Christine Anderson
{{short description|German politician (born 1968)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Christine Anderson
| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|size=100%|MEP}}
| party = AfD (2013–present)
| otherparty =
| image = 1718704818993 20240617 ANDERSON Christine DE 005.jpg
| caption = Official portrait, 2024
| constituency_MP = Germany
| term_start = 2 July 2019
| succeeding =
| term_end =
| parliament = European
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|7|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = Eschwege, West Germany
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = German
| spouse =
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater =
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| website =
}}
Christine Margarete Anderson (born 29 July 1968) is a German politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.{{cite web|url=https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/europawahlen/2019/gewaehlte/bund-99.html|title=All chosen in alphabetical order|work=Der Bundeswahlleiter|language=de|access-date=2 December 2019}} A member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), Anderson is a former activist of the Pegida movement.
Background and education
Anderson was born in Eschwege, Hesse, West Germany.{{cite web |title=Christine Anderson: Identity and Democracy Group |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/197475/CHRISTINE_ANDERSON/history/9 |website=europarl.europa.eu|date=13 September 2023 }} She completed a commercial apprenticeship. She lived in the United States for six years, where she studied economics and worked for a US trading company.{{Cite web |url=https://lm.afd-hessen.org/btw-2017/direktkandidatin/ |title=AfD Hessen: Direktkandidatin Christine Anderson |access-date=16 December 2021 |archive-date=28 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528200443/https://lm.afd-hessen.org/btw-2017/direktkandidatin/ |url-status=dead }} Her brother, Ralph Moller, has claimed that Anderson did not complete her studies and that the reported trading company job was actually a sales associate job at an outerwear store.{{cite web|url=https://www.fnp.de/lokales/limburg-weilburg/limburg-ort511172/limburg-afd-spitzenkandidatin-geraet-kritik-12307515.html|title=Limburg: Lebenslauf der AfD-Spitzenkandidatin wirft Fragen auf|periodical=Franfurter Neue Presse|date=21 May 2019|language=de|access-date=16 December 2021}}
Political career
In 2013 Anderson became a member of Alternative for Germany (AfD). From 2016 to 2018, she was the party's group leader in the Limburg-Weilburg district assembly. She was elected to the European Parliament in the 2019 election.{{cite web|title=All chosen in alphabetical order - Der Bundeswahlleiter|periodical=|publisher=|url=https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/europawahlen/2019/gewaehlte/bund-99.html#c6f2f74d-2301-4780-a2d3-72f058ee9e62|format=|access-date=|last=|date=|year=|language=|pages=|quote=}} Before the election, she stated her goal was to "lead Germany out of this EU nightmare".
Anderson is a former activist of the anti-Islam, far-right{{cite book |author=Shannon Latkin Anderson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=snn4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT16 |title=Immigration, Assimilation, and the Cultural Construction of American National Identity |date=19 November 2015 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-32875-9 |page=16 |quote=In Germany, the far-right anti-Islam movement Pegida found massive audience in its anti-Islamic, anti-immigration marches}} Pegida movement,{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-parteitag-in-magdeburg-kandidatenteam-gegen-bruesseler-eurokratie-a-1239080.html|title= AfD stellt europakritisches Kandidatenteam auf |periodical=Spiegel.de|date=18 November 2018|language=de|access-date=16 December 2021}} having participated in Pegida street protests promoting opposition to immigration, specifically Islamic migrants.{{cite news|url=https://pressprogress.ca/european-politicians-who-defended-ottawa-convoy-also-promote-anti-vaccine-and-anti-immigrant-policies/|title=European Politicians Who Defended Ottawa Convoy Also Promote Anti-Vaccine and Anti-Immigrant Policies|date=25 March 2020|work=Press Progress}} She has also appeared on Rebel News, where she stated her support for the Canada convoy protest having supported Canadian anti-mandate protesters since 2021.
In the European Parliament, Anderson is a member of the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, and the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age, and a deputy member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection.{{MdEP|197475}}
Anderson was appointed to the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic, and in a July 2022 session she entered into the record a complaint that there had been too much emphasis upon getting experimental gene therapy treatments into healthy people.{{Cite web |title=European Parliament Multimedia Centre |url=https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstreaming/covi-committee-meeting_20220713-0900-COMMITTEE-COVI |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=multimedia.europarl.europa.eu |language=en}}
In February 2023, Anderson was pictured alongside three Canadian MPs, Colin Carrie, Leslyn Lewis and Dean Allison, all of whom are members of the Conservative Party. The picture sparked a political controversy in Canada, with several groups, including the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, criticizing the meeting.{{Cite news |last=Bailey |first=Ian |date=2023-02-24 |title=Conservative MPs criticized for meeting with anti-immigration German politician |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-tories-play-down-appearance-with-right-wing-german-party-member/ |access-date=2023-02-24 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}} Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre denounced the meeting, stating: "Frankly, it would be better if Anderson never visited Canada in the first place. She and her racist, hateful views are not welcome here."{{Cite web |date=2023-02-24 |title=Pierre Poilievre denounces Conservative MPs meeting with far-right German politician |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/pierre-poilievre-denounces-conservative-mps-meeting-with-far-right-german-politician-1.6288056 |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=CTVNews |language=en}}
Personal life
Anderson has three children and lives in Fulda.{{cite web|title=The political flight of the AfD-EU member Christine Anderson from Limburg to Fulda|periodical=Villmarer Nachrichten|date=31 July 2020|url=https://villmarer-nachrichten.de/Die+Flucht+der+A.htm|url-status=|access-date=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814015850/https://villmarer-nachrichten.de/Die+Flucht+der+A.htm|archive-date=14 August 2020|language=de|pages=|quote=}}{{cite web|title=MEP Christine Anderson is a new member of the AfD district executive in Fulda|periodical=Osthessen Zeitung|publisher=|url=https://www.osthessen-zeitung.de/einzelansicht/news/2020/oktober/anderson-neu-im-afd-kreisvorstand-hohmann-bleibt-an-der-spitze.html|access-date=16 December 2021|last=|date=25 October 2020|language=de|pages=|quote=}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://christineanderson.eu/en/home/}}
- {{MEP}}
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Category:21st-century women MEPs for Germany
Category:Alternative for Germany MEPs
Category:German anti-vaccination activists
Category:German expatriates in the United States