From CDU member to AfD leader: Who is 35-year-old Ulrich Siegmund, seeking to lead Saxony-Anhalt

Ulrich Siegmund’s political image could hardly be further removed from the business that first made his name. Before becoming one of the AfD’s most recognizable figures, he built a company around the use of scents to make public spaces feel more pleasant.

Born on Oct. 25, 1990, in Havelberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Siegmund has served in the state parliament since 2016. Since August 2022, he has co-led the AfD parliamentary group with Oliver Kirchner. In 2025, the party selected him as its lead candidate for the 2026 state election.

His route into politics began with vocational training as a wholesale and foreign-trade clerk, followed by studies in business psychology and business administration. He completed a Bachelor of Arts. In 2014, at 23, he and a partner founded Berlin duftet, a scent-marketing company that sold fragrance oils, accessories and room-scenting technologies while offering marketing and sales advice.

The company proposed targeted scents in public places, including Berlin subway and suburban rail stations, to make them more pleasant and reduce stress, aggression and vandalism. In a WELT report at the time, Siegmund cited relaxing scents such as lavender. He also pointed to New York, where subtle vanilla scents were used in busy railway stations, and referred to studies suggesting that pleasant smells can improve people’s moods. His university thesis examined the psychological effect of scent marketing on consumer behavior.

Siegmund initially belonged to the CDU before joining the AfD at 24. Two years later, he entered the Saxony-Anhalt parliament for the first time. He now attributes much of his success to social media. More than 400,000 people follow him on Instagram and more than 763,500 on TikTok, placing him among Germany’s most influential politicians on those platforms. During his campaign, he presents himself as friendly and accessible, appearing in photos with supporters and emphasizing family events, meetings with citizens and personal contact.