Tino Chrupalla facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tino Chrupalla
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Chrupalla in 2025
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| Leader of the Opposition | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2025 Serving with Alice Weidel
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| Chancellor | Friedrich Merz |
| Preceded by | Friedrich Merz |
| Leader of the Alternative for Germany in the Bundestag |
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| Assumed office 30 September 2021 Serving with Alice Weidel
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| Deputy | Peter Felser Leif-Erik Holm Sebastian Münzenmaier Beatrix von Storch |
| Chief Whip | Bernd Baumann |
| Preceded by | Alexander Gauland |
| Leader of the Alternative for Germany | |
| Assumed office 30 November 2019 Serving with Alice Weidel
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| Deputy | Stephan Brandner Peter Boehringer Mariana Harder-Kühnel |
| Preceded by | Alexander Gauland |
| Member of the Bundestag for Görlitz |
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| Assumed office 24 October 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Michael Kretschmer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 April 1975 Weißwasser, Bezirk Cottbus, East Germany |
| Political party | Alternative for Germany |
| Children | 3 |
Tino Chrupalla (born 14 April 1975) is a German politician. He is a member of the German parliament, called the Bundestag, since 2017. Since 2019, he has been a co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, working alongside Alice Weidel.
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About Tino Chrupalla
Tino Chrupalla was born on April 14, 1975, in Weißwasser, which was then part of East Germany. He trained to be a professional house painter. In 2003, he became a master painter and later owned his own construction company. He is married and has three children.
In March 2020, a car on his property caught fire. Local police thought it might have been set on purpose, but this was never proven. Chrupalla said it was an attack on his family.
In October 2023, Chrupalla was taken to the hospital. This happened just before he was going to give a speech at a political event. There were reports of a possible attack, but police said it was not clear what happened. They investigated the incident.
His Political Journey
Tino Chrupalla first joined a youth political group linked to the CDU in the 1990s. In 2015, he joined the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The next year, he was elected to a local committee for the party in Görlitz.
In the 2017 German federal election, he won a seat in the Bundestag. He became a member of the German parliament.
Chrupalla is one of the main leaders of the AfD group in the Bundestag. Before the 2021 German federal election, he was a top candidate for the AfD. On September 30, 2021, he was chosen to lead the AfD group in the Bundestag with Alice Weidel. He took over this role from Alexander Gauland.
His Political Ideas
General Views
Some news sources have described Tino Chrupalla as one of the more moderate members of his party in the Bundestag. He has often talked about the importance of border security. He believes Germany should have stronger border controls to help reduce crime.
Chrupalla has also encouraged members of his party to work together. He wants them to stop having disagreements within the party.
In 2019, during a debate about the fall of the Berlin Wall, Chrupalla made a strong statement. He suggested that former Chancellor Angela Merkel had learned how to control people using propaganda. He said this was from her time in a youth group in East Germany.
Views on Russia, USA, and Ukraine
In 2017, Chrupalla asked for an end to the economic penalties placed on Russia. These penalties were put in place after Russia took over Crimea in 2014. He said that the economy in his local area was being hurt by these penalties.
In February 2020, Chrupalla spoke about the Bombing of Dresden during World War II. He questioned the number of deaths that historians had found. He suggested the number was much higher, based on stories from relatives. Historians disagreed with his numbers. They said his figures came from old propaganda.
In June 2021, Chrupalla visited Moscow with other AfD members. They laid a wreath to remember the 80th anniversary of Germany's attack on the Soviet Union. He said it was important to show a sign of peace. Later, he gave a speech in Moscow. He talked about the "psychological warfare" of the Western Allies after World War II. He also compared their policies to Nazi propaganda.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Chrupalla said that the war had "several fathers." He suggested that NATO and the German government also played a role. He also said that Russian President Putin was "not a war criminal." He believed that courts should decide this after the war. Chrupalla also said that some American presidents were "war criminals," mentioning George W. Bush and the Iraq War.
