Oskar Freysinger

Oskar Freysinger
Freysinger at the 2011 Geneva Salon du Livre
Member of the National Council of Switzerland Parliament for Valais
In office 1 December 2003 –29 November 2015
Personal details
Born	(1960-06-12) 12 June 1960 (age 65) Sierre, Switzerland
Party	Swiss People's Party
Spouse	Ghislaine Héritier
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Fribourg
Occupation	Author politician teacher
Military service
Rank	Appointé

Oskar Freysinger (born 12 June 1960) is a Swiss author and former politician for the Swiss People's Party, who served as a member of the National Council of Switzerland from 2003 to 2015 ^[1] and as

Background

Freysinger was born in Sierre. ^[2] He studied at a German-speaking school in Sion, and later studied German literature and philosophy, and French literature, obtaining a teaching degree in 1985. He studied at the University of Fribourg. ^[3] He has taught at the Lycée-Collège de la Planta since 1987. ^[3] He is married to Ghislaine Héritier and has three children. ^[3]

Political career

From 1997 and 2001, Freysinger was a communal counselor at Savièse for the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland. ^[3] He co-founded the Valaisan branch of the Swiss People's Party (SVP), which he headed from 1999 to 2002. ^[3] He became a member of the cantonal parliament of Valais from 2001 to 2003, and of the National Council of Switzerland from 2003 until 2015. ^[2]

His main proposals include the revocation of article 261 bis; hold naturalisation by popular vote; expulsion of foreigners convicted of crimes; and strict regulation of drugs. ^[3] He has been considered "a leading anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic figure on the European scene". ^[4]

Freysinger played a crucial role in the 2009 Swiss minaret referendum to ban Islamic mosque minarets, and he participated in a counter-jihad conference in Paris in 2010. ^{[5] [6] [7]} He has also been on the board of advisors of the counter-jihad organisation Stop Islamization of Nations (SION). ^{[8] [9] [10]} He sees Islam as essentially a political religion and therefore subject to secular law. ^[11]

In March 2013, Freysinger was elected to the State Council of Valais ^[12] , the cantonal executive where he led the department of education and Security until 2017 when he lost reelection, becoming the first State Councillor losing reelection in Valais in 80 years ^[13]

Also in 2013, apart from becoming vice-president of the SVP ^[14] , Freysinger was involved in a scandal concerning him keeping a German Reich war flag in his basement. ^[15]

After not seeking reelection to the National Council in 2015 and losing reelection to the Valais State Council in 2017, Freysinger made a quiet exit from the spotlight, writing to a journalist: "I no longer exist". ^[16]

Behind the scenes, Freysinger continued in politics, continuing to serve as vice-president of the SVP until 2018 and coordinating his party's campaign in the french-speaking part of Switzerland for the 2019 federal elections. ^[17]

In 2021, an interview with Freysinger was blocked from Facebook due to it containing conspiracy-theories concerning COVID-19 and vaccines. ^[18]

Bibliography

• Brüchige Welten. Kurzgeschichten, Parabeln, Satiren. Rotten, Visp 2004, ISBN   3-907624-60-2
• Outre-pensées. Matze, Sion 2005, ISBN   2-940375-00-3
• Die Schachspirale. Roman. Matze, Sion 2006, ISBN   2-940375-02-X
• Le nez dans le soleil. Monologue. Matze, Sion 2009, ISBN   978-2-940375-07-3
• Under Pseudonym Janus: Canines: antipolar. Xenia éditions, Sion 2010, ISBN   978-2-88892-103-5
• Antifa. Petit manuel antifasciste. Tatamis, Paris 2011, ISBN   978-2-917617-14-4
• Löwenzahn oder Der alte Mann an der Suone. Weltbild, Olten 2012, ISBN   978-3-03812-442-9
• Wabers Schwarm. Weltbild, Olten 2012, ISBN   978-3-03812-470-2
• Bergfried. Brinkhaus, Horw 2017, ISBN   978-3-906900-11-7
• Die dunkle Seite des Lichts. Brinkhaus, Horw 2018, ISBN   978-3-906900-12-4
• Rote Asche. Roman. Brinkhaus, Horw 2018, ISBN   978-3-906900-20-9
• Übung allein macht keinen Meister. Brinkhaus, Horw 2019, ISBN   9783906900209
• Nachtwehen. Ein Briefroman Brinkhaus, Horw 2019, ISBN   978-3-906900-23-0
• Waterman: A Sandy Tale. Wipf and Stock 2022, ISBN   9781666731781
• Svalbard. Roman Brinkhaus, Horw 2023, ISBN   978-3-906900-31-5

References

1. "Oskar Freysinger". Federal Assembly . Retrieved 8 May 2024.
2. "Freysinger Oskar". Federal Assembly. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010.
3. "Présentation". ofreysinger.ch. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009.
4. Nilsson, Per-Erik (2015). "'Secular Retaliation': A Case Study of Integralist Populism, Anti-Muslim Discourse, and (Il)liberal Discourse on Secularism in Contemporary France" . Politics, Religion & Ideology. 16 (1): 87–106. doi:10.1080/21567689.2015.1012160.
5. Hannus, Martha (2012). Counterjihadrörelsen– en del av den antimuslimska miljön (PDF) (in Swedish). Expo Research. p. 47. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2024.
6. Engelhart, Katie (30 November 2013). "The rise of the far right in Europe". Maclean's.
7. "Freysinger Feted As a Hero At Paris Counterjihad Conference on 18 December 2010". International Civil Liberties Alliance. 24 December 2010.
8. Berntzen, Lars Erik (2019). Liberal Roots of Far Right Activism: The Anti-Islamic Movement in the 21st Century. Routledge. p. 50. ISBN   9781000707960.
9. Othen, Christopher (2018). Soldiers of a Different God: How the Counter-Jihad Movement Created Mayhem, Murder and the Trump Presidency. Amberley. p. 271. ISBN   9781445678009.
10. "Stop Islamization of Nations (SION) Calls on UN to Protect Christians of Syria". Press Release from PR Newswire . Reuters. 20 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
11. Stéphane Kovacs (February 12, 2009). "Oskar Freysinger, le pourfendeur des minarets". Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
12. Sitten, Luzius Theler (19 March 2013). "Varones Erleichterung über das türkische Urteil | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 4 December 2025.
13. Bote, 1815 ch, Walliser (19 March 2017). "Freysinger abgewählt - Schmidt Erster". www.1815.ch. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
14. "Oskar Freysinger". SVP Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 4 December 2025.
15. Wurz, Jeannie Wurz, Jeannie (28 March 2013). "Politician's German war flag attracts criticism". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
16. "Oskar Freysingers Abgang - Das stille Ende eines lauten Politikers". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). Retrieved 4 December 2025.
17. "Fédérales 2019 : Oskar Freysinger de retour, mais en coulisses". Fédérales 2019 : Oskar Freysinger de retour, mais en coulisses (in French). Retrieved 4 December 2025.
18. News, Le (12 November 2021). "Former Swiss parliamentarian blocked by Facebook for posting conspiracy theories". Le News. Retrieved 4 December 2025.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)

External links

• Official page at National Council of Switzerland
• Official website (defunct)