Andreas Mölzer

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Andreas Mölzer

Andreas Mölzer (born 2 December 1952 in Leoben) is an Austrian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Freedom Party of Austria.

1 Biography
2 Politics
3 Media
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Biography

Andreas Mölzer is of Styrian origin and attended grammar school in Knittelfeld. After serving in the Austrian Army, he studied Law, History and Sociology at the Graz University. He became a member of a Student Corps. From 1979 to 1981 he was assistant at law departments. He left university in 1982 without graduating and became editor-in-chief of the Kärntner Nachrichten newspaper. From 1991 until 1994 he was an elected member of the Bundesrat and president of the Freedom Party's Academy.

From 1999 until 2002, Mölzer was cultural advisor of Jörg Haider, governor of Carinthia. In 2004, Mölzer was elected as only MEP for the Freedom Party. In 2005, he was expelled from the Freedom Party for being a harsh critic of Jörg Haider and his faction, but was readmitted after Heinz-Christian Strache took over the party. Andreas Mölzer is married and has five children. He lives in Carinthia.

[edit] Politics

Mölzer is a leading figure of the pan-German wing of the Freedom Party. He defines himself as "ethnic German" and often publishes articles in several German right-wing journals, such as the Junge Freiheit. In 1992, a speech by Mölzer, in which he criticised Austrian immigration politics, he used the term "Umvolkung" (roughly translated as "ethnic exchange", a word also used by the Nazis for their policies in Eastern Europe). The debate led to a split and to the formation of the Liberales Forum.

In the European Parliament, Mölzer is known for trying to create a network of right-wing-MEPs, including the French Front National, the Italian Fiamma Tricolore and others. The formation of the former Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty group is an effect of his efforts. he is Deputy Leader of the group. He sits on its Committee on Constitutional Affairs, and is a substitute for the Committee on Culture and Education and a member of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee.

[edit] Media

Mölzer has been publishing in the Die Presse and the Kronen Zeitung, Austria's leading tabloid, since 1998. Since 1997, he is editor-in-chief of the right-wing-weekly Zur Zeit, which is seen as Austrian pendant to Germany's Junge Freiheit, for which Mölzer contributes an article on European Affairs every week. He has also been writing and editing several books on political or history topics.