René Aust

René Aust (born 24 April 1987) is a German politician of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). He entered the state parliament of Thuringia after the state elections of 27 October 2019. In the 2024 European Parliament election he came third on his party's list and entered the European Parliament.^[1]

René Aust MEP
Aust in 2024
Member of the European Parliament for Germany
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 July 2024
Member of the Landtag of Thuringia
In office 27 October 2019 – 15 July 2024
Succeeded by	Stefan Schröder
Personal details
Born	(1987-04-24) 24 April 1987 (age 38) Lüdinghausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Political party	Alternative for Germany (since 2017)
Other political affiliations	Social Democratic (2003–2014)
Alma mater	University of Giessen

As the AfD had banned Maximilian Krah and Petr Bystron from appearing in public during the campaign for the 2024 European elections, Aust was "in the national spotlight."^[2] The AfD won 15 of Germany's 96 seats in the European Parliament. At their inaugural meeting, the 15 newly elected MEPs chose Aust as head of the AfD's delegation to the European Parliament, while also approving a motion not to include Krah in their delegation.^[3]