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Alice Elisabeth Weidel (; born 6 February 1979) is a German
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
politician who has been serving as of the right-wing populist
Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...
(AfD) party alongside
Tino Chrupalla Tino Chrupalla (; born 14 April 1975) is a German politician from the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD). A member of the German parliament (Bundestag) since 2017, he has served as co-chairman of the AfD since 2019 along wi ...
since June 2022. Since October 2017, she has held the position of leader of the AfD parliamentary group in the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
. Weidel became a member of the Bundestag (MdB) in the 2017 federal election, where she was the AfD's lead candidate alongside
Alexander Gauland Eberhardt Alexander Gauland (born 20 February 1941) is a German politician, journalist and lawyer who has served as leader of the political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Bundestag since September 2017 and co-leader of the party from ...
. In the 2021 federal election, she once again served as their lead candidate, alongside Tino Chrupalla. From February 2020 to July 2022, Weidel held the position of chairwoman of the AfD state association in
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...
. In 2024, she was selected as her party's candidate for
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
in the
2025 German federal election The 2025 German federal election was held in Germany on 23 February 2025 to elect the 630 members of the List of members of the 21st Bundestag, 21st Bundestag, down from 736 in 2021 due to reforms in seat distribution. The 2025 election took plac ...
.


Early life and career

Alice Elisabeth Weidel was born on 6 February 1979, in
Gütersloh Gütersloh () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe and the administrative region of Detmold (administrative region), Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a Gütersloh (distric ...
. She grew up in
Harsewinkel Harsewinkel () is a town in Gütersloh District in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies on the river Ems, some 15 km north-west of Gütersloh. It is the home and domicile of Europe's leading combine harvester manufacturer ...
, where she graduated from a Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Deutschlands (CJD) '' Gymnasium'' in 1998. She studied economics and business administration at the
University of Bayreuth The University of Bayreuth (German: Universität Bayreuth) is a public research university located in Bayreuth, Germany. It is one of the youngest German universities. It is broadly organized into seven undergraduate and graduate faculties, with ...
and graduated as one of the best in the year in 2004. After receiving her undergraduate degree, Weidel went to work for
Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
Asset Management Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of all value for which a group or entity is responsible. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as complex process or manufacturing plants, infrastr ...
from July 2005 to June 2006 as an analyst in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. In the late 2000s, she worked at the
Bank of China The Bank of China (BOC; ; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Banco da China'') is a state-owned Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Beijing, Beijing, China. It is one of ...
, and lived for six years in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Subsequently, she wrote a doctoral thesis with the health economist at the Faculty of Law and Economics in Bayreuth on the future of the Chinese pension system. In 2011, she received a
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
in
international development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic development, economic or human development (economics), human development on an international sca ...
. She received her doctorate
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
. Her doctorate was supported by the
Konrad Adenauer Foundation The Konrad Adenauer Foundation ('' German: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: KAS'') is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's head ...
, the political party foundation associated with but independent of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). From March 2011 to May 2013, Weidel worked as Vice President at
Allianz Global Investors Allianz Global Investors (commonly called AllianzGI or AGI), is a global investment management firm with offices in over 20 locations worldwide. It is owned by the global financial services group Allianz. Employing nearly 3,000, it manages over ...
in Frankfurt. Since 2014, she has worked as a freelance business consultant. In 2015, she worked for Rocket Internet and Foodora. , Weidel was a member of the Friedrich A. von Hayek Society.


