Archive · 8 Sep 2026
Who Is Alice Weidel, AfD Leader Driving Germany’s Far-Right Rise
Alice Weidel is one of the leaders of Germany’s AfD party.
The party has become known for opposing immigration and same-sex marriage.
Weidel is openly lesbian and is married to a woman who was born in Sri Lanka.
They are raising two children, mainly in Switzerland.
Before entering politics, Weidel worked in finance and studied China’s pension system.
She joined the AfD in 2013 when it opposed Eurozone bailouts.
The party later adopted stronger anti-immigration and socially conservative positions.
Weidel says her party can protect gay people by reducing immigration, especially from groups she associates with violence against gays.
Her personal identity and her party’s policies have made her a controversial figure.
Alice Weidel is the co-leader of the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, a party described as anti-immigrant and opposed to same-sex marriage.
Weidel is openly lesbian, married to a Sri Lankan-born filmmaker, and raising two children primarily in Einsiedeln, Switzerland.
She studied business and economics, worked at Goldman Sachs, learned Mandarin in China, and earned a doctorate on the Chinese pension system.
Weidel joined the AfD in 2013 during opposition to Eurozone bailouts and later supported neoliberal economics and a Brexit-style referendum on European Union membership.
The AfD adopted the 2016 Stuttgart Manifesto, which defined family narrowly and opposed full marriage equality; Weidel says immigration restrictions would improve safety for gay people.
- Who
- Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
- What
- A profile of Weidel’s background, political career, sexuality, and role in the AfD’s rise.
- When
- Weidel joined the AfD in 2013; the party adopted its Stuttgart Manifesto in 2016; the article also references the September 2026 Saxony-Anhalt state election.
- Where
- The political developments concern Germany, while Weidel raises her family primarily in Einsiedeln, Switzerland.
- Why
- The AfD’s rise is linked in the article to its anti-immigration and socially conservative positions, while Weidel says immigration restrictions would help protect gay people.
AfD Critics
Weidel and AfD Supporters
Immigration and gay rights
AfD Critics
Critics point to the contradiction of an openly lesbian party leader representing a party described as anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+.
Weidel and AfD Supporters
Weidel argues that reducing immigration would improve safety for homosexual people, saying violence against gays comes especially from Muslim gangs.
Family and marriage policy
AfD Critics
Opponents criticize the AfD’s 2016 manifesto for defining family exclusively as a mother, father, and children and opposing full marriage equality.
Weidel and AfD Supporters
The AfD adopted these positions as part of its socially conservative Stuttgart Manifesto.
Weidel’s political significance
AfD Critics
The article presents Weidel’s sexuality and marriage to an immigrant as seemingly inconsistent with the party’s policies.
Weidel and AfD Supporters
Weidel says her role as a lesbian co-leader of the AfD is itself a political message.
- Political party
- Alternative for Germany (AfD)
- Party role
- Alice Weidel is a co-leader
- AfD membership
- Weidel joined in 2013
- 2016 manifesto
- The Stuttgart Manifesto defined family as a mother, father, and children and opposed full marriage equality
- Professional background
- Weidel worked at Goldman Sachs and later became a business consultant in China
- Family
- She is married to a Sri Lankan-born filmmaker and is raising two children
- Political model
- Weidel modeled her economic policies on Margaret Thatcher and supported a Brexit-style European Union referendum