The 2001 Hamburg state election was held on 23 September 2001 to elect the members of the 17th Hamburg Parliament. The incumbent coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Green Alternative List (GAL) led by First Mayor Ortwin Runde was defeated. The major change in the election was the entry of the Party for a Rule of Law Offensive ("Schill party") led by Ronald Schill into Parliament with 19.4% of the vote and 25 seats. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) also re-entered Parliament. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) subsequently formed a coalition with the Schill party and FDP, and CDU leader Ole von Beust was elected as First Mayor.