Stephan Brandner
Stephan Brandner (born 29 May 1966 in Herten, Westphalia) is a German lawyer and politician affiliated with the Alternative for Germany (AfD), serving as the party's deputy federal spokesman and as a member of the Bundestag for the Gera – Altenburger Land constituency since 2017.[1][2][3] Prior to entering politics, Brandner completed his Abitur in 1987 and trained as an industrial clerk from 1987 to 1990 at Klöckner-Becorit GmbH in Castrop-Rauxel, later qualifying as a lawyer.[1][2] Elected to the 19th Bundestag in 2017, he represented AfD's positions on legal and domestic policy issues, including initiatives against political Islamism and for stricter immigration controls.[4] Brandner chaired the Bundestag's Committee on Legal Affairs until his removal by a cross-party vote in November 2019, prompted by social media statements deemed anti-Semitic by other parliamentarians.[5][6] His tenure has included multiple instances of parliamentary immunity being lifted for investigations into potential offenses related to speech, reflecting ongoing tensions between AfD members and established political norms.[7][8] In 2023, he unsuccessfully ran for vice president of the Bundestag.[9]Early Life and Professional Background
Education and Early Career
Stephan Brandner was born on 29 May 1966 in Herten, a town in the industrial Ruhr region of Westphalia.[2] [10] He obtained his Abitur, the German high school diploma qualifying for university entrance, in 1987 from the Städtisches Gymnasium Herten.[2] [11] From 1987 to 1990, Brandner completed an apprenticeship as an Industriekaufmann (industrial clerk) at Klöckner-Becorit GmbH, a manufacturing firm specializing in pipe production, located in Castrop-Rauxel.[2] [12] This vocational training provided him with hands-on experience in business operations within Germany's heavy industry sector, followed by a brief period of employment at the same company.[13] Subsequently, Brandner pursued higher education, studying law at the University of Regensburg from 1990 to 1994 and passing his second state bar examination (Zweites Staatsexamen) in 1998, which qualified him to practice as a Rechtsanwalt (attorney-at-law).[13] [10] This progression from vocational training in industry to legal qualification underscores a trajectory rooted in practical economic experience before professional specialization.[2]Legal Practice and Pre-Political Involvement
Stephan Brandner qualified as a Rechtsanwalt (lawyer) in 1997 following his completion of legal studies at the University of Regensburg and referendariat periods in Memmingen, Kempten im Allgäu, and Munich.[2] He initially established his practice in Munich before relocating to Gera in Thuringia, where he continued his professional activities.[2] [10] From 2003 to 2015, Brandner served as a member of the executive board of the Rechtsanwaltskammer Thüringen (Thuringian Bar Association), contributing to the administration and oversight of legal standards and professional conduct within the state's attorney community.[11] [10] This role highlighted his engagement in the institutional framework of the German legal profession prior to his political involvement.[2] Brandner's pre-political civic engagements were primarily tied to his professional sphere, including his earlier vocational training as an Industriekaufmann (industrial clerk) completed in 1987, which informed his subsequent legal work potentially intersecting with commercial matters, though specific case details remain undocumented in public records.[12] No records indicate formalized non-professional advocacy or community leadership in the Gera region before his AfD affiliation in November 2013.[2]Political Career
Entry into Politics and AfD Affiliation
Stephan Brandner, a lawyer based in Gera, Thuringia, transitioned from private practice to politics by joining the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in November 2013, shortly after the party's national founding in February of that year.[2][10] The AfD emerged as a Euroskeptic response to the Eurozone debt crisis, criticizing unconditional bailouts for countries like Greece and emphasizing national fiscal sovereignty over supranational EU mechanisms that, critics argued, imposed asymmetric burdens on German taxpayers.[2] Brandner had previously been a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) until around 2010, reflecting disillusionment with the mainstream center-right's accommodation of EU integration amid empirical evidence of rising German contributions to rescue packages exceeding €200 billion by 2013.[2] In Thuringia, an eastern German state grappling with post-reunification economic challenges—including deindustrialization that left manufacturing employment 20% below pre-1990 levels and youth unemployment rates double the national average—Brandner co-founded the AfD's state branch in 2013.[10] This local engagement capitalized on regional skepticism toward established parties, which had overseen persistent structural weaknesses despite federal transfers totaling over €2 trillion to eastern states since 1990, yielding uneven convergence in living standards. Brandner's motivations aligned with the AfD's foundational critique of policies prioritizing international commitments over domestic economic realism, including early concerns over uncontrolled migration's fiscal costs, estimated at €20-30 billion annually for integration by mid-decade analyses. The AfD's rapid organizational buildup in Thuringia, where Brandner served on the state executive from October 2014 to October 2017, contrasted sharply with the inertia of legacy parties like the CDU and SPD, whose coalitions had failed to stem eastern Germany's outward migration of over 1 million working-age residents since 2000.[10] This groundwork positioned the party to channel discontent amplified by the 2015 migrant influx, during which over 1 million arrivals exposed gaps in mainstream vetting and resource allocation, prompting empirical reassessments of open-border policies' sustainability without corresponding sovereignty safeguards. Brandner's early role underscored the AfD's appeal as a causal alternative, prioritizing verifiable national interests over ideological commitments to perpetual EU expansion.[10]Electoral Successes and Bundestag Roles
Stephan Brandner secured a direct mandate in the 2017 German federal election as the AfD candidate for constituency 194 (Gera – Greiz – Altenburger Land), entering the Bundestag as one of the party's early direct winners in eastern Germany.[14] He retained this seat in the 2021 election, with the AfD obtaining 29.0% of the first votes (Erststimmen) in the constituency, outperforming rivals including the incumbent CDU candidate.[15][16] In the 2025 federal election, following a constituency renumbering to 193, Brandner defended the direct mandate with 44.8% of the first votes, reflecting AfD's strengthened position in Thuringia where the party captured over 40% in the district.[17][18] These repeated victories, with escalating margins, empirically demonstrate robust regional voter alignment in an area of persistent AfD strength, evidenced by the party's dominance in local first-vote tallies.| Election Year | Constituency Number | First Votes for AfD/Brandner (%) | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 194 | Direct mandate secured | Elected |
| 2021 | 194 | 29.0 | Direct mandate retained |
| 2025 | 193 | 44.8 | Direct mandate retained |