Dirk Spaniel
Dirk Spaniel (born 3 November 1971 in Marburg) is a German politician who served in the Bundestag from 2017 to 2025. He started his career as an automotive engineer in Stuttgart after studying mechanical engineering, including time at Michigan State University, and researching methanol-fueled fuel cells.
Spaniel joined the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Baden-Württemberg in 2015. He became a Bundestag candidate for Stuttgart I and entered the parliament after the 2017 election, where he joined the Committee on Transport and Digital Infrastructure. He was briefly the leader of the AfD’s state group in the Bundestag before being replaced.
In 2018 he gained attention for his opposition to electric cars, earning the nickname “Doctor Diesel.” At the 2019 state party conference he was elected speaker of AfD Baden-Württemberg with Bernd Gögel, defeating Martin Hess. He faced criticism for allegedly causing divisions within the party and for tensions with national leaders.
Alice Weidel became state leader in 2020. For the 2021 federal election, Baden-Württemberg’s list was created online with Spaniel helping supervise; he was listed as number three, but the final list included only 12 names. From 2021 to 2024 there were ongoing power struggles in the state AfD between Spaniel supporters and Weidel-backed leaders, culminating in a chaotic special conference.
In October 2024 Weidel secured her preferred candidates while Spaniel and others were left out. Spaniel left the AfD but kept his Bundestag seat and joined the CDU splinter group Values Union in January 2025. He did not run in the February 2025 federal election.
At the 2021 AfD convention in Dresden, Spaniel called for Germany to leave the European Union (Dexit).
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:30 (CET).