
He is a former history teacher who is gunning to become the first far-right state premier in post-war Germany. But first, Bjoern Hoecke will have to appear in court on Thursday for publicly using a banned Nazi slogan.
Hoecke, 52, is the head of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Thuringia, one of three former East German states where the party is leading opinion polls ahead of regional elections in September.