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Gerhard Frey | |
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 Frey in 2009 | |
| Born | Gerhard Michael Frey (1933-02-18)18 February 1933 |
| Died | 19 February 2013(2013-02-19) (aged 80) Gräfelfing, Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Business, Publishing |
| Spouse | Regine Frey |
| Children | 4 children |
Gerhard Michael Frey (18 February 1933 – 19 February 2013)[1] was a German publisher, businessman and politician. He was the chairman and main financial backer of the right-wing partyDeutsche Volksunion, which he founded in 1971. He resigned as chairman in January 2009.[2]
Gerhard Frey was born on 18 February 1933 inCham. He studied law.[3] In 1960 Frey received his PhD (Dr. rer. pol.) from theUniversity of Graz, Austria. His dissertation was a study of the trade pattern between Austria and Germany.[4] He was married to Regine Frey, with whom he had four children.[2][5] His daughter Michaela (born 1965) is an attorney, his son Gerhard Jr. (born 1969) is a lawyer. Frey died on 19 February 2013, the day after his 80th birthday, inGräfelfing near Munich.[6]
The scholarCas Mudde described Frey as "One of the most influential people in the German post-war extreme right scene" and a "multi-millionaire media czar who owns and publishes several newspapers".[7]
Frey took control of the far rightDeutsche Soldaten-Zeitung in 1959, later renamedNational Zeitung, and raised the paper’s circulation from 27,500 in 1958 to 131,000 in 1967. The paper frequently publishedhistorical revisionist and anti-Israel articles.[8][9] In 1967 it used the termdesk murderer (Schreibtischtäter) referring to people who support Israel as, in its view, they thereby take the risk to become accomplices in crimes committed there.[10]
Frey has been described as rarely generous, except at his party functions where he hostedDavid Irving, whom he paid generously and provided a hired luxury car for.[11] A large amount of advertising inNational Zeitung were for Frey's other businesses, thus more money than usual went back to Frey. Such businesses includedDeutsche Reisen, a travel service, and theDeutscher Buchdienst, selling books, medals and flags.[12] Frey's party, the DVU, was described as the "Frey-Party" because of its financial dependency on him.[13]The Irish Times, after the party's success in the 1998Saxony-Anhalt state elections, described the DVU as "less a political party than the dangerous plaything of a millionaire", without any real party structure. At the time, Frey's personal fortune was estimated to be in excess ofDM 500 million.[14]
Frey enjoyed good relations with some conservative politicians like Alfred Seidl,[15] interior minister of Bavaria 1977-78, with European far-right and right wing leaders likeJean-Marie Le Pen andVladimir Zhirinovsky but his relationship with other German far-right leaders was less friendly as they feared his financial power could overwhelm them.[16]
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)gerhard frey dvu.
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