Friedrich Pürner (born 1967) is a independent German politician. In the

2024 European Parliament election The 2024 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 6 and 9 June 2024. It was the tenth Elections to the European Parliament, parliamentary election since the 1979 European Parliament election, first direct electio ...

he was elected 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).

Life

In 2010, Pürner received his doctorate from the medical faculty of the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. He later headed the health department in the district of

Aichach-Friedberg Aichach-Friedberg is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the northwest and clockwise) the districts of Augsburg, Donau-Ries, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Pfaffenhofen, Dachau, Fürstenfeldbruck and Landsberg, a ...

. He lost this position in autumn 2020 after he publicly spoke out against the strategy of the Bavarian state government during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2023, he successfully sued against an assessment that plays an important role in filling positions. For example, it should be examined again whether Pürner should fill the at the , the and the .

Political career

In the

2024 European elections The 2024 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 6 and 9 June 2024. It was the tenth Elections to the European Parliament, parliamentary election since the 1979 European Parliament election, first direct electio ...

, he was elected to the European Parliament as sixth place on the

Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice ( , BSW) is a political party in Germany founded on 8 January 2024. It has been described as a left-wing to far-left party with populist and nationalist tendencies. The BSW is sceptical of g ...

party list. On 6 February 2025, he decided to quit the BSW, citing a culture of "mistrust and surveillance" in the party as a reason for his unease.

Political positions

COVID-19 measures

As head of the Aichach health department, Pürner criticized the corona measures and doubted the effectiveness of fabric masks and the sense of a mask requirement for children. He also criticized the Bavarian

curfew A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorit ...

and

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

for entire school classes.

Russo-Ukrainian War

On 8 May 2025, Pürner was one of the three MEPs who voted against a motion calling for the return of children abducted by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

Life

Political career

Political positions

COVID-19 measures

Russo-Ukrainian War

Bibliography

References

See also