Birger Gröning (born 1975 in Schwerin) is a German politician from Thuringia. Previously representing the Alternative for Germany and Citizens for Thuringia, he has been an independent politician since 2022.

Birger Gröning in 2022

Life

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Gröning completed an apprenticeship as a hotel specialist with the additional qualification of a training qualification in 1995. From 1995 to 2005 he was in the German Army as a sergeant in the air force security force and staff service. He then became a physiotherapist and worked in a rehabilitation clinic.[1]

On 27 October 2019, he was elected to the Thuringian state parliament for the AfD as a direct candidate in the Gotha I constituency. On 23 March 2022, he announced his resignation from the AfD parliamentary group in the Thuringian state parliament and the party.[2]

On June 20, 2022, Gröning founded the Citizens for Thuringia parliamentary group together with former Free Democrat MP Ute Bergner [de] and the two former AfD MPs Lars Schütze and Tosca Kniese [de]. Two days later, the application for parliamentary recognition was submitted to the president of the Thuringian State Parliament,[3] which was accepted by the Parliament in the July plenary session.[4] In December 2022, Gröning resigned from the Citizens for Thuringia party and state parliamentary group, thus pre-empting a party expulsion procedure.[5] Since then he has sat in the Landtag as an independent member.

In the 2024 Brandenburg state election, Gröning will run as an independent in the constituency of Gotha II.[6]

Gröning is married and lives in Gotha.

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References

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  1. ^ "Birger Gröning" (in German). Archived from the original on 2020-02-06. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  2. ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung (23 March 2022). "Birger Gröning erklärt Austritt aus Thüringer AfD-Fraktion" (in German). Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  3. ^ "Gründung der parlamentarische Gruppe "Bürger für Thüringen"". Internetpräsenz "Bürger für Thüringen". 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  4. ^ "Bürger für Thüringen als neue parlamentarische Gruppe im Landtag anerkannt". Internetpräsenz der "Bürger für Thüringen". 2022-07-16. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  5. ^ "Landespolitik: Partei Bürger für Thüringen: Gröning und Schütze ausgetreten". zeit.de. 2022-12-20. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  6. ^ "Landtags-Wahlkreis Gotha II: Das sind die Direktkandidaten". mdr.de. 2024-08-09. Retrieved 2024-08-16.