Politics


Alternative for Germany

Weidel joined the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in October 2013. According to Weidel, she was first attracted to the party due to her opposition to the
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
. She was elected to the federal executive committee of the AfD in June 2015. In April 2017, she was elected co-lead candidate of the party. She is the first
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
to serve as a lead candidate of her party. She has been identified by the media as belonging to the more moderate conservative '' Alternative Mitte'' faction within the AfD. The Switzerland-based property billionaire Henning Conle supported AfD. He donated a total of 132,000 euros by means of
straw men A straw man fallacy (sometimes written as strawman) is the informal fallacy of refuting an argument different from the one actually under discussion, while not recognizing or acknowledging the distinction. One who engages in this fallacy is said ...
for the 2017 federal election campaign of Alice Weidel. Conle disguised his donation from Switzerland in 18 tranches. The AfD had to pay the Bundestag a high fine for this donation, but Weidel and three other officials went unpunished. A German-wide record-setting donation of 2.35 million Euros to AfD by local Austrian FPÖ politician Gerhard Dingler in early 2025 has been identified as being linked to Conle. If substantiated, such a donation would break both German and Austrian laws and would be heavily penalized. In January 2024, Weidel fired advisor
Roland Hartwig Roland Hartwig (born 22 September 1954) is a German politician for the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and member of the Bundestag between 2017 and 2021. Life and achievements Hartwig was born 1954 in Berlin and studied jurisprudence at t ...
after he attended a controversial meeting with German far-right activists in which plans to deport millions of people living in Germany were discussed.


Political positions


European Union and economic issues

Weidel vigorously defends
economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
and declares former UK Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
to be her role model. In terms of economic policy, Weidel argued against the abolition of cash. During the
euro area crisis The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The ...
, she called for economically weak states, such as Greece, Spain, and Portugal to leave or be expelled from the
Eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...
. Weidel expresses support for tax cuts and the abolition of
inheritance tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pro ...
and opposes the
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...
. Weidel supports continued German membership in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
; however, in an interview with the London Financial Times published in January 2023, Weidel outlined her party's approach in the event of a government takeover: if an attempt by the AfD to resolve the EU's "democratic deficit" were unsuccessful, Germany's exit from the EU would be put to a vote following the example of Great Britain. Leading economists consider this to be the economic worst-case scenario. In 2015, she also spoke out in favor of Germany leaving the euro/
Eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...
and called for a return to a gold-backed currency. In early 2025 she indicated that she no longer believes in a return to the
Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark (currency), mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it ...
, saying it would be "far too late to leave the euro“. Thereby she relativized her party's demands for a return to national currency, which the AfD laid out in its programme for the 2025 federal election. However, she forecasted that the Euro would be abolished in an unorganized manner and that this would cost huge amounts of wealth. During the AfD party conference in June 2024, she said that it was in the interests of Germany and Europe that "Ukraine does not belong to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
". Since 2025, the AfD has been working with
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
's nationalist and right-wing populist
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...
. Weidel praised Hungary as a model for the AfD, saying that the AfD shares Hungary's opposition to illegal immigration and stance on the European Union. In February 2025, Weidel stated about the AfD's policy towards the European Union: "We should work together to reform the European Union at all costs. And that can only be done from within. We can achieve this by reducing the competences of the European Union, by dismantling the entire bureaucratic, expensive — and, in my view, corrupt — superstructure."


Asylum and integration policy

In December 2016, Weidel said that German chancellor
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
was "of course" partly responsible for the rape and murder of Maria Ladenburger. In 2017, Weidel criticized the immigration policies of Merkel, stating that "the country will be destroyed through this immigration policy.
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
said that Merkel is insane and I absolutely agree with that. It is a completely nonsensical form of politics that is being followed here." Weidel saw Merkel's asylum policy as a violation of "international agreements". Weidel called for a "
Fortress Europe Fortress Europe () was a military propaganda term used by both sides of World War II which referred to the areas of Continental Europe occupied by Nazi Germany, as opposed to the United Kingdom across the Channel. World War II defences In ...
" and "effective development aid". Weidel opposes health insurance for asylum seekers, criticises what she sees as a "naive approach" to radical Islamic preachers in Germany and has warned against excessive expectations regarding the integration of refugees into the labour market. In the context of the German refugee debate, she speaks of an incalculable burden on the economy and the welfare state, and that voters of established parties (
CDU/CSU CDU/CSU, unofficially the Union parties ( ) or the Union, is a centre-right Christian democratic and conservative political alliance of two political parties in Germany: the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social U ...
and SPD) have, in her opinion, "lost their minds". According to her, "no important question of our time ..can be separated from the migration question". Weidel wants to ban the
burqa A burqa or burka (; ) is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face. Also known as a chadaree (; ) or chaadar (Dari: چادر) in Afghanistan, or a ''paranja'' (; ; ) in Central Asia, the Ara ...
and
niqāb A niqāb, niqab, or niqaab (; ), also known as a ruband () or rubandah (), is a long garment worn by some Muslim women in order to cover their entire body and face, excluding their eyes. It is an interpretation in Islam of the concept of ...
and has also spoken out in favour of a headscarf ban: the headscarf should be "banned from public spaces and the streets" because it is an "absolutely sexist symbol" and represents an "apartheid between men and women". She has called for the German government to invest in "special economic zones" in the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
to encourage educated and skilled persons to remain in their home countries and avoid the possibility of brain drain, but also says she supports a " Canadian-style system" which would prioritize skilled, over unskilled, immigrants.


