Kay Gottschalk
{{Short description|German politician (born 1965)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Kay Gottschalk
| honorific-suffix = MdB
| image = 2020-07-02 Kay Gottschalk AfD MdB by OlafKosinsky 2667.jpg
| caption = Gottschalk in 2020
| office = Deputy Leader of the Alternative for Germany
| leader = Alexander Gauland
Jörg Meuthen
| alongside = Beatrix von Storch
| term_start = 2 December 2017
| term_end = 1 December 2019
| predecessor = Alexander Gauland
| successor = Andreas Kalbitz
| office2 = Chair of the Wirecard scandal inquiry Committee
| deputy2 = Hans Michelbach
| term_start2 = 18 October 2020
| term_end2 = 25 June 2021
| predecessor2 = Position established
| successor2 = Position abolished
| office9 = Member of the Bundestag
for North Rhine-Westphalia
| term_start9 = 24 October 2017
| term_end9 =
| predecessor9 = multi-member district
| constituency9 = Alternative for Germany List
| birth_place = Hamburg, West Germany {{small|(now Germany)}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|12|12|df=y}}
| party = Alternative for Germany
(since 2013)
| nationality = German
| children =
| relatives =
| residence = Nettetal
| alma_mater =
| occupation = {{hlist|Politician|insurance manager|Businessman}}
| website = {{URL|https://afd-gottschalk.de/|Official website}}
}}
Kay Gottschalk (born 12 December 1965) is a German politician of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and member of the German federal parliament.
He is a co-founder of the AfD. He was one of three deputy federal spokespersons for the AfD from 2017 to 2019 and was re-elected deputy federal spokesperson in 2024. He has been the AfD parliamentary group's financial policy spokesperson since May 2018. In February 2022, he was elected deputy state chairman of the AfD in North Rhine-Westphalia and confirmed in office two years later.{{Cite news |last=dpa |date=2022-02-06 |title=Parteien: Martin Vincentz ist neuer Landeschef der NRW-AfD |url=https://www.zeit.de/news/2022-02/05/afd-parteitag-waehlt-neue-spitze-kampfkandidatur-moeglich |access-date=2025-05-06 |work=Die Zeit |language=de-DE |issn=0044-2070}}
Life and politics
Gottschalk was born 1965 in Hamburg and studied business administration and law. He went on to become an insurance manager.{{Cite news|url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2017-09/afd-kandidaten-bundestagswahl-abgeordnete|title=AfD-Abgeordnete: Rechts bis extrem im Bundestag|work=ZEIT ONLINE|access-date=2018-10-19|language=de}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bundestag.de/abgeordnete/biografien/G/-/519824|title=Deutscher Bundestag - Kay Gottschalk|work=Deutscher Bundestag|access-date=2018-10-19|language=de}}
At the 2017 German federal election he was elected member of parliament through a list place in North Rhine-Westphalia.
In December 2017 he was elected as a deputy leader of the AfD.{{Cite news|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/afd-parteitag-in-hannover-fluegelschlagen-unter-aufsicht-von-gauland-und-meuthen/20665106.html|title=Flügelschlagen unter Aufsicht von Gauland und Meuthen|access-date=2018-10-19|language=de}} Since 2019 he was married. His husband died on 1 March 2023.[https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=44844 Queer.de: AfD-Abgeordneter outet sich im Bundestag als schwul], March 2, 2023
Following Russian invasion of Ukraine, Gottschalk, alongside AfD MEP Guido Reil and a delegation of NRW Landtag visited Ukraine and declared solidarity, representing a minority in the generally pro-Russian party.{{Cite web |date=2023-10-19 |title=Alternative for Russia: How the AfD is systematically turning towards Russia |url=https://correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2023/10/19/alternative-for-russia-how-the-afd-is-systematically-turning-towards-russia/ |access-date=2023-12-21 |website=correctiv.org |language=en-US}}
In a speech on January 24, 2018 at the AfD's New Year's reception in Krefeld, Gottschalk said: "I call on all citizens of good will: Boycott the stores of the Turks in Germany, because 70 percent of them are going for Erdoğan"{{Cite web |title=Aktuelle Nachrichten {{!}} Rheinische Post Online |url=https://rp-online.de/info/consent/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=rp-online.de}}{{Cite web |title=Aktuelle Nachrichten {{!}} Westdeutsche Zeitung |url=https://www.wz.de/app/consent/?ref=https://www.wz.de/nrw/krefeld/afd-neujahrsempfang-in-krefeld-boykottiert-die-tuerkenlaeden_aid-25990869 |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=www.wz.de}} According to his own statements, it was important to him to make a statement against Turkey's attack on Kurdish citizens in Syria, and just as Germans are held responsible for the election of the NSDAP, Turkish citizens and citizens of Turkish origin in Germany should also be held responsible for the policies of said head of state.{{Cite web |date=2018-01-26 |title=AfD-Politiker Kay Gottschalk empört sich über HSV |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/sport/fussball/bundesliga/afd-politiker-kay-gottschalk-empoert-sich-ueber-hsv-15418467.html |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=FAZ.NET |language=de}} AfD member of parliament Martin Renner called on Gottschalk to resign from all offices.{{Cite news |title=AfD-Vize ruft zum Boykott türkischer Geschäfte auf und erntet Widerspruch |url=https://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/afd-vize-ruft-zum-boykott-tuerkischer-geschaefte-auf-und-erntet-widerspruch-7837796.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240907031511/https://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/afd-vize-ruft-zum-boykott-tuerkischer-geschaefte-auf-und-erntet-widerspruch-7837796.html |archive-date=2024-09-07 |access-date=2025-05-06 |work=stern.de |language=de-DE}} The state security authorities began investigating him because of Gottschalk's statement.{{Cite web |last=Zeitung |first=Westdeutsche |date=2018-01-26 |title=Aufruf zum Türkenboykott: Gegen AfD-Abgeordneten Kay Gottschalk ermittelt nun der Staatsschutz |url=https://www.wz.de/nrw/kreis-viersen/aufruf-zum-tuerkenboykott-gegen-afd-abgeordneten-kay-gottschalk-ermittelt-nun-der-staatsschutz_aid-25847583 |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=Westdeutsche Zeitung |language=de}} However, these were discontinued by the Krefeld public prosecutor's office in summer 2018, as the offense of Section 130 StGB was not fulfilled.{{Cite web |title=Aktuelle Nachrichten {{!}} Westdeutsche Zeitung |url=https://www.wz.de/app/consent/?ref=https://www.wz.de/nrw/krefeld/afd-aufforderung-zum-tuerken-boykott-staatsanwaltschaft-in-der-kritik_aid-25015185 |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=www.wz.de}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Navboxes
| list =
{{Current members of the Bundestag}}
{{Members of the 19th Bundestag}}
{{Members of the 20th Bundestag}}
{{Members of the 21st Bundestag}}
{{Bundestag-North Rhine-Westphalia}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottschalk, Kay}}
Category:Members of the Bundestag 2017–2021
Category:Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025
Category:Members of the Bundestag for the Alternative for Germany
Category:LGBTQ members of the Bundestag
Category:German gay politicians
Category:20th-century German LGBTQ people
Category:21st-century German LGBTQ people
Category:Members of the Bundestag 2025–2029
{{Germany-AFD-politician-stub}}