Jens Maier (born 10 February 1962 in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

) is a German judge and politician for

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...

. The Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies him as a

right-wing extremist Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

. As of March 24, 2022, he is barred from the bench.

Life

Before becoming a judge at the Landesgericht in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, Maier studied law at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

and held various positions in public administration. He became a member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

after the

2017 German federal election Federal elections were held in Germany on 24 September 2017 to elect the members of the 19th Bundestag. At stake were at least 598 seats in the Bundestag, as well as 111 overhang and leveling seats determined thereafter. The Christian Democr ...

for Saxony. He was a member of

Der Flügel Der Flügel () is a far-right faction within Germany's Alternative for Germany (''Alternative für Deutschland'', AfD), a right-wing populist opposition party.Christopher F. SchuetzeFar-Right Faction of German Populist Party Vows to Dissolve '' ...

, the extremist wing of the Alternative for Germany. This led to the

Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz Sachsen The (State Office for the Protection of the Constitution Saxony) is the domestic intelligence agency of the Germany, German federal state of Saxony. Its main function is the observation and surveillance of anti-constitutional activities in the St ...

classifying him as a far-right extremist. Maier lost his seat in the

2021 German federal election Federal elections in Germany, Federal elections were held in Germany on 26 September 2021 to elect the members of the List of members of the 20th Bundestag, 20th Bundestag. States of Germany, State elections in 2021 Berlin state election, Berli ...

. After leaving the Bundestag, Jens Maier applied in February 2022 to return as a judge in the civil service of the Saxon judiciary. Because of his radical right-wing activities, there was considerable public doubt that Maier, as a judge, would judge "without regard to the person". The Saxon Minister of Justice

Katja Meier Katja Meier (born 10 September 1979) is a German politician who is a member of Alliance 90/The Greens. She was a member of the Landtag of Saxony 2015-2020 and has been serving as Saxon State Minister of Justice and for Democracy, European Affai ...

(Alliance 90/The Greens) announced that there was a claim and that "Mr. Maier would be returned to the judicial service as a district judge at the

Dippoldiswalde Dippoldiswalde (Saxon: ''Dipps'') is a town in Saxony, Germany, part of the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district. It is situated 23 km east of Freiberg, and 18 km south of Dresden. The town is situated on the Weisseritz railway, a ...

district court with effect from March 14, 2022". However, she also submitted an application for retirement under Section 31 Deutsches Richtergesetz (German judge law). On March 24, 2022, the Landgericht Leipzig barred him from returning to the bench for the time being (until a decision is taken on the further application for retirement in the interests of justice) because " was obvious that Maier would conduct his office as an "AfD judge" and would thus no longer comply with the legal model of an independent and objective judge."

References

1962 births Living people Politicians from Bremen Members of the Bundestag for Saxony Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021 Members of the Bundestag for the Alternative for Germany University of Tübingen alumni 21st-century German judges {{Germany-AFD-politician-stub