Germany: AfD party leaders — lurching further to the far right | All media content | DW | 28.01.2022

Visit the new DW website

Take a look at the beta version of dw.com. We're not done yet! Your opinion can help us make it better.

Go to the new dw.com

We use cookies to improve our service for you. You can find more information in our data protection declaration.

More info OK
  1. Inhalt
  2. Navigation
  3. Weitere Inhalte
  4. Metanavigation
  5. Suche
  6. Choose from 30 Languages

Germany

Germany: AfD party leaders — lurching further to the far right

Since it was founded as a euroskeptic party in 2013, Germany's populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) has steadily moved towards the more extreme right — and swapped out leaders at every step.

  • Bernd Lucke

    Bernd Lucke (2013 - 2015)

    In 2013 the economist co-founded the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a euroskeptic party that he went on to represent in the European Parliament in 2014. He left the AfD in 2015 after losing a power struggle against its more xenophobic wing.

  • Konrad Adam

    Konrad Adam (2013-2015)

    Konrad Adam, born 1942 in the western city of Wuppertal, is a German journalist and publicist. He was a member of the conservative CDU before becoming a founding member of the AfD. He left the party in 2021, blaming his longtime colleague Alexander Gauland for what he called the AfD's "tragic" development into a far-right party.

  • Frauke Petry

    Frauke Petry (2013 - 2017)

    A chemist by training, Frauke Petry (*1975) began her career as a businesswoman before overcoming Bernd Lucke in an internal power struggle in 2015. But she left the party after another leadership battle in 2017. Petry is known for her anti-Islam views and made headlines in 2016 for saying that German police should "use firearms if necessary" to prevent illegal border crossings.

  • Jörg Meuthen

    Jörg Meuthen (2015 - 2022)

    The economics professor, born in 1961, joined the AfD because of its euroskeptic positions. A nationalist conservative at heart, his rhetoric has been marked by xenophobia against migrants and Muslims. But he tried for years to push back against far-right extremists in the AfD — a struggle he lost. He resigned and left the party in January 2022, dogged by a donations scandal.

  • Alexander Gauland

    Alexander Gauland (2017-2019)

    The former CDU member, born in 1941, is most notorious for a speech he made to the AfD's youth wing in June 2018: Acknowledging Germany's responsibility for the crimes of the Nazi era, he went on to say Germany had a "glorious history and one that lasted a lot longer than those damned 12 years. Hitler and the Nazis are just a speck of bird shit in over 1,000 years of successful German history."

  • Tino Chrupalla

    Tino Chrupalla (2019 - present)

    Tino Chrupalla, born in 1975 in eastern Germany, joined the AfD in 2015, attracted to its anti-immigration platform. The trained painter and decorator from Saxony has been an MP since 2017 and backs the far-right wing of the party, though he urges more moderate language.


  • Bernd Lucke

    Bernd Lucke (2013 - 2015)

    In 2013 the economist co-founded the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a euroskeptic party that he went on to represent in the European Parliament in 2014. He left the AfD in 2015 after losing a power struggle against its more xenophobic wing.

  • Konrad Adam

    Konrad Adam (2013-2015)

    Konrad Adam, born 1942 in the western city of Wuppertal, is a German journalist and publicist. He was a member of the conservative CDU before becoming a founding member of the AfD. He left the party in 2021, blaming his longtime colleague Alexander Gauland for what he called the AfD's "tragic" development into a far-right party.

  • Frauke Petry

    Frauke Petry (2013 - 2017)

    A chemist by training, Frauke Petry (*1975) began her career as a businesswoman before overcoming Bernd Lucke in an internal power struggle in 2015. But she left the party after another leadership battle in 2017. Petry is known for her anti-Islam views and made headlines in 2016 for saying that German police should "use firearms if necessary" to prevent illegal border crossings.

  • Jörg Meuthen

    Jörg Meuthen (2015 - 2022)

    The economics professor, born in 1961, joined the AfD because of its euroskeptic positions. A nationalist conservative at heart, his rhetoric has been marked by xenophobia against migrants and Muslims. But he tried for years to push back against far-right extremists in the AfD — a struggle he lost. He resigned and left the party in January 2022, dogged by a donations scandal.

  • Alexander Gauland

    Alexander Gauland (2017-2019)

    The former CDU member, born in 1941, is most notorious for a speech he made to the AfD's youth wing in June 2018: Acknowledging Germany's responsibility for the crimes of the Nazi era, he went on to say Germany had a "glorious history and one that lasted a lot longer than those damned 12 years. Hitler and the Nazis are just a speck of bird shit in over 1,000 years of successful German history."

