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Elias Zschape (1942-) was the NPD MP for Beelitz from 2000 and NPD Leader from 2003 (succeeding Katharina Friedland).

Biography[]

Elias Zschape was born in Beelitz, Brandenburg, Nazi Germany in 1942, and she worked as a mechanic under East Germany. She became a leader among xenophobic working-class Germans in a reunified Germany, and she entered politics as an NPD member. In 2000, she was elected to the Bundestag as an NPD MP, and, in December 2003, she succeeded the late Katharina Friedland as party leader just two weeks before the general election. Despite the last-minute leadership shakeup, the NPD became the second-largest party in Parliament with 20.14% of the vote and 7 seats. In the ensuing election for Chancellor, Zschape narrowly lost 15-18, losing to incumbent SPD Chancellor Anton Niemann. In mid-2004, the party became the largest party in the country, but Zschape lost the leadership election to Die Grunen leader Elias Nadler 13-20.

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