Joachim Paul

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Joachim Paul (born 10 July 1970 [1] ) is a German politician serving since 2016 in the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate as a member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). He was deputy chairman of the AfD parliamentary group in the state parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate from 2016 to 2021. He has also been deputy chairman of the AfD parliamentary group in the Koblenz city council since 2015. From 2019 to 2022, he was an assessor on the AfD federal executive board.

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Life and political career

Paul attended the Wilhelm-Remy-Gymnasium in Bendorf am Rhein and graduated with the Abitur. He then did his military service in the Feldjägerbataillon 740/251 in Mainz. Paul then studied German, history, political science, and sociology at the University of Bonn, the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the University of Mainz. Since his studies, Paul has been a member of the Old Breslauer Fraternity of the Raczeks in Bonn. [2] After his studies, he worked as a teacher at the Albert Schweitzer High School in Kaiserslautern and then at the Ludwig Erhard School in Neuwied. [3] Currently he is a teacher from Koblenz.

Paul joined the AfD in 2013 and was first elected to the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate in 2016. In 2019, Paul ran for chairmanship of the state AfD but subsequently withdrew. Also in 2019, he was removed from the chairmanship of the Landtag's Media Committee by the other parties (Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Greens and Free Democratic Party (FDP)), citing indications of his "connection to right-wing extremist ideology". [4] Media reports at the time claimed Paul had written for a magazine affiliated with the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) under a pseudonym, which Paul has repeatedly denied. [5] [4]

2025 Ludwigshafen mayoral disqualification

In the 2025 Ludwigshafen mayoral election, Paul declared his candidacy but was disqualified by the city's electoral committee due to their stated lack of confidence in Paul's adherence to the constitution, which is permissible under German law. The vote was 6–1, with members of the CDU, SPD and Free Voters (FW) voting against allowing Paul's candidacy. [6] Prior to this, a report on Paul had been requested by incumbent mayor Jutta Steinruck from Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. [7] The report cited among other things Paul's use of the term "remigration", association with far-right groups or individuals such as Martin Sellner, and 2023 party office ban by the state AfD after allegedly showing a white power gesture (per his lawyer, this was later downgraded to a warning by the party court due to a lack of evidence). [8] [9] It also extensively quoted Paul's statements on the Nibelungenlied medieval epic poem and The Lord of the Rings series, whose protagonists he praised for their "deep commitment to their people, their culture, and their forefathers". [8] Paul unsuccessfully appealed the ban twice in court. [10]

The ban received national coverage and led to hate mail and threats against Steinruck, who was put under police protection. [11] Among constitutional lawyers, Volker Boehme-Neßler  [ de ] viewed the ban as politically motivated and a practice "only known in authoritarian states", [12] while Christian Pestalozza  [ de ] called the ban "a legally normal process that was carried out in accordance with the applicable laws". [6]

References

  1. "Bekanntmachung" (PDF). wahlen.rlp.de. 2016-06-11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  2. Lars Geiges, Robert Pausch, Julika Förster: Die AfD vor den Landtagswahlen 2016. Programme, Profile und Potenziale (engl.: The AfD before the 2016 state elections. Programmes, profiles and potentials.) Ein Projekt der Otto Brenner Stiftung, Frankfurt am Main 2016, p. 25.
  3. Joachim Paul AfD parliamentary group in the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
  4. 1 2 "Ludwigshafen: AfD-Kandidat Joachim Paul darf bei OB-Wahl nicht antreten". DER SPIEGEL (in German). 2025-08-05. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  5. Geil, Karin (2019-11-12). "Joachim Paul: Ausschuss in Rheinland-Pfalz wählt AfD-Politiker als Vorsitzenden ab". DIE ZEIT (in German). Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  6. 1 2 Casper, Jan Alexander (2025-08-21). "Fall Joachim Paul: „Politisch wäre mir lieber, wir würden uns einer Auseinandersetzung mit der AfD stellen."". DIE WELT (in German). Archived from the original on 2025-08-20. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  7. "AfD-Kandidat von OB-Wahl ausgeschlossen: Politisches Beben in Ludwigshafen". SWR Aktuell (in German). 2025-08-06. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  8. 1 2 Casper, Jan Alexander (2025-08-15). "Was im Eilantrag steht: So wehrt sich jetzt der ausgeschlossene AfD-Bewerber von Ludwigshafen". DIE WELT (in German). Archived from the original on 2025-08-14. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  9. "AfD verbannt Joachim Paul aus Parteiämtern: Koblenzer Abgeordneter soll White-Power-Gruß gezeigt haben". Rhein-Zeitung (in German). 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  10. "Kein Erfolg vor Gericht: AfD-Politiker bleibt von OB-Wahl ausgeschlossen". SWR Aktuell (in German). 2025-08-25. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  11. "OB-Wahl in Ludwigshafen: Hassmails und Polizeischutz nach AfD-Ausschluss". SWR Aktuell (in German). 2025-08-22. Retrieved 2025-08-27.
  12. "Oberbürgermeisterwahl: Staatsrechtler hält Ausschluss von AfD-Politiker Joachim Paul für politisch motiviert". DIE WELT (in German). 2025-08-08. Retrieved 2025-08-27.