Wilhelm von Gottberg | |
|---|---|
 Wilhelm von Gottberg | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 March 1940 Groß Klitten, Province of East Prussia, Free State of Prussia, German Reich (today Pravdinsky District, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia) |
| Political party | Alternative for Germany (from 2016) |
| Other political affiliations | Christian Democratic Union (until 2016) |
| Children | 6 |
Wilhelm von Gottberg (born 30 March 1940) is a German politician of the Alternative for Germany. [1]
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Wilhelm von Gottberg was born in 1940, the son of Hans Heinrich von Gottberg (1900–1973) and his wife Gertrud, née Freiin von der Goltz (1908–1997). He was descended of two noble families, the Gottberg family and the Von der Goltz family. [2] He was born in Woopen in Landkreis Bartenstein (now Poland), East Prussia. His family fled from East Prussia during World War II. [3]
Gottberg is president of the Territorial Association of East Prussia (since 1992) and Vice President of the Federation of Expellees (since 1992) in Germany. He is also a member of the board of the Ostpreußische Kulturstiftung, and was mayor of the community of Schnega in Lower Saxony. Gottberg used to be a member of the Christian Democratic Union, but joined the Alternative for Germany in 2016. [4]
He ran in the 2017 Bundestag elections on the AfD list from Lower Saxony and was elected, making him the oldest member of the Bundestag, thus making him eligible to be the President by right of age of the Bundestag, who will also address the opening session. However, due to his Holocaust denialism comments, the rules were changed to prevent him from holding that role, instead the right would go to the member with the longest-serving member of the Bundestag, who at the time was Wolfgang Schäuble of CDU, two years Gottberg's junior. [5] [6]