Foreign policy and international relations


General stance

In October 2022, she said that the AfD slogan "Our country first" (based on the "French first" of the Front National under
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...
) called for "not a values-based foreign policy", but "an interest-driven foreign policy for our country".


Russia and Ukraine

According to Weidel, Germany had damaged itself and was being "crushed between the major powers" with its sanctions policy against Russia. The "big loser", according to Weidel, would not be Russia or Ukraine, but Germany, because "an economic war is being waged against Germany". Although the Russian attack on Ukraine was "contrary to international law", she sees no need to "interfere", because what it ultimately meant for Ukraine and for Russia, for the division of territory, was "not our issue at all". Putting President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
before a war crimes tribunal is "completely unrealistic", according to Weidel. The hostilities must stop and Ukraine must also be "held accountable" because it cannot be "that the West accepts the Ukrainian maximum demands without thinking about it". Although advocating for economic relations with Russia, Weidel is not considered to be part of the AfD pro-Russia movement; Weidel responded to the question why she – unlike her co-chair
Tino Chrupalla Tino Chrupalla (; born 14 April 1975) is a German politician from the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD). A member of the German parliament (Bundestag) since 2017, he has served as co-chairman of the AfD since 2019 along wi ...
– did not attend the Russian embassy's reception to celebrate the anniversary of the victory over
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
: "Celebrating the defeat of one's own country with a former occupying power is something I have personally decided - also with my father's escape story - not to take part in."


Middle East

In contrast to her AfD co-leader
Tino Chrupalla Tino Chrupalla (; born 14 April 1975) is a German politician from the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD). A member of the German parliament (Bundestag) since 2017, he has served as co-chairman of the AfD since 2019 along wi ...
, Weidel expressed support for
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in context to the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
. During an interview with
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...
she said she supported the state of Israel and its right to self-defense but expressed uncertainty on how to resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine.


United States

In early 2025, in an interview with ''
The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a bimonthly magazine published by the American Ideas Institute. The magazine was founded in 2002 by Pat Buchanan, Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos to advance an anti- neoconservative perspect ...
'', she said regarding the demand of US president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
that Germany had to increase its military spending, while allegedly having to stay under the political influence of the US, that the US could not have it both ways. She compared Germany with a slave and said that "slaves don’t fight. A slave who fights will invariably demand freedom as a reward." Weidel said that, if Germany has to take responsibility for its own security in the future, this comes with the price of independence from the US, especially regarding energy policy, Nord Stream in particular.


