Beatrix von Storch (; 27 May 1971) is a German politician and lawyer, who has been the Deputy Parliamentary Leader of the Alternative for Germany since July 2015 and a Member of 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 ...

since September 2017. She previously was a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) from Germany. From April 2016 to 2017 she was also a member of the

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...

Anti-EU group

Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD or EFD²) was a Eurosceptic and populist political group in the European Parliament. The EFDD group was a continuation for the Eighth European Parliament of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) ...

. She is part of the right-wing conservative wing of the parliamentary group of the AfD. She belongs ancestrally to the royal

House of Oldenburg The House of Oldenburg is a Germans, German dynasty whose members rule or have ruled in Danish Realm, Denmark, Kingdom of Iceland, Iceland, Kingdom of Greece, Greece, Norway, Russian Empire, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, the United Kingdom, King ...

which reigned over the

Grand Duchy of Oldenburg The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (, also known as Holstein-Oldenburg) was a grand duchy within the German Confederation, North German Confederation and German Empire, that consisted of three widely separated territories: Oldenburg, Eutin and Bir ...

until 1918.

Family background

In accordance with the traditions of the

, her dynastic

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

from birth was ''

Her Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adjec ...

'' Duchess Beatrix Amelie Ehrengard Eilika of Oldenburg. She is the elder daughter of Duke Huno of Oldenburg (b. 1940) and his wife, Countess Felicitas-Anita "Fenita" Schwerin von Krosigk (b. 1941). Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. " Burke's Royal Families of the World: ''Volume I Europe & Latin America'', 1977, pp. 221-222, 251-252, 327-328. Her father is a younger son of Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg (1897–1970), erstwhile head of the former ruling family of Oldenburg that lost its throne in 1918. She belongs to the same male-line as the royal houses of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, the deposed royal house of Greece and imperial

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and , king of the United Kingdom and 14 other

Commonwealth realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the ...

, to which last crown she is also distantly in line in accordance with the

Act of Settlement 1701 The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catho ...

. Her maternal grandfather was Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, who served as finance minister from 1932 in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

until the defeat of

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 ...

in 1945. After the death of

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 ...

and

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

he additionally served as the ''Leading Minister'' and foreign minister of the short-lived

Flensburg Government The Flensburg Government (), also known as the Flensburg Cabinet (''Flensburger Kabinett''), the Dönitz Government (''Regierung Dönitz''), or the Schwerin von Krosigk Cabinet (''Kabinett Schwerin von Krosigk''), was the rump government of Naz ...

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (; 16 September 1891 – 24 December 1980) was a German grand admiral and convicted war criminal who, following Adolf Hitler's Death of Adolf Hitler, suicide, succeeded him as head of state of Nazi Germany during the Second World ...

and so as the de facto last head of government of

announced on 7 May 1945, via radio ''Reichssender Flensburg'' the

unconditional surrender An unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees, reassurances, or promises (i.e., conditions) are given to the surrendering party. It is often demanded with the threat of complete destruction, extermination or annihilation. Anno ...

of the German ''Wehrmacht'', thus ending the war in Europe. Her cousin, Eilika of Oldenburg, is married to

Georg von Habsburg Georg von HabsburgThe Habsburgs' titles are not recognised anymore in Austria or in Hungary, where he is referred to as Georg Habsburg-Lothringen, which is his legal name (see Austrian nobility and Statute IV of 1947 regarding the abolition of c ...

, a son of

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

, the last Crown Prince of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. Beatrix von Storch is also a direct descendant of Ludwig von Westphalen, the mentor of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

Personal life

On 22 October 2010 she married German-Chilean businessman Sven von Storch (born 1970), member of a German noble family from

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

. He is the son of businessman Berndt Detlev von Storch and Antje Liete Krüger-Franke (b. 1938).

Education and early career

Von Storch was a banker before she studied law in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

. She worked as a lawyer in Berlin when she began her political career. She has also been a member of the '.

Political career

Together with her husband, she founded several conservative associations. On several occasions, the tax authorities have investigated the couple, accused in particular of having misappropriated donations intended for their associations. Von Storch was a co-founder of the ''Göttinger Kreis – Students for the Rule of Law Association'' – an organization which sought to campaign for reparation for the expulsions and nationalization of land in the Soviet occupied zones of Germany and the 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 ...

. The organization calls for appropriated land to be returned to their original owners. The association organized various events with

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

, among others. Von Storch was a member of the Free Democratic Party and in 2013, became a founding member of ''Election Alternative 13'' set up by Bernd Lucke as the precursor to

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 ...

