30 Facts About Gregor Gysi

Gregor Gysi belonged to the reformist wing of the governing Socialist Unity Party of Germany at the time of the pro-democracy transition inspired by then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Gregor Gysi has strongly denied allegations that he used to assist the Stasi, the East German secret police.

Gregor Gysi was the last leader of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and led the effort that transformed it into the post-Communist Party of Democratic Socialism, forerunner of The Left.

Gregor Gysi's father was Klaus Gysi, a high-ranking official in East Germany who served as the Minister of Culture from 1966 to 1973.

Gregor Gysi is of partial Jewish ancestry; his paternal grandmother was Jewish, as was one of his maternal great-grandfathers.

Gregor Gysi's sister, Gabriele, is an actress who left East Germany in 1985.

Gregor Gysi recalls having examined the laws and advising them that they could apply for such a permit from the police and the worst outcome would be that their request could be denied, but they would not be breaking any law or doing anything illegal.

Gregor Gysi further recalls assisting the group in requesting and completing the appropriate forms and paperwork required for such a permit.

Gregor Gysi declared that the party needed to adopt a new form of socialism.

Gregor Gysi remained as party chairman, and in March 1990 was elected to the Volkskammer in the first free election of that body.

Gregor Gysi remained chairman of the PDS through 1998, and then from 1998 to 2000 served as chairman of the party's parliamentary group.

In 1992, it was alleged Gregor Gysi was an informer of East Germany's Ministry for State Security.

Gregor Gysi denied these allegations, and the matter was largely dropped due to his parliamentary immunity.

In 1998, the Bundestag's immunity committee concluded that Gregor Gysi had been a collaborator with the Stasi from 1978 to 1989 under the name IM Notar, and fined him 8,000 Deutsche Mark.

However, both the Free Democratic Party and his own PDS disputed the verdict, and Gregor Gysi appealed against the finding.

Gregor Gysi emphasised practical issues and advocated the reinstitution of some of what he sees as the better aspects of East Germany's system, such as extended child-care hours and a longer school day.

Formerly a heavy smoker, Gregor Gysi quit smoking as a result of surviving the heart attack.

Gregor Gysi remained the PDS's undisputed front man in many people's minds and has appeared in public.

Gregor Gysi was a lead candidate of the PDS, and returned to the Bundestag as the member for Berlin-Treptow-Kopenick.

In 2014, Gregor Gysi wrote his analysis on the contemporary Ukraine crisis in the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, where he described similarities between the United States and Russia in their transgressions of international law.

Gregor Gysi calls for "a new Ostpolitik" to prevent war and promote "democracy and freedom in Russia".

In 2015, Gregor Gysi was one of the leading supporters of Greece during the Greek government-debt crisis.

Gregor Gysi is an outspoken supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations.

Gregor Gysi is one of the most present politicians in German entertainment media.

Gregor Gysi regularly appears on political entertainment talk shows and is host of conversation programs himself.

In 2019, Gregor Gysi stated to the Bundestag administration that he had received fees for almost 90 lectures, discussions and conversations.

Gregor Gysi earns money from jobs as lawyer and book publishing.

Gregor Gysi continues to deny allegations, which first surfaced in 1992, that he was a Stasi informant.

In November 2014, after being invited by Inge Hoger and Annette Groth, members of The Left to talk with them in the Bundestag, journalists Max Blumenthal and David Sheen learned that Gregor Gysi tried to cancel the meetings on the grounds that Blumenthal and Sheen held radical views from which he wished to dissociate the party.

Gregor Gysi fled, followed by the two men and other parliamentary members down a parliament corridor and into a bathroom in an incident referred to as "toiletgate".