Jörg Meuthen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Professor Jörg Meuthen
Meuthen in 2015
Leader of the Alternative for Germany
In office 5 July 2015 – 28 January 2022 Serving with Tino Chrupalla
Preceded by	Bernd Lucke
Succeeded by	Alice Weidel
Leader of the Alternative for Germany in the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg
In office 11 October 2016 – 8 November 2017
Chief Whip	Anton Baron
Preceded by	Heiner Merz
Succeeded by	Bernd Gögel
In office 16 March 2016 – 6 July 2016
Chief Whip	Bernd Grimmer
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Heiner Merz
Member of the European Parliament for Germany
In office 8 November 2017 – 17 July 2024
Preceded by	Beatrix von Storch
Member of the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg for Backnang
In office 11 May 2016 – 31 December 2017
Preceded by	multi-member district
Succeeded by	Markus Widenmeyer (2018)
Constituency	Alternative for Germany list
Personal details
Born	Jörg Hubert Meuthen (1961-06-29) 29 June 1961 (age 64) Essen, West Germany (now Germany)
Political party	Values Union (September 2024 – present)
Other political affiliations	Christian Democratic Union (1977) Alternative for Germany (2013–2022) Zentrum (2022–2023)
Spouse	Natalia Zvekic ​ (m. 2018)​
Children	5
Alma mater	University of Münster (no degree) University of Mainz University of Cologne (Dr. rer. pol.)
Occupation	Economist Politician Public Servant Professor

Jörg Hubert Meuthen (born 29 June 1961) is a German economist and politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Germany from 2017 until 2024.

He was a main leader for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the 2016 state election in Baden-Württemberg. He served as a Member of Parliament and a parliamentary leader from March 2016. Meuthen was also a top candidate for the AfD in the 2019 European Parliament election. He led the AfD party from July 2015 until he resigned in January 2022. He left the party because of disagreements with some of its more extreme members. After leaving the AfD, he joined the German Centre Party from June 2022 to September 2023. He then served as an independent MEP for the rest of his term.

About Jörg Meuthen

Jörg Meuthen is a professor who teaches about economics and finance at the Academy of Kehl. He first supported the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP). Later, he joined the AfD because he disagreed with the European Union (this is called euroscepticism). He strongly believes in economic liberalism, which means he thinks the economy should have less government control. He is married to Natalia Zvekic.

His Political Journey

Meuthen led the AfD in the 2016 regional elections in Baden-Württemberg. He became a member of the state parliament and a leader there in March 2016. In November 2017, he became a member of the European Parliament. He was re-elected as an MEP in May 2019. He was part of a group in the European Parliament called Identity and Democracy (ID).

Meuthen wanted the AfD to be seen as a more moderate, center-right party. However, he faced challenges from a far-right group within the party called 'The Wing' (Der Flügel) in 2020. He tried to remove one of its leaders, Björn Höcke, because of his very extreme views, but he was not successful. This caused more disagreements within the party. Some people thought Meuthen was trying to change the AfD's image to keep his position as a top candidate. At a party meeting in November 2020, some members booed him, and nearly half voted to criticize him.

In September 2019, a film fund in Germany fired its CEO because of a meeting with Jörg Meuthen that caused controversy.

In October 2021, Meuthen announced he would not run for party leadership again. In January 2022, he said he would leave his official roles and the AfD. He explained that the party had moved too far to the right for him.

Political Ideas

When the AfD party was new, Meuthen was seen as part of its more economically liberal and moderate side. He has said he believes in economic freedom but is "pretty conservative" on other issues. After Frauke Petry became the AfD chairwoman, Meuthen seemed to align with the party's more right-wing members. In 2016, he supported a "conservative reformation" in Germany. He also spoke against what he saw as the lasting influence of the 1960s student movement on German politics. He has said he opposes extreme elements within the AfD. He also holds national-conservative views. Some news reports have described his words as being against migrants and Muslims. The Financial Times newspaper called Meuthen a "populist" but noted that he presented a more moderate image compared to other AfD spokespeople.

Views on the European Union

In 2015, Meuthen said he did not "hate Europe." However, he was against the Eurozone, which is the group of countries that use the Euro currency. He believed the Euro had "ruined" European unity. In 2019, he argued that the European People's Party had become too left-leaning. He also criticized their decision to remove Viktor Orban's Fidesz party.

Views on Immigration

Meuthen has spoken against the immigration and asylum policies under former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. At an AfD party meeting in 2016, he said that Germany should not allow so many immigrants that the country would become unrecognizable. He stated that Germany's main culture is Christian-Western, not Islam. He also said that the call to prayer from a mosque should not be as common as Christian church bells.

Meuthen has argued that people seeking asylum should get temporary permits to live in Germany, not full citizenship or permanent residency.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Meuthen suggested that Germany should temporarily stop being part of the Schengen agreement. He believed that open borders were helping the virus spread.

Foreign Policy Views

Meuthen has shown support for Israel. He has also asked the German government to ban Hezbollah, a militant group based in Lebanon.

After Leaving the AfD

On January 28, 2022, Jörg Meuthen announced he would resign as party chairman and leave the AfD.

He explained that he had lost the struggle over the political direction of the AfD. Meuthen said the party had moved too far to the right. He felt it was no longer in line with Germany's basic democratic principles.

In 2024, Meuthen gave an interview to the Financial Times. He talked about his time as the AfD's leader and the party's direction. Meuthen said he had hoped the AfD would be a "liberal conservative movement." He wanted it to oppose EU integration and mass immigration. However, he felt the party's more extreme far-right members gained more influence. He stayed in the party for a while because he thought it was "the only chance to do something" to change German politics.

In the interview, he mentioned talking with Marine Le Pen about how to remove extreme members from a party. He also said that removing controversial members in the AfD was harder due to German law. He claimed he voted against removing Björn Höcke to avoid dividing the party. He thought 'The Wing' group would not become popular because voters would see it as too extreme. However, he later felt this decision was "a complete error." Meuthen said he finally quit the party when he could not fire a senior member who had praised very extreme views. He still believed Germany needed stronger policies on immigration, Islamism, and the EU. But he felt the AfD could not make a difference because other parties refused to work with it.

Joining the Centre Party

In June 2022, he joined the Centre Party.

Meuthen left the Centre Party in September 2023. He said he disagreed with the party's views on how the government should operate.

See also

In Spanish: Jörg Meuthen para niños