Jörg Urban (born 4 August 1964) is a German politician for the

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(AfD) party and is party leader of the AFD in Saxony. He has been a member of the

Landtag of the Free State of Saxony The Landtag of Saxony (), also known in English as the Saxon State Parliament, is the legislature of the Free State of Saxony, one of Germany's sixteen states. It is responsible for legislation, control of the government, and electing some state ...

since 2014. Under Urban's leadership, the Saxon AfD state association developed so strongly towards the

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

, that the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified and is monitoring the party as a "secure right-wing anti constitutional effort" in 2023. The party has been labeled as a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

organization.

Career

Urban was born in 1964 in

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

. He completed three years of voluntary military service with the

National People's Army The National People's Army (, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (DDR) from 1956 until 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) and the (Bord ...

and studied

hydraulic engineering Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the move ...

at the

Dresden University of Technology TU Dresden (for , abbreviated as TUD), also as the Dresden University of Technology, is a public research university in Dresden, Germany. It is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony a ...

. Urban was formerly affiliated with Grüne Liga, an

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

conservationist political movement. He was also briefly a member of

German Pirate Party The Pirate Party Germany (), commonly known as Pirates (), is a political party in Germany founded in September 2006 at c-base. It states general agreement with the Swedish Piratpartiet as a party of the information society; it is part of the in ...

. In 2013, Urban became a member of the AfD and ran for the City Council of Dresden. Until November 2014 he was chairman of the AfD district association in Dresden. He was elected to the

Landtag of Saxony The Landtag of Saxony (), also known in English as the Saxon State Parliament, is the legislature of the Free State of Saxony, one of Germany's sixteen states. It is responsible for legislation, control of the government, and electing some sta ...

in 2014 on a

list A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...

seat. In 2017, he succeeded

Frauke Petry Frauke Petry (; ; born 1 June 1975) is a German politician who chaired the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party from July 2015 to September 2017. A chemist by training and with a professional background as a businesswoman, some political scienti ...

as the leader of the AfD party in the state of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

and the leader of the AfD parliamentary group in the

. After the

2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in cou ...

, the AfD became the second largest party in the Saxon landtag, and Urban became the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

. He has described AfD and Pegida as "the same movement", and has spoken at Pegida rallies after open cooperation with the group was permitted by the AfD in 2018. In March 2023 Urban stated that he aims to be top candidate for 2024 Saxony State election. AfD-federal chairmen

Tino Chrupalla Tino Chrupalla (; born 14 April 1975) is a German politician from the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD). A member of the German parliament (Bundestag) since 2017, he has served as co-chairman of the AfD since 2019 along wi ...

is supporting Urban.

Personal life

Jörg Urban has lived in Dresden since 1986, is married, has three children. He is a Non-denominational Christian.

References

1964 births Living people Alternative for Germany politicians Members of the Landtag of Saxony Pegida activists People from Meissen {{Germany-AFD-politician-stub