Ulrich Siegmund was born on 25 October 1990 in Havelberg, Saxony-Anhalt. The now 35-year-old has been a member of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament since 2016 and, since August 2022, has co-chaired the AfD parliamentary group together with Oliver Kirchner. In 2025, he was chosen as the AfD’s lead candidate for the 2026 state election.
His professional path did not start directly in politics. Siegmund trained as a wholesale and foreign trade clerk. He then studied business psychology and business administration, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Before entering politics, Siegmund made his money in fragrances. In 2014, at the age of 23, he founded a company in the field of scent marketing. The firm sold fragrance oils, scent accessories and scenting technology, and offered consultancy services in marketing and sales. Siegmund’s studies in business psychology and business administration were also directly linked to his business: his bachelor’s thesis examined the psychological impact of scent marketing on purchasing behaviour.
In 2014, Siegmund and a business partner founded the company "Berlin duftet". The idea was to use targeted ambient scents to make, among other places, BVG and S-Bahn stations more pleasant and thereby reduce stress, aggression and vandalism. In a report by WELT at the time, Siegmund said he was thinking, for example, of a relaxing scent such as lavender.