  • Tino Chrupalla

    Tino Chrupalla (2019 - present)

    Tino Chrupalla, born in 1975 in eastern Germany, joined the AfD in 2015, attracted to its anti-immigration platform. The trained painter and decorator from Saxony has been an MP since 2017 and backs the far-right wing of the party, though he urges more moderate language.


More in the Media Center

DW To the Point Sendungslogo englisch

Knocking on Putin's door: Is NATO really threatening Russia? 19.05.2022

Doku KW 17 | Seychellen - Das bedrohte Paradies

Seychelles - Paradise at risk 25.04.2022

Doku KW 8 Tschernobyl

Moving to Chernobyl - Embracing radiation to escape war 21.02.2022

DW To the Point Sendungslogo englisch

Russia-Ukraine crisis: Is Germany letting its allies down? 27.01.2022

More from German News Service

Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz im Interview mit Michaela Kuefner in in Johannesburg, Südafrika, Mai 2022

Olaf Scholz: Good relations with partners key for global peace 24.05.2022

Transtel, Bamberg, Youtuber, Bavaria, Dhruv Rathee, travel reporter, old town, UNESCO Euromaxx Transtel 20.05.2022 // KW 020 Bilder aus der DW-Sendung Euromaxx © DW

Tips for exploring the medieval town of Bamberg 24.05.2022

Euromaxx, Transtel, Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt, UNESCO, Bauhaus, art nouveau Euromaxx Transtel 20.05.2022 // KW 020 Bilder aus der DW-Sendung Euromaxx © DW

The Mathildenhöhe Artists’ colony in Darmstadt 24.05.2022

Germany must become independent of energy from Russia. Can LNG from the US be the solution?

Louisiana: US liquefied natural gas for Germany? 23.05.2022

Read also

dpatopbilder - 20.06.2020, Sachsen, Lommatzsch: Jörg Meuthen, AfD-Parteichef, steht zu Beginn des nicht-öffentlichen AfD-BundesKonventes, der kurzfristig ins sächsische Lommatzsch verlegt wurde, vor Pressevertretern. Laut Meuthen spiele heute die Causa Kalbitz eine wichtige Rolle. Foto: Matthias Rietschel/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++ | Verwendung weltweit

Germany's far-right AfD: Moderate co-leader Meuthen gives up, spelling victory for radical fringe 11.10.2021

Jörg Meuthen, co-leader of the far-right populist AfD and considered a moderate, has announced his retreat from front-line politics. It comes after months of leadership struggles and a poor showing in the election.

Ein Wahlplakat der AfD Kandidaten für den Landtag hängt am Ortsausgang von Eisleben. Die Wahl zum neuen Landtag in Sachsen-Anhalt ist die letzte Landtagswahl vor der Bundestagswahl im September 2021.

Opinion: AfD has accepted its fate — it's a party that doesn't mind racism 11.10.2021

Jörg Meuthen's decision to step down as party chairman has dug the already far-right party deeper into its hard-core nationalist trench. It's where the AfD always wanted to be, says Ben Knight.

Ein Anhänger der AfD demonstriert mit zwei Fotos von Björn Höcke, Fraktionsvorsitzender der AfD im Landtag und einer Deutschlandfahne in der Innenstadt. +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++

Germany's far-right AfD searching for new momentum ahead of election 06.04.2021

The Alternative for Germany is the country's most successful far-right party since the war. But the latest state election results suggest its popularity may have hit a ceiling.

Das Emblem des Bundesamtes für Verfassungsschutz ist am 10.08.2012 in Köln an einer Glastür zu sehen. Die Bundesregierung muss sich bei der geplanten Reform des Verfassungsschutzes auf massiven Widerstand der Länder einstellen. Foto: Oliver Berg dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++ Berlin, AFD Fraktion im Bundestag Deutschland, Berlin - 15.09.2020: Im Bild ist das Logo der AFD im deutschen Bundestag zu sehen. Berlin Bundestag Berlin Deutschland *** Berlin, AFD Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag Germany, Berlin 15 09 2020 The picture shows the AFD logo in the German Bundestag Berlin Bundestag Berlin Germany

German state vs. the far-right AfD: An unending duel 04.03.2021

The domestic intelligence service has been examining how dangerous the Alternative for Germany is since 2019. Now the nationalist party will be placed under observation.