COVID-19 pandemic

During the
COVID-19 pandemic in Germany The COVID-19 pandemic in Germany has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. On 27 January 2020, the first case in Germany was confirmed near Munich, Bavaria. By mid February, the arising cluster of cases had been fully contained ...
, Weidel's stance changed. In March 2020, she said that
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
could "spread unhindered" in Germany, while all EU countries were "practically shutting down public life." This would have "fatal consequences" for Germany, and the government must "finally take appropriate steps now." She spoke of a "negligent game with the lives and health of our citizens," because, according to everything we know, the virus "poses a higher risk of infection and a greater risk of mortality than the common flu." After the shutdown, however Weidel called for the economy to be restarted "immediately"; the "chaos policy of the federal government" was "disastrous." At the end of May 2020 she called the federal government's Corona policy "pre-democratic" and accused it of "a blanket restriction of basic rights and then distributing them again piecemeal as if by an act of mercy". After party leader
Jörg Meuthen Jörg Hubert Meuthen (; born 29 June 1961) is a German economist, academic and politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Germany from 2017 until 2024. He was the frontrunner for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party at ...
had criticized the party for showing too much solidarity with the COVID-19 protests in Germany, Weidel said that she could "recommend to anyone who tries to defame this movement to simply attend a demonstration. She described the Infection Protection Act as unconstitutional; therefore, they "were right to take to the streets". In July 2021, Weidel stated that she would not be vaccinated against COVID-19 for the foreseeable future and complained that healthy unvaccinated people in Germany were being discriminated against - she also did not believe in an implied vaccination requirement. In mid-November 2021, she contracted COVID-19 and had to go into quarantine at home. In an interview with journalist Erhard Scherfer for the Phoenix on 8 December 2021, Weidel emphatically denied his statement that the majority of hospital intensive care units were unvaccinated. When asked where she obtained the figures, Weidel cited the Federal Statistical Office as her source. The Federal Office itself, however, quickly clarified that it did not have such data at all, which triggered considerable media attention. At an AfD event in
Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...
in March 2024, Weidel asked who actually takes responsibility “for all the vaccine-damaged people, who are in wheelchairs, who have died.”


LGBTQ issues

Weidel has said she supports
civil partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...
for gay and lesbian couples, noting she is a lesbian herself and in a civil partnership with another woman. She combines this position with her negative attitude towards
asylum in Germany The right of asylum for victims of Political repression, political persecution is a basic right stipulated in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, Constitution of Germany. In a wider sense, the right of asylum recognises the defini ...
and
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. Weidel said that she sees family policy as more liberal than her party: "Family is where children are." Weidel has stated her opposition to discussion of sexuality prior to puberty saying that "I don't want anyone with their gender idiocy or their early sexualisation classes coming near my children." She has also expressed her opposition to legalization of
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
, stating that she supports protection of the "traditional family" while also supporting "other lifestyles".


German churches

At the end of 2017, Weidel accused the two biggest churches in Germany, the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and the
Protestant Church Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes justification of sinners through faith alone, the teaching that salvation comes by unmerited divine grace, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the sole infallible sourc ...
, of "playing the same inglorious role that they played in the
Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
", accusing both churches of being "thoroughly politicized" and stating that AfD is "the only Christian party that still exists" in Germany. Such statements were dismissed by the Catholic German Bishops' Conference and the Evangelical Church as "polemics" and "derailment".


Global warming

Weidel has expressed doubts about
global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
; in 2019, Weidel expressed that she did not believe "that human influence on global warming is decisive." The AfD had previously modified its position on this during the election campaign for the 2019 European elections and spoke of signs of human influence. Weidel cited the Danish physicist Henrik Svensmark, who believes that the influence of
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
(CO2) on the climate is overestimated. Weidel's press officer named the geophysicist Eigil Friis-Christensen, who worked at the NBI until 2006, as another source besides Svensmark. However, his research on this subject, which was taken up by Weidel and other climate skeptics, is unsubstantiated. With regard to the Fridays for Future rallies, Weidel spoke of "this campaigning ability that is rolling towards us," and said: "The power of this cumulative stupidity is frightening." At the AfD party conference in
Riesa Riesa (; ) is a town in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Elbe, approximately northwest of Dresden. History The name ''Riesa'' is derived from Slavic ''Riezowe''. This name, romanised as "Rezoa", appears f ...
in January 2025, Weidel said that an AfD government would "naturally bring functioning nuclear power plants back online"; she called for longer operating times for coal-fired power plants. She also promised to restart Nord Stream to supply Russian gas through the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
. She also said that a government with her participation would "tear down all wind turbines," calling them "windmills of shame."


