Frauke Petry

Frauke Petry emerged from outside the political establishment, a businesswoman with a PhD in chemistry, to become the face of Germany's new right. She was a founding member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in 2013, initially a eurosceptic protest party. As co-chair from 2015, she harnessed public anxiety during the refugee crisis, sharpening the party's tone on immigration and Islam. Her cool, media-trained demeanor helped normalize the AfD, propelling it into state parliaments and, ultimately, the Bundestag in 2017. Yet, Petry's story is defined by a stunning rupture. On the very day of that historic federal election victory, she announced she would not sit with the AfD parliamentary group, condemning the party's increasingly radical flank. She briefly formed her own faction before leaving parliament altogether, becoming a political independent. Her arc—from builder to critic—illustrates the internal tensions of populist movements and the personal cost of navigating their ascent.