Tomasz Froelich

'''Tomasz Mariusz Froelich''' (born 15 October 1988) is a German politician of [[Alternative for Germany]] who was elected [[member of the European Parliament]] in [[2024 European Parliament election in Germany|2024]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundeswahlleiterin.de/en/europawahlen/2024/gewaehlte/bund-99/f.html|title=European Parliament election 2024|publisher=[[Federal Returning Officer]]}}</ref> He has served as vice chair of the [[Young Alternative for Germany|Young Alternative]] since 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_100218166/afd-kandidaten-fuer-europa-vom-geschoenten-lebenslauf-zu-schweren-vorwuerfen.html|title=Schlimmer als gedacht|work=[[T-Online]]|date=4 August 2023}}</ref>

'''Tomasz Mariusz Froelich''' (born 15 October 1988) is a German politician of [[Alternative for Germany]] who was elected [[member of the European Parliament]] in [[2024 European Parliament election in Germany|2024]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundeswahlleiterin.de/en/europawahlen/2024/gewaehlte/bund-99/f.html|title=European Parliament election 2024|publisher=[[Federal Returning Officer]]}}</ref> He has served as vice chair of the [[Young Alternative for Germany|Young Alternative]] since 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_100218166/afd-kandidaten-fuer-europa-vom-geschoenten-lebenslauf-zu-schweren-vorwuerfen.html|title=Schlimmer als gedacht|work=[[T-Online]]|date=4 August 2023}}</ref>

== Education ==

Froelich was born in [[Hamburg]] and spent his childhood there and in [[Szczecin]]. He graduated from the Wilhelm-Gymnasium in Hamburg in 2008. He then studied political science and international development at the [[University of Vienna]] and socioeconomics at the [[Vienna University of Economics and Business]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Europawahl: Diese 15 AfD-Abgeordneten ziehen in das Europaparlament ein |url=https://www.swp.de/politik/europawahl-2024-diese-afd-abgeordneten-ziehen-ins-europaparlament-ein-liste-73992441.html |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=www.swp.de |language=de}}</ref> During and after his studies, he was a research assistant at [[Martin Rhonheimer|Martin Rhonheimer's]] ''Austrian Institute of Economics & Social Philosophy''.

== Political career ==

As a teenager, Froelich was a member of the [[Young Liberals (Germany)|Young Liberals]]. During his studies, Froelich ran the right-wing libertarian blog ''Freitum'', which received the ''Roland Baader Award'' in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ROLAND BAADER-Auszeichnung {{!}} Roland Baader |url=http://www.roland-baader.de/roland-baader/roland-baader-auszeichnung/ |access-date=2024-08-13 |language=en-US}}</ref> He published for media that are classified as right-wing populist and libertarian, including ''eigentümlich frei''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tomasz M. Froelich - eigentümlich frei |url=https://ef-magazin.de/autor/tomasz-m-froelich/ |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=ef-magazin.de}}</ref>, ''Freilich''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tomasz M. Froelich |url=https://freilich-magazin.com/authors/tomasz-m-froelich |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=FREILICH Magazin |language=de}}</ref>, ''Krautzone'', [[Junge Freiheit|''Junge Freiheit'']], ''Blaue Narzisse'' and ''Schweizerzeit''. After completing his studies, he initially worked as a parliamentary advisor to the AfD parliamentary group in the Baden-Württemberg state parliament from June 2016. After a short time, he became office manager for the then AfD party leader [[Jörg Meuthen]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Die AfD im Stuttgarter Landtag {{!}} Heinrich Böll Stiftung Baden-Württemberg |url=https://www.boell-bw.de/de/2020/11/11/die-afd-im-stuttgarter-landtag |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=www.boell-bw.de |language=de}}</ref> In 2019, he became press spokesperson for the AfD delegation in the European Parliament. Froelich has been deputy federal chairman of the [[Young Alternative for Germany]] since February 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Junge Alternative: In der AfD-Jugend kam es in den letzten Monaten zu einem Massenexodus - WELT |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article188928789/Junge-Alternative-In-der-AfD-Jugend-kam-es-in-den-letzten-Monaten-zu-einem-Massenexodus.html |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=DIE WELT |language=de}}</ref> From 2019 to 2021, he was state chairman of the Young Alternative for Hamburg.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kosanke |first=Laura |date=2021-08-02 |title=Wie junge Politiker in Hamburg den Wahlkampf aufmischen |url=https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/kommunales/article232938307/wie-junge-politiker-den-wahlkampf-aufmischen-hamburg-cdu-spd-fdp-afd-linken-gruenen.html |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=www.abendblatt.de |language=de}}</ref> In 2022, he became parliamentary advisor to the [[Identity and Democracy]] parliamentary group. In July 2023, Froelich was elected to 12th place on the list for the 2024 European elections at the AfD national party conference in Magdeburg.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-04 |title=Schlimmer als gedacht: Die zweifelhaften Gestalten der AfD für Europa |url=https://www.t-online.de/-/100218166 |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=www.t-online.de |language=de}}</ref> He entered the European Parliament in 2024 via this list position. There, he is a member of the Committee on Human Rights (DROI) and a substitute member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Committee on Development (DEVE).<ref>{{Cite web |date=1988-10-15 |title=Home {{!}} Tomasz FROELICH {{!}} MEPs {{!}} European Parliament |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/190574/TOMASZ_FROELICH/home |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref>

== Trivia and personal life ==

Froelich played football for [[VfL 93 Hamburg]] in the then fourth-tier [[Oberliga Nord]] and was nominated for the Polish U18 national team together with [[Robert Lewandowski]] in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tomasz Froelich - Player profile |url=https://www.transfermarkt.com/tomasz-froelich/profil/spieler/48273 |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=www.transfermarkt.com |language=en}}</ref>

He is married.

The German-Polish inventor [[Adolf Froelich]] is his great-grandfather.

== Awards and honours ==

* 2012: Roland Baader Award

== Education ==

Froelich was born in Hamburg and spent his childhood there and in Szczecin. He graduated from the Wilhelm-Gymnasium in Hamburg in 2008. He then studied political science and international development at the University of Vienna and socioeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business[1] During and after his studies, he was a research assistant at Martin Rhonheimer's Austrian Institute of Economics & Social Philosophy.

==References==

==References==