. In 2014, Beatrix von Storch was elected a

Member of European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

representing

. Initially a member of the

European Conservatives and Reformists European Conservatives and Reformists may refer to: *European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), a soft Eurosceptic European political party *European Conservatives and Reformists Group The European Conservatives and Reformists ...

group, she left the group in April 2016, forestalling her imminent expulsion, and immediately joined the

(EFDD) group. In the

2017 German federal election The 2017 German federal election was held in Germany on 24 September 2017 to elect the List of members of the 19th Bundestag, members of the 19th Bundestag. At stake were at least 598 seats in the Bundestag, as well as 111 Overhang seat, overhan ...

, she was elected to the

and presently serves as deputy chairwoman of the AfD's parliamentary faction. Following her election to the Bundenstag, she resigned her seat in the European parliament and was replaced by Jörg Meuthen. Von Storch has been described as a social conservative. She has expressed opposition to

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 ...

and

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

. She has accused school gay youth networks of using "forced sexualization" on their students. Von Storch also supported the United Kingdom's vote for

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

and is a friend of British eurosceptic politician

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

. In parliament, she regularly shows her 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 ...

which she regards as an ally in the fight against

Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...

and in 2017 created the pro-Israel "Friends of Judea-Samaria" group in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. Asked in 2016 about the ideological proximity between the AfD and the Front national, she believes that on economic issues,

Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician of the far-right National Rally, National Rally party (RN). She served as the party's president from 2011 to 2021, and ran for the French presidency in ...

is too far to the left, stating that she does not agree with Le Pen's ideas on

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...

and state interventionism. She has been characterized as a member and supporter of the more moderate '' Alternative Mitte'' faction of the AfD.Tilman Steffen
''Alternative, aber anders''
Zeit, 4 October 2017.Alan Posener

WeltN24, 3 October 2017.Sabine Am Orde
''"Alternative Mitte" gegen "Flügel"''
taz, 6 October 2017.

Controversies

Legal battle with the

In November 2015, a leading Berlin theatre, the , was brought into legal conflict with Beatrix over a play, Falk Richter's ''FEAR'', that parodied AfD leaders as zombies and mass murderers. Beatrix von Storch is depicted facing retribution for her grandfather's role as a minister in Hitler's government. AfD Spokesperson Christian Lüth responded by interrupting a performance and filming it. Beatrix von Storch and the conservative activist Hedwig von Beverfoerde then requested and obtained a preliminary injunction against the theatre, prohibiting it from using images of them in the production. They charged that the use of the images violated their human dignity protected under the Constitution. On 15 December 2015, the court ruled against the complainants in favour of the theatre's freedom of expression and lifted the injunctions against using the images. The judges commented that 'any audience member can recognize that this is just a play'.

Remarks about use of deadly force against refugees

In late February 2016, von Storch was " pied" by members of the German left-wing group

Peng Collective The Peng Collective is a group of culture jamming activists based in Berlin. In 2016, the collective was part of the Berlin Biennale, in 2018 of the Manifesta Biennale and the Athens Biennale. In 2018, they were awarded the Aachen Peace Prize. I ...

at a party meeting in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

. The activists, dressed as clowns, protested against her assertion that German

border control Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...

personnel had the right to shoot at incoming illegal immigrants. A YouTube video of the assault gained wide attention in social media.'Tart War with AfD politician attacked in meeting'
, huffingtonpost.de videoTart attack
(removed) at YouTube

"Rapist hordes" tweet

Von Storch's Twitter account was blocked for twelve hours after she posted a criticism of the Cologne Police Department for publishing a New Years greeting in Arabic as well as in German, French and English. She had written: "What the hell is wrong with this country? Why is the official page of the police in NRW tweeting in Arabic? Are they seeking to appease the barbaric, Muslim, rapist hordes of men?" Cologne was the location of multiple sexual assaults and robbery on New Year's Eve, December 2015 (see New Year's Eve sexual assaults in Germany). Other prominent members of the AfD quickly sprang to von Storch's defense, including Alice Weidel.''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 2 January 2018

Ancestry

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Storch, Beatrix Von 1971 births Living people Politicians from Lübeck Duchesses of Oldenburg Free Democratic Party (Germany) politicians Members of the Bundestag for Berlin Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Alternative for Germany MEPs MEPs for Germany 2014–2019 21st-century women MEPs for Germany Jurists from Schleswig-Holstein Female members of the Bundestag Members of the Bundestag for the Alternative for Germany Women opposition leaders Members of the Bundestag 2025–2029 German anti-same-sex-marriage activists