Udo Ulfkotte

Who is Udo Ulfkotte?

Udo Ulfkotte, in Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia is a German journalist and critic of Islam. He was formerly an editor for one of Germany's main dailies, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Ulfkotte studied jurisprudence and politics at Freiburg and London. He was an advisor to the Kohl government. Between 1986-1998, Ulfkotte lived predominantly in the Islamic states of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.

Ulfkotte is a fellow of the German Marshall Fund and was on the staff of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation from 1999 to 2003. He won the civic prize of the Annette Barthelt Foundation in 2003.

Ulfkotte publishes a magazine called "Whistleblower" which reports on topics not covered by the German media.

Ulfkotte had planned to run for the Hamburg local elections in 2008 as number 2 on the Centre Party's list, but later withdrew in June/July 2007. On July 2007 Ulfkotte announced he will found a new national party.

Ulkotte is associated with Pax Europa, a German right wing organization. Pax Europa and Ulfkotte were a driving force behind a protest in Brussels, Belgium on September 11, 2007 titled "Stop the Islamization of Europe". He had turned to the Belgian Council of State in order to approve the protest when Brussels mayor Freddy Thielemans refused to permit it. However, he later withdrew his support.