Christine Margarete Anderson (born 29 July 1968) is a German politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.[1] A member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), Anderson is a former activist of the Pegida movement.[2]
Christine Anderson | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of the European Parliament for Germany | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 July 1968 Eschwege, West Germany |
| Political party | AfD (2013–present) |
Background and education
editAnderson was born in Eschwege, Hesse, West Germany.[3] She completed a commercial apprenticeship. She lived in the United States for six years, where she studied economics and worked for a US trading company.[4] Her brother, Ralph Moller, has claimed that Anderson did not complete her studies and that the reported trading company job was actually a sales associate job at an outerwear store.[5]
Political career
editIn 2013 Anderson became a member of Alternative for Germany (AfD). From 2016 to 2018, she was the party's group leader in the Limburg-Weilburg district assembly. She was elected to the European Parliament in the 2019 election.[6] Before the election, she stated her goal was to "lead Germany out of this EU nightmare".[2]
Anderson is a former activist of the anti-Islam, far-right[7] Pegida movement,[2] having participated in Pegida street protests promoting opposition to immigration, specifically Islamic migrants.[8] She has also appeared on Rebel News, where she stated her support for the Canada convoy protest having supported Canadian anti-mandate protesters since 2021.[8]
In the European Parliament, Anderson is a member of the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, and the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age, and a deputy member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection.[9]
Anderson was appointed to the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic, and in a July 2022 session she entered into the record a complaint that there had been too much emphasis upon getting experimental gene therapy treatments into healthy people.[10]
In February 2023, Anderson was pictured alongside three Canadian MPs, Colin Carrie, Leslyn Lewis and Dean Allison, all of whom are members of the Conservative Party. The picture sparked a political controversy in Canada, with several groups, including the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, criticizing the meeting.[11] Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre denounced the meeting, stating: "Frankly, it would be better if Anderson never visited Canada in the first place. She and her racist, hateful views are not welcome here."[12]
Personal life
editReferences
edit- ^ "All chosen in alphabetical order". Der Bundeswahlleiter (in German). Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ a b c "AfD stellt europakritisches Kandidatenteam auf". Spiegel.de (in German). 18 November 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "Christine Anderson: Identity and Democracy Group". europarl.europa.eu. 13 September 2023.
- ^ "AfD Hessen: Direktkandidatin Christine Anderson". Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "Limburg: Lebenslauf der AfD-Spitzenkandidatin wirft Fragen auf". Franfurter Neue Presse (in German). 21 May 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "All chosen in alphabetical order - Der Bundeswahlleiter".
- ^ Shannon Latkin Anderson (19 November 2015). Immigration, Assimilation, and the Cultural Construction of American National Identity. Taylor & Francis. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-317-32875-9.
In Germany, the far-right anti-Islam movement Pegida found massive audience in its anti-Islamic, anti-immigration marches
- ^ a b "European Politicians Who Defended Ottawa Convoy Also Promote Anti-Vaccine and Anti-Immigrant Policies". Press Progress. 25 March 2020.
- ^ Personal profile of Christine Anderson in the European Parliament's database of members
- ^ "European Parliament Multimedia Centre". multimedia.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ Bailey, Ian (24 February 2023). "Conservative MPs criticized for meeting with anti-immigration German politician". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ "Pierre Poilievre denounces Conservative MPs meeting with far-right German politician". CTVNews. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ "The political flight of the AfD-EU member Christine Anderson from Limburg to Fulda". Villmarer Nachrichten (in German). 31 July 2020. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020.
- ^ "MEP Christine Anderson is a new member of the AfD district executive in Fulda". Osthessen Zeitung (in German). 25 October 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
External links
edit- Official website
- Personal profile of Christine Anderson in the European Parliament's database of members