Stephan Brandner (born 29 May 1966) is a German

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...

politician. He has been a member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the German Federalism, federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representat ...

for the

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany ...

party (AfD) since 2017 and served as chairman of the Bundestag's Legal Affairs Committee from 31 January 2018 to November 2019. He was the front runner candidate of the AfD in the state of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

for the

2017 German federal election Federal elections were held in Germany on 24 September 2017 to elect the members of the 19th Bundestag. At stake were at least 598 seats in the Bundestag, as well as 111 overhang and leveling seats determined thereafter. The Christian Democr ...

. Since November 2019, Brandner has been one of three chairman deputies of the AfD.

Biography

Brandner was born on 29 May 1966 in

Herten Herten (; Westphalian: ''Hiätten'') is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated in the industrial Ruhr Area, some west of Recklinghausen. Geography Town area Herten cov ...

. He became an industrial management assistant (''Industriekaufmann'') and then studied law at

Universität Regensburg The University of Regensburg (german: link=no, Universität Regensburg) is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on 1 ...

. Since 1997 he has been working as a lawyer, previously in Munich, then in

Gera Gera is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of cit ...

. He is member of ''KStV Agilolfia Regensburg'' in

Kartellverband katholischer deutscher Studentenvereine The '' Kartellverband katholischer deutscher Studentenvereine'' (incorporated November 29, 1865) is a German academic corporate association with ninety member corporations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As of February 2008, the Alliance ...

Controversies

After the Halle synagogue shooting, Brandner shared a message on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, criticizing that politicians were "lingering" with candles in front of synagogues and mosques, whereas the two casualties were neither Jews nor Muslims, but "organic Germans". Social Democratic politicians and associations of German lawyers called on Brandner to resign from his office as chairman of the Bundestag's Legal Affairs Committee. Brandner is close to the positions of the ultra-

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

wing (Der Flügel) within the AfD.

References

1966 births Living people Members of the Bundestag for Thuringia People from Herten University of Regensburg alumni Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025 Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag for the Alternative for Germany 20th-century German lawyers 21st-century German lawyers {{Germany-AFD-politician-stub