Andreas Kalbitz Explained

Andreas Kalbitz
Office:Leader of the Opposition in the Landtag of Brandenburg
Term Start:25 September 2019
Term End:18 August 2020
Predecessor:Ingo Senftleben
Successor:Hans-Christoph Berndt
Office1:Leader of the Alternative for Germany in Brandenburg
Term Start1:8 April 2017
Term End1:15 May 2020
Predecessor1:Alexander Gauland
Successor1:vacant
Office2:Leader of Alternative for Germany in the Landtag of Brandenburg
Term Start2:7 November 2017
Term End2:18 August 2020
Predecessor2:Alexander Gauland
Successor2:Hans-Christoph Berndt
Office3:Member of the Landtag of Brandenburg
Term Start3:8 October 2014
Constituency3:State Wide Party List
Birth Name:Andreas Edwin Kalbitz
Birth Date:17 November 1972
Birth Place:Munich, Bavaria, West Germany
Children:3
Alma Mater:Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences (no degree)
Allegiance: Germany
Branch: Bundeswehr
Serviceyears:1994–2005
Rank: Oberfeldwebel
Unit:Army (Heer)

Andreas Kalbitz (born 17 November 1972) is a German politician and was from 2013 to 2020 member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and since 2017 chairman of the faction of his former party in the Landtag of Brandenburg, a state parliament.[1]

Life and politics

Kalbitz was born 1972 in Munich and became a paratrooper in the Bundeswehr, the German federal army from 1994 until 2005.[2] His claims that in 2008 he had studied German: Informatik (computer science) proved false in 2017.[3] Kalbitz was member of various extremist right-wing organisations before he entered the newly founded AfD in 2013.[1] One of those extremist right-wing organisations, a banned neo-Nazi group called German Youths Loyal to the Fatherland, became the reason he was expelled from the party as he allegedly declined to notify the party while joining in 2013.[4]

In May 2020, Kalbitz was removed as Brandenburg Landtag chairman by the party leadership after he was accused of concealing ties to far-right extremist groups. He was succeeded by provisional leader .[5] Also in May, the AfD annulled the membership of Kalbitz, who in response vowed to "exhaust all legal options" to overrule the decision.[6] In an interview the same month, co-spokesman of the AfD Jörg Meuthen emphasized that the decision had been made on legal rather than political grounds.[7]

In August 2020, Kalbitz punched Hohloch while inside the Brandenburg parliament building, causing Hohloch to be admitted to hospital with internal injuries.[8] [9]

He has participated in Pegida rallies in the early 2020s alongside Björn Höcke among others, both before and after he was expelled from the AfD.[10] [11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kalbitz gibt Teilnahme an rechtsextremem Lager zu. Süddeutsche Zeitung. 6 April 2018. 14 July 2021. 21 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210121155302/https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/rechtsextremismus-brandenburger-afd-chef-gibt-teilnahme-an-rechtsextremem-lager-zu-1.3895363. live.
  2. Web site: Kalbitz geriet als Soldat ins Visier des MAD. Matthias. Gebauer. Ann-Katrin. Müller. Der Spiegel. 8 November 2019. 14 July 2021. de. 30 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210730103852/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-andreas-kalbitz-geriet-als-soldat-ins-visier-des-mad-a-1295491.html. live.
  3. Web site: Andreas Kalbitz schönt seinen Lebenslauf. Jürgen. Lauterbach. MAZ - Märkische Allgemeine. 30 September 2017. 14 July 2021. de. 26 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210726053250/https://www.maz-online.de/Lokales/Brandenburg-Havel/Andreas-Kalbitz-schoent-seinen-Lebenslauf. live.
  4. News: Oltermann . Philip . Suspended AfD politician's 'friendly' punch put colleague in hospital . The Guardian . 18 August 2020 . 18 August 2020.
  5. News: Punch throws Germany's AfD into uproar. Financial Times. 24 August 2020. 24 August 2020. 24 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200824064459/https://www.ft.com/content/b8d27948-88c9-4b29-94ce-402001f63a2b. live.
  6. Web site: Germany's populist AfD party boots far-right leader Kalbitz. Deutsche Welle. 15 May 2020. 14 July 2021. 13 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210713232212/https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-populist-afd-party-boots-far-right-leader-kalbitz/a-53458896. live.
  7. Web site: "Es ging um eine rechtliche, nicht um eine politische Beurteilung" (Interview with Jörg Meuthen). Philipp. May. Deutschlandfunk. 16 May 2020. 14 July 2021. de. 13 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210713232209/https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/kalbitz-rauswurf-aus-der-afd-es-ging-um-eine-rechtliche.694.de.html?dram:article_id=476809. live.
  8. Web site: AfD-Mann im Krankenhaus: Kalbitz verletzt Parteifreund mit Boxschlag zur Begrüßung. Jan. Sternberg. RND. 17 August 2020. 14 July 2021. de. 13 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210713105925/https://www.rnd.de/politik/kalbitz-schlagt-afd-mann-hohloch-zur-begrussung-parteifreund-liegt-mit-inneren-verletzungen-im-krankenhaus-KFHXHWUUUZBG5BPLBNSAG2F6VM.html. live.
  9. Web site: Suspended AfD politician's 'friendly' punch put colleague in hospital. Philip. Oltermann. The Guardian. 18 August 2020. 20 May 2022. en. 20 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220520074442/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/18/suspended-afd-politician-andreas-kalbitz-friendly-punch-put-colleague-in-hospital. live.
  10. News: Sturm um Höcke. Doreen. Reinhard. Zeit Online. 18 February 2020. de.
  11. News: Starker Protest gegen Pegida-Kundgebung in Dresden. MDR. 7 November 2023. de.