The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is Germany's federal domestic intelligence agency. Together with the Landesämter für Verfassungsschutz (LfV) at the state level, the federal agency is tasked with intelligence-gathering on efforts against the liberal democratic basic order, the existence and security of the federation or one of its states, and the peaceful coexistence of peoples; with counter-intelligence; and with protective security and counter-sabotage. The BfV reports to the Federal Ministry of the Interior and tasks and powers are regulated in the Bundesverfassungsschutzgesetz. The President is Thomas Haldenwang; he was appointed in 2018.
Bodo Ramelow is a German politician who has served since 4 March 2020 as Minister-President of Thuringia, an office he previously held from 2014 to 5 February 2020. He is the first head of a German state government to serve non-consecutive terms in office since Eberhard Diepgen, who served twice as Governing Mayor of Berlin. A member of The Left, he previously chaired the party's group in the Landtag of Thuringia. On 8 October 2021, he was elected to a one-year term as President of the Bundesrat. His term lasted from 1 November 2021 until 31 October 2022.
Oliver Janich is a German far-right conspiracy theorist, former journalist, author and banned YouTuber. He is the founder and former president of the libertarian, minor party Partei der Vernunft.
Alternative for Germany is a right-wing populist political party in Germany. AfD is known for its Euroscepticism, as well as for opposing immigration to Germany. As a right-wing party, AfD is commonly positioned on the radical right, a subset of the far-right, within the family of European political parties that does not oppose democracy.
Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge is an electoral constituency represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 158. It is located in central Saxony, comprising the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district.
Hans-Georg Maaßen is a German civil servant and lawyer. From 1 August 2012 to 8 November 2018, he served as the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic security agency and one of three agencies in the German Intelligence Community. Maaßen is one of the founders and, since January 2023, president of the Values Union, a German registered association that consists mostly of the members of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany seeking to reestablish their party's conservative roots.
Frauke Petry is a German politician who chaired the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party from July 2015 to September 2017. A chemist by training and with a professional background as a businesswoman, some political scientists described Petry as a representative of the national conservative wing of that party.
Eberhardt Alexander Gauland is a German politician, journalist and lawyer who has served as leader of the right-wing political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Bundestag since September 2017 and co-leader of the party from December 2017 to November 2019. He has been a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) since September 2017. Gauland was the party's co-founder and was its federal spokesman from 2017 to 2019 and the party leader for the state of Brandenburg from 2013 to 2017.
Björn Höcke is a German politician and a member of Alternative for Germany (AfD). Along with Andreas Kalbitz, Höcke was the leader of the AfD's far-right Der Flügel faction, which the German government's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution declared a right-wing extremist organization.
Jörg Hubert Meuthen is a German economist, academic and politician, serving as an Independent Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Germany since 2017.
The 2016 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election was held on 4 September 2016 to elect the members of the 7th Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The incumbent grand coalition between the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Minister-President Erwin Sellering retained its majority and continued in office.
The Blue Party was a minor political party in Germany that existed from 2017 to 2019. It was founded by Frauke Petry after resigning as leader of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD). It entered candidates in elections to German state parliaments, but received few votes. The party dissolved itself at the end of 2019.
Thomas Haldenwang is a German lawyer and the president of the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Jens Maier is a German judge and politician for Alternative for Germany. The Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies him as a right-wing extremist. As of March 24, 2022, he is barred from the bench.
Der Flügel is a far-right faction within Germany's Alternative for Germany, a right-wing populist opposition party. The group was led by Björn Höcke and Andreas Kalbitz. Approximately 20 percent of AfD members are organized also in the "Flügel". Following the request by the AfD executive board to dissolve Der Flügel by the end of April 2020, the group's online presence went offline. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has no reliable knowledge of an actual dissolution. Within the party, Der Flügel now calls itself the "social-patriotic faction".
Compact is a German magazine. Compact is the most important popular magazine of the extreme far-right in Germany. It unites different political milieus through strategic topic setting.
Lars Herrmann is a German police officer and politician for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and since 2017 member of the Bundestag, the federal legislative body. He is a member of the völkisch-nationalistic Flügel of his party.
Maximilian Krah is a German lawyer and self-described right-wing politician. He is serving as member of the European Parliament for Alternative for Germany.
Matthias Moosdorf is a German cellist and politician.
Steffen Janich is a German politician for Alternative for Germany (AfD). He has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2021 and represents the constituency of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge.
