Who is Alice Weidel? All the facts about Germany’s far-right AfD leader and her girlfriend
Alice Weidel (L) has been with her girlfriend Sarah Bossard since 2009 (Getty/Instagram)
Germany’s federal elections took place this weekend, with the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) winning overall and set to form a coalition government.
Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right organisation, received its highest number of votes ever, becoming the country’s second largest party.
It is the first time since World War Two that a far-right party has finished second in a national election in Germany, but it is unlikely that they will be part of the new government.
The AfD’s campaign was dominated by discussions about immigration, violent crime, and rising energy prices, with the party focusing on what it calls “traditional family values.”
It was founded in 2013 in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis as a party. “focused on economic issues and matters of German fiscal sovereignty” but quickly pivoted to focus on migration in 2015 when Germany accepted over one million asylum seekers.
Support for the AfD has continued to grow in the last 12 years, and is now led by an unlikely person: a lesbian woman raising two sons with her girlfriend.
Here’s everything you need to know about AfD leader Alice Weidel.
When did Alice Weidel join the AfD?
Weidel joined the party in October 2013, previously saying she was first attracted to the party due to her opposition to the Euro.
Since then, her profile in the party has grown. In 2015, she was elected to the federal executive committee of the AfD and has led the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag since 2017.
Weidel was elected as co-chairwoman of the party, alongside Tino Chrupalla, in 2022, becoming the first lesbian to serve as leader of the party.
Alice Weidel’s grandfather was Hans Weidel, a prominent Nazi judge who was appointed directly by Adolf Hitler. Hans Weidel was responsible for sentencing opponents of the Third Reich.
Who is Alice Weidel’s girlfriend Sarah Bossard?
Alice Weidel has been a relationship with her partner Sarah Bossard since 2009.
Bossard is a Sri Lankan-born film producer who was adopted as a child by a Swiss couple. Bossard’s work often “delves into themes that may not resonate with the conservative views espoused by the AfD”, according to the Munich Eye.
Weidel and Bossard share two children: both boys, who they adopted. Despite raising her sons in a lesbian relationship, Weidel has previously praised the importance of children being brought up as part of a traditional, nuclear family unit featuring a father and mother.
She has said legalising gay marriage is unimportant, and the couple are not married after 17 years together.
Weidel has also defended her role within the AfD and stated that her sexuality does not conflict with the party’s traditional values.
Where do Alice Weidel and her girlfriend live?
Weidel and Bossard live with their children in Einsiedeln, Switzerland. Alice Weidel splits her time between Berlin – where she works – and Switzerland and lists her official residence as being in her electoral district in Überlingen, Germany.
Weidel was born in Gutersloh – a town halfway between Dortmund and Hanover – and later studied in Bayreuth.
She also worked for Goldman Sachs and the Bank of China prior to turning to politics, living in China for six years.
What controversies has Alice Weidel been involved in?
Weidel has often been outspoken about her views. Despite originally joining the party due to economic policies, she has endorsed and championed the party’s move towards the far-right and its focus on migration and German nationalism.
She previously said that immigrants were made up of “burqas, girls in headscarves, knife-wielding men on government benefits and other good-for-nothing people”, which led to criticism from political rivals in Germany but respect from other right-wing people.
Weidel has also demanded “large-scale repatriation of foreigners” and claimed that Germany is the real victim of the war in Ukraine.
She also previously questioned the point of Covid vaccines, cast doubt on climate change, and spoke about the “great replacement” theory, which falsely claims that white people are being “replaced” by immigrants.
Recently, during a chat with Elon Musk, Weidel claimed that the Nazis were “not right-wing” and said that Hitler was “a communist, socialist guy”. This is blatantly untrue as communists and socialists were regularly persecuted under the Nazi regime.
Just last week though, Weidel ignited a fresh wave of controversy when she appeared on German broadcaster ARD for an interview and claimed that Germany’s Holocaust remembrance culture is a “guilt cult”.
She also described the repeated association of her party with Holocaust remembrance as “annoying”, doubling down on the party’s discomfort with confronting the country’s Nazi past.
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