Controversies


"Political correctness" incident

In April 2017, Weidel railed against
political correctness "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...
, saying that it belonged in the "dustbin of history". In response, on 27 April, TV presenter
Christian Ehring Christian Ehring (born 18 September 1972) is a German television presenter, kabarett artist, and author. Life Ehring works as a comedian at German theatres, and has appeared on a variety of television programs broadcast by German outlets. Si ...
of the satire program ''
extra 3 ''extra 3'' is a weekly political satire show on Television in Germany, German television established in 1976. Produced by public TV broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk, it is aired on NDR Fernsehen and 3sat. Once a month, the show is promoted t ...
'' addressed this, saying "That's right! Let's put an end to political correctness. The Nazi slut is right. Was this incorrect enough? I hope so!" Weidel sued the channel seeking to forbid re-airing of the program, and on 17 May the Hamburg District Court ruled against her, stating that a public figure must tolerate exaggerated criticism. Weidel disagreed with the decision and promised to bring it to the (Higher Regional Court). , no further action had taken place.


Illegal immigration incident

A September 2017 report by ''
Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...
'' claimed that Weidel had illegally hired a Syrian refugee to do housework at her home in Switzerland. The report also alleged that the asylum seeker did not have a written work contract, nor were there invoices for her work. Weidel responded in a tweet that the ''Die Zeit'' report was "fake news" and "false" and Weidel's lawyer stated that Weidel had a Syrian stay at her home as a guest but not as a worker.


Allegations of border revisionism

In June 2023, Weidel commented on the election polls results in former
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
without
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, stating that AfD has great support in this region. However, she referred to the region as '' Mitteldeutschland'' ( Central Germany), which was seen by some in Poland as suggesting that the so-called
Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands () are the lands east of the Oder–Neisse line, Oder-Neisse line that over the centuries were gradually lost by Poland and colonized by the Germans, and that returned to Poland after World War II. T ...
belong to Germany, which caused controversies with the Polish politician
Beata Szydło Beata Maria Szydło (, née Kusińska ; born 15 April 1963) is a Polish politician who has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019. A member of Law and Justice (PiS), she previously served as the prime minister of Poland f ...
.


Remarks about migrants and generational replacement

In May 2018, Weidel was reprimanded by
Wolfgang Schäuble Wolfgang Schäuble (; 18 September 1942 – 26 December 2023) was a German politician whose political career spanned more than five decades. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the longest-serving member of any democratic G ...
(CDU), the then
President of the Bundestag The president of the Bundestag ( or ; Grammatical gender in German#Professions, when the office is held by a man) presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker (poli ...
, after Weidel made the following statement in a speech in the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
: "Burkas, girls in headscarves, knifemen on subsidies and other good-for-nothings will not secure our prosperity, economic growth and, above all, the welfare state." These remarks were sharply criticized. Weidel subsequently asserted in an interview that she had in no way intended these terms as a provocation against all women who wear a headscarf. In the same speech, Weidel also spoke of an "increase in the population through immigrant criminals with multiple identities" and a "strategy of generational replacement through unregulated immigration" and accused the government of wanting to "select and assemble the people themselves". This was interpreted as a reference to the "
Great Replacement The Great Replacement (), also known as replacement theory or great replacement theory, is a debunked white nationalist far-right conspiracy theoryPT71. espoused by French author Renaud Camus. The original theory states that, with the complicit ...
" theory.