Chrupalla is against sending weapons to Ukraine. He believes that weapons would not end the conflict. Instead, he thinks they would make it last longer. He has called for a ceasefire and peace talks as soon as possible. He also suggested that the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines might have benefited the USA. He said the USA wanted to sell expensive gas to Germany.
In January 2023, when Germany decided to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Chrupalla warned about it. He said it could lead to World War III. In March 2023, he stated in the Bundestag that Russia and Ukraine were both losing the war. He believed the USA was the only winner.
In May 2023, he went to a reception at the Embassy of Russia, Berlin. This was for Russian Victory Day. He wore a tie with the colors of the Russian flag. He later clarified that he did not thank the Russian ambassador for the liberation from National Socialism. He said that Russia's victory over Germany seemed fine to him. He noted that Russians left Germany in 1994. He also said that Americans stayed and kept Germany economically dependent.
In 2024, Chrupalla and Alice Weidel did not attend a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Bundestag. They said they would not listen to a speaker "in camouflage." They also said Zelensky's term had "expired." Chrupalla supports peace talks for the war in Ukraine. He believes Russia should be part of these talks.
In December 2024, Chrupalla questioned Germany's membership in NATO. He said a defense group should consider the interests of all European countries, including Russia. He also called on the German government to accept that Russia had "won this war" in Ukraine.
In January 2025, Chrupalla accepted an invitation from the Republican Party. He attended the second inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. In February 2025, some high-ranking AfD members criticized Chrupalla's views on Russia.
Views on China
Chrupalla has spoken against limiting Chinese technology. In 2023, he supported Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang's efforts to help bring peace to Ukraine.
Views on Serbia
In November 2023, Chrupalla met with the leader of a Serbian party called Oathkeepers. The Serbian leader visited the Bundestag in Berlin. She said the AfD was leading a strong, independent option in Germany.
Views on Israel
In 2024, the AfD changed its position on Israel. Chrupalla called for an end to Germany's current relationship with Israel. He described it as "one-sided." He also wanted to stop sending weapons to Israel during the Gaza war. This decision caused some disagreement within the AfD party.
Views on COVID-19
In August 2020, Chrupalla did not clearly distance himself from a former AfD leader. He said he had not seen any extremism in him. Chrupalla also spoke against making masks mandatory during the COVID-19 pandemic. He believed wearing masks should be a choice. He said there were different ideas about how well masks worked. He also thought the lockdown in spring 2020 was too strict.
In August 2021, Chrupalla expressed doubts about how effective coronavirus vaccinations were. He said he heard about people getting sick even after being vaccinated. He also questioned how long immunity would last.
In December 2021, Chrupalla was against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations. He said vaccination made sense for older people and those who were already sick. When a TV host said that many COVID-19 patients in intensive care were unvaccinated, Chrupalla claimed these numbers were not confirmed. He blamed budget cuts and fewer medical departments for hospitals being overwhelmed.
Historical Discussions
In February 2020, Chrupalla again spoke about the bombing of Dresden in 1945. He questioned the number of deaths found by historians. He suggested a much higher number, based on stories from people who were there. Historians Rolf-Dieter Müller and Sven Felix Kellerhoff criticized his statements. They said his numbers came from Joseph Goebbels' propaganda. They also said his numbers were used by people who try to change history. A politician who experienced the Dresden bombings as a child also disagreed with Chrupalla. He accused Chrupalla and the AfD of using the victims' suffering for political reasons.
In September 2021, Chrupalla said that German poems and folk songs should be taught more in schools. When a children's reporter asked him his favorite German poem, he could not think of one right away. He later named Heinrich Heine as a favorite poet. This part of the interview was shared widely online.
In February 2023, Chrupalla laid a wreath at a memorial with the Russian Ambassador. This was for the anniversary of a battle in World War II. The Russian Embassy said they were remembering soldiers who fought against German Nazism. Chrupalla said he found the Russian Embassy's statement "unfortunate" from the AfD's point of view.
See also
In Spanish: Tino Chrupalla para niños
