Peter Kurth (politician)

Peter Kurth
Member of the Senate, State Minister of Finance
In office
1999–2001
Preceded byAnnette Fugmann-Heesing
Succeeded byChristiane Krajewski
Personal details
Born (1960-04-05) 5 April 1960 (age 64)
NationalityGerman
Political partyCDU

Peter Kurth (born 5 April 1960) is a German politician (former CDU) and lobby-manager who served as State Minister of Finance (Senator) in Berlin from 1999 until 2001.[1][2][3] He is active in far-right networks and is supporting neo-facist activities in Germany and Austria.

Career

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Peter Kurth studied law and political science both in Bonn and in Freiburg. Following a traineeship in Berlin, he carried out various activities insocial and business administration in the State of Berlin.

From 1994, Kurth served as State Secretary to the successive State Ministers of Finance Elmar Pieroth (1994-1996) and Annette Fugmann-Heesing (1996-1999) in the government of Mayor Eberhard Diepgen (CDU). In 2009 he ran for the CDU in Cologne for the office of mayor. From 2001 until 2009, Kurth was a member of the board of Alba Group in Berlin.

Kurth was president of the influential "Federal Association of the German Waste Management, Water and Raw Materials Industry" (BDE). He was scheduled to step down from the office of association president at the end of January 2024. However, two weeks ago the association announced that it had separated from Kurth with immediate effect. Right-wing extremism, racism or anti-Semitism have no place in the BDE, the statement said.[4]

In October 2023, Kurth resigned from the CDU. He retained his membership in the “Mittelstandsunion”.[4]

Far-right activities

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In 2023, Kurth invited prominent representatives of the AfD and the radical right to his private apartment in Berlin, including Maximilian Krah, AfD's top candidate for the 2024 European elections, the right-wing extremist publisher Götz Kubitschek and the Austrian IB right-wing extremist Martin Sellner.[4]

In 2019, Kurth supported the neo-fascist Identitarian Movement (IB) with at least €120,000 for a right-wing extremist house project.[5] The money was transferred to a company associated with the IB and was apparently used to purchase a house near Linz in Austria, which was opened in 2021 as a right-wing meeting place under the name "Castell Aurora".[6] Also with Peter Kurth's financial support, a property for an IB house in Chemnitz was purchased in 2022. The IB activist responsible for the purchase was also present at the meeting in Kurth's Berlin apartment in July 2023.[7]

Other activities

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Corporate boards

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  • Deutsche Bank, Member of the Advisory Board[8]
  • KfW, Member of the Board of Supervisory Directors (1999–2001)[9]

Non-profit organizations

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  • Federation of German Industries (BDI), Member of the Presidium (2017-2019)[10]
  • European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services (FEAD), vice-president (since 2009)[11]
  • German RETech Partnership, Member of the Advisory Board[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Peter Kurth". ec.europa.eu.
  2. ^ "ALBA Vorstand Peter Kurth". 29 June 2009. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin". 19 July 2013. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b c deutschlandfunk.de. ""Der Tagesspiegel" - Früherer Berliner Senator Kurth kommt Ausschluss aus Mittelstandsunion mit Austritt zuvor". Die Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  5. ^ Joswig, Gareth (2024-01-25). "Nazi-Netzwerk um Peter Kurth: Der Konservative in der Braunzone". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  6. ^ "120.000 Euro für Rechtsextremisten-Treff: Berlins Ex-Finanzsenator Kurth tiefer bei Identitären verstrickt". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  7. ^ "Ehemaliger CDU-Politiker soll Identitären-Zentrum in Steyregg finanziert haben". Tips Online (in German). Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  8. ^ Members of the Regional Advisory Board, 2018 Archived 2018-12-29 at the Wayback Machine Deutsche Bank.
  9. ^ 2001 Annual Report KfW.
  10. ^ Presidium Federation of German Industries (BDI).
  11. ^ Administrative Council European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services (FEAD).
  12. ^ Advisory Board German RETech Partnership.
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