Baroness Hedwig von Elverfeldt gennant Beverfoerde zu Werries (german: Hedwig Freifrau von Elverfeldt genannt Beverförde zu Werries, née von Lüninck; born 1963) is a German conservative politician and Catholic activist. A former member of the
Christian Democratic Union of Germany
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (german: link=no, Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands ; CDU ) is a Christian democratic and liberal conservative political party in Germany. It is the major catch-all party of the centre-right ...
who worked to shorten daycare hours in
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
and protect parental rights, she is the founder of the Family Protection Initiative and an organizer of the ''Demo für Alle'' rallies in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
and
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, campaigning against
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
.
Early life and education
![Haus Ostwig 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Haus_Ostwig_001.jpg)
Von Beverfoerde was born Baroness Hedwig von Lüninck in 1963 at
Ostwig House, a mansion in
Bestwig
Bestwig is a municipality in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Bestwig is situated on the river Ruhr, approx. 10 km east of Meschede. It lies on the German Autobahn A 46. Bestwig has a railway station ...
,
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
, owned by her family. She is a member of the
Von Lüninck family, who are part of the
German nobility
The German nobility (german: deutscher Adel) and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the begi ...
, and is a relative of the politician
Baron Ferdinand von Lüninck. After graduating from
Kloster Wald, a Catholic boarding school for girls in
Wald, Baden-Württemberg
Wald is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after R ...
, she trained as a secretary in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
before studying business administration at a university in
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
.
Career
After graduating from university, Von Beverfoerde worked as an assistant sales director of a stock corporation in
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
. In 1993 she left business to pursue political activism. She was an active member of the
Christian Democratic Union of Germany
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (german: link=no, Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands ; CDU ) is a Christian democratic and liberal conservative political party in Germany. It is the major catch-all party of the centre-right ...
until December 2016, serving as a district board member of the
Jerichower Land
Jerichower Land is a district (''Kreis'') in the north-east of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its neighbouring administrative units are (clockwise from the south): the districts of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Salzlandkreis, the city of Magdeburg, the districts of ...
. She left the party in 2016, stating that she could not remain in the party as "a faithful Catholic" while under the leadership of
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
, and due to her disagreement with the party's acceptance of opening German borders to Muslim refugees. Her earlier political career was focused on public education and childcare. From 1999 until 2000 she served as a spokeswoman of the national citizen's movement ''ABC-Schützen!'' She worked to protect parental rights and campaigned for shorter daycare hours.
[
]
Von Beverfoerde is the founder and chairwoman of the Family Protection Initiative, which promotes conservative, traditional views on marriage and family life. She is an active member of the Forum of German Catholics
The Forum of German Catholics (german: Forum Deutscher Katholiken) is a conservative Catholic lay organization in Germany. It was founded in 2000 in opposition to the Central Committee of German Catholics.
History and function
The Forum of ...
, a lay organization founded in opposition to the Central Committee of German Catholics
The Central Committee of German Catholics (german: Zentralkomitee der deutschen Katholiken, ZdK) is a lay body comprising representatives of various Catholic organisations in Germany. They organise the Catholic Days in Germany. The organisation ...
. In 2014 she co-organized a bus tour to support heterosexual-only marriage in Germany with Austrian conservative activist Alexander Tschugguel
Alexander Tschugguel (born 24 June 1993) is an Austrian conservative political and Traditionalist Catholic activist. He has been active in the anti-abortion movement, critical of the international community's focus on climate change, and has camp ...
.
Alongside Beatrix von Storch
Beatrix Amelie Ehrengard Eilika von Storch (née Herzogin von Oldenburg; 27 May 1971) is a German politician and lawyer, who has been the Deputy Leader of the Alternative for Germany since July 2015 and a Member of the Bundestag since Septembe ...
, she organized the ''Demo für Alle'' rallies, focused on protesting the 2015 education plan of the liberal government of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, same-sex marriage, gender ideology
The anti-gender movement is an international movement which opposes what it refers to as "gender ideology", " gender theory" or "genderism". The concepts cover a variety of issues and have no coherent definition. Members of the anti-gender mov ...
