittel.

### September

* 24 September – 2017 German federal election
** The (CDU/CSU), led by incumbent chancellor Angela Merkel, wins the highest percentage of the vote with 33%, though it suffered a large swing against it of more than 8%.
** The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) achieved its worst result since post-war Germany at 21%.
** The Alternative for Germany (AfD), which was previously unrepresented in the Bundestag, became the third largest party in the Bundestag with 12.6% of the vote. It was the first time since 1957 that a party to the political right of the CDU/CSU gained seats in the Bundestag.
* ILA Berlin Air Show in Berlin
* Gamescom in Cologne
* Frankfurt Motor Show in Frankfurt
* September – October – Oktoberfest in Munich

### October

* Frankfurt Book Fair in Frankfurt
* 15 October – 2017 Lower Saxony state election

### December

* 1 December – 2017 World Women's Handball Championship
* December – German company Hamburg Süd is sold to Danish company Maersk.

## Deaths
### January

* 4 January: Heinz Billing, German physicist and computer scientist (b. 1914).
* 10 January: Roman Herzog, German politician, former president (born 1934)
* 13 January: Udo Ulfkotte, German journalist and political scientist (born 1960)
* 14 January: Herbert Mies, German politician (born 1929)
* 16 January: Franz Jarnach, German actor and musician. (born 1943)
* 20 January: Klaus Huhn, German journalist, writer and sports administrator (born 1928)
* 26 January: Michael Tönnies, German football player (born 1959)
* 27 January: Brunhilde Pomsel, German broadcaster and secretary to Joseph Goebbels (b. 1911).

### February

* 6 February: Inge Keller, German actress (born 1923)
* 15 February: Manfred Kaiser, German footballer (born 1929)

### March

* 12 March: Horst Ehmke, German politician (born 1927)
* 23 March: Ingeborg Rapoport, German paediatrician (b. 1912)
* 28 March: Christine Kaufmann, German actress (born 1945)

### April

* 9 April: Dieter Kottysch, German boxer (born 1943)
* 11 April: Michael Ballhaus, German cinematographer (born 1935)

### May

* 2 May: Heinz Kessler, German politician, military officer and a convicted felon (born 1920)
* 15 May: Karl-Otto Apel, German philosopher (born 1922)
* 16 May: Gunnar Möller, German actor (born 1928)
* 20 May: Paul Falk, Germann pair skater (born 1921)

### June

* 1 June: Tankred Dorst, German playwright and storyteller (born 1925)
* 11 June: Alexandra Kluge, German actress and physician (born 1937)
* 16 June: Helmut Kohl, German politician, former chancellor (born 1930)
* 22 June: Gunter Gabriel, Germann singer, musician and composer (born 1942)

### July

* 10 July: Peter Härtling, German writer, poet, publisher and journalist. (born 1933)
* 20 July: Andrea Jürgens German singer (born 1967)
* 22 July: Fritz Hellwig, German politician (born 1912)
* 26 July: Constantin Heereman von Zuydtwyck, German politician (born 1931)

### August

* 5 August: Martin Roth, German museum director (born 1955)
* 10 August: Ruth Pfau, German physician and nun (born 1929)
* 15 August: Eberhard Jäckel, German historian (born 1929)
* 19 August: Karl Otto Götz, German painter (b. 1914)
* 20 August: Margot Hielscher, German actress and singer (born 1919)
* 20 August: Wilhelm Killmayer, German composer of classical music, a conductor and an academic teacher (born 1927)
* 24 August: Axel Bernstein, German politician (born 1974)

### September

* 8 September: Karl Ravens, German politician (born 1927)
* 12 September: Heiner Geißler, German politician (born 1930)
* 15 September: Albert Speer Jr., German architect (born 1934)
* 27 September: Joy Fleming, German singer (born 1944)
* 28 September: Andreas Schmidt, German actor (born 1963)

### October

* 7 October: Hugo Budinger, German field hockey player (born 1927)
* 11 October: Karl-Heinz Kipp, German entrepreneur (born 1924)

### November

* 5 November: Lothar Thoms, German track cyclist (born 1956)
* 6 November: Karin Dor, German actress (born 1938)
* 7 November: Hans-Michael Rehberg, German actor (born 1938)
* 7 November: Hans Schäfer, German footballer (born 1927)
* 20 November: Dieter Bellmann [de], German actor (born 1940)
* 21 November: Peter Berling, German actor (born 1934)

### December

* 3 December: Elmar Faber, German book publisher (born 1934)
* 25 December: Erich Kellerhals, German businessman (born 1939)
* 30 December: Bernd Spier, German singer (born 1944)