Hitler's political views

On 9 January 2025, in a live broadcast with
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...
on X Spaces, both Weidel and Musk claimed that "Hitler was a communist." Mainstream historians tend to reject the classification of Hitler and the National Socialists as "left" and "socialist", and the Tagesschau claims that Hitler himself declared in 1928 that the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
was not socialist. However Hitler claimed to be a socialist in his second book, also written in 1928, stating "I am a socialist. I see no class and no social estate before me, but that community of the folk, made up of people who are linked by blood .., and several historians and economists such as
Henry Ashby Turner Henry Ashby Turner, Jr. (April 4, 1932 – December 17, 2008) was an American historian of Germany who was a professor at Yale University for over forty years. He is best known for his book ''German Big Business and the Rise of Hitler'' (1985) ...
, Peter Temin,
Götz Aly Götz Haydar Aly (; born 3 May 1947) is a German journalist, historian and political scientist. Life and career Aly was born in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg. He is a patrilineal descendant of a Turkish convert to Christianity named Friedrich ...
,
George Reisman George Gerald Reisman (; born January 13, 1937)"George Gerald Reisman" (2002), ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, Retrieved on January 18, 2007. is an American economist. He is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Pepperdine University and the ...
, and
Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; ; September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian-American political economist and philosopher of the Austrian school. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the social contributions of classical l ...
have noted the presence of socialist elements in national socialist ideology and the nazi regime. In February 2025, Weidel argued that
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
is being used in Germany for political instrumentalization.


Personal life

Since 2009, Weidel has been in a
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
relationship with Sarah Bossard, a Sri Lankan-born film producer who was adopted as a child by a Swiss couple. Since 2019 the pair have lived with their two adopted sons in
Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and Districts of Switzerland#Schwyz, district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. Histor ...
, Switzerland. Weidel works in Berlin and says her official residence is in her electoral district in
Überlingen Überlingen (; ) is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the German-Swiss border, border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second-largest city in the Bodenseek ...
, on the German side of the
German-Swiss border The German-speaking part of Switzerland ( ; ; ; ) comprises about 65 percent of Switzerland (North Western Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland, Central Switzerland, most of the Swiss Plateau and the greater part of the Swiss Alps). The variety ...
, allowing her to avoid Swiss taxation. In terms of religion, Weidel identifies herself as an
agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...
. On her father's side, Weidel's family came from Neustadt and Leobschütz in
Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...
, in what is now
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. Her grandfather Hans Weidel was a
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
judge, appointed directly by
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
. He joined the
NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...
at the end of 1932 and the SS in January 1933. Weidel's father was born 1939 in
Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...
and
fled ''Fled'' is a 1996 American Buddy film, buddy action comedy film directed by Kevin Hooks. It stars Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin as two prisoners chained together who flee during an escape attempt gone bad. Plot An interrogator prepa ...
with his mother and sister to Verl (in
East Westphalia Ostwestfalen-Lippe (, literally ''East(ern) Westphalia-Lippe'', abbreviation OWL) is the eastern region of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, congruent with the administrative region of Detmold and containing the eastern part of Wes ...
) in February 1945. He founded a sales agency for office furniture in 1972 and worked as a sales representative for furniture, furnishings and antiques.TOP (Trade Opportunities Program) Bulletin, hg. v. U.S. Department of Commerce und dem U.S. Foreign Service-U.S. Department of State, 21 August 1978, S. 24 f.


Selected publications

* ''Das Rentensystem der Volksrepublik China. Reformoptionen aus ordnungstheoretischer Sicht zur Erhöhung der Risikoresistenz'' (''Schriften zur Nationalökonomie.'' Band 60). Verlag P.C.O., Bayreuth 2011, .


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weidel, Alice 1979 births Living people People from Gütersloh Members of the Bundestag for Baden-Württemberg Leaders of political parties in Germany 21st-century German women politicians LGBTQ conservatism LGBTQ members of the Bundestag German lesbian politicians German anti-communists Far-right politics in Germany University of Bayreuth alumni Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag for the Alternative for Germany Female members of the Bundestag Critics of multiculturalism Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Women opposition leaders 21st-century German LGBTQ people Politicians from North Rhine-Westphalia Goldman Sachs people