, and demanding the protection of "traditional values". The protests turned violent and led to police arrests. An outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
and teaching gender studies
Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...
in public schools, the LGBTQ network ''Enough is Enough! Open Your Mouth!'' accused her of using hatred and fear against LGBTQ people, referring to her as ''Miss Homophobia'' in 2015, stating that she is one of "the most active representatives of fear and hatred towards lesbians and gays in Germany." She has suggested that same-sex couples, unlike heterosexual couples, cannot be faithful for life.
On 18 January 2020 von Beverfoerde took part in a silent prayer protest in Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
to ask Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
and the German Bishops' Conference
The German Bishops' Conference (german: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz) is the episcopal conference of the bishops of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany. Members include diocesan bishops, coadjutors, auxiliary bishops, and diocesan administrator ...
for "clarity and coherence" and to end "dissimulation and deception" in the Catholic Church in Germany
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, image = Hohe_Domkirche_St._Petrus.jpg
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Cologne Cathedral, Cologne
, abbreviation =
, type = Nati ...
. She protested alongside other conservative Catholic leaders and activists including Tschugguel, Roberto de Mattei
Roberto de Mattei (born 21 February 1948 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian Roman Catholic historian and author. His studies mainly concern European history between the 16th and 20th centuries, with a focus on the history of religious and political ide ...
, Gabriele Kuby, and Archishop Carlo Maria Viganò
Carlo Maria Viganò (; born 16 January 1941) is an archbishop of the Catholic Church who served as the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States from 19 October 2011 to 12 April 2016. He previously served as Secretary-General of the Governorate of Va ...
. The group, protesting under the name ''Acies Ordinata'', included 130 members of the laity
In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother.
In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...
from Germany, Austria, Italy, Brazil, Chile, Canada, and the United States.
Von Beverfoerde serves on the advisory board for the online AfD affiliated online newspaper '' Freie Welt''.[ and is chair of the AfD close association "Ehe-Familie-Leben e.V."
]
Connection to a Putin-supporting oligarch
In 2022, the Green Party politician Andreas Audretsch
Andreas Audretsch (born 25 June 1984) is a German politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since the 2021 German federal election.
Early life and education
Audretsch studied Politics, Journalism ...
claimed that von Beverfoerde's association which organizes demonstrations is closely linked to a Russian oligarch with close ties to Putin. This claim was met with opposition and an attempt was made in court to prohibit the claim. However, the court ruled that von Beverfoerde did have financial links to Konstantin Malofeev
Konstantin Valeryevich Malofeev (russian: link=no, Константин Валерьевич Малофеев) is a Russian businessman and chairman of non-government pro-monarchism organisation Society for the Development of Russian Historical ...
over the CitizenGo
CitizenGO is an ultra-conservative advocacy group founded in Madrid, Spain, in 2013 by the ultra-Catholic and far-right HazteOir organization.
The foundation aims to be "a community of active citizens that seeks to promote the participation of ...
foundation.
Personal life
Von Beverfoerde is married to Baron Josef von Elverfeldt Beverfoerde zu Werries, a businessman who owns a construction company in Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
. Her husband's family, the Barons von Beverfoerde, are a cadet branch
In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...
of the Von Elverfeldt and are also a part of the German nobility
The German nobility (german: deutscher Adel) and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the begi ...
. She and her husband have three children.[ A member of the ]Catholic Church in Germany
, native_name_lang = de
, image = Hohe_Domkirche_St._Petrus.jpg
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Cologne Cathedral, Cologne
, abbreviation =
, type = Nati ...
, she served as chairwoman of the board of trustees of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Magdeburg
The Diocese of Magdeburg is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, located in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Its seat is Magdeburg; it is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Paderborn.
The Diocese was erected out of Paderborn terr ...
's Edith-Stein School Foundation from 2002 until 2012.[
In 2015, an ]arson
Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
attack was made against Von Beverfoerde and her family when a car was set on fire on the premises of her husband's business.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beverfoerde, Hedwig von
1963 births
Living people
20th-century German women
21st-century German women
20th-century Roman Catholics
21st-century Roman Catholics
German anti-same-sex-marriage activists
Catholicism and far-right politics
Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians
Christian fundamentalists
German baronesses
German Roman Catholics
German women activists
People from Hochsauerlandkreis
Roman Catholic activists
Von Lüninck family
Westphalian nobility