Oskar Freysinger

Freysinger was born in Sierre.^[2] He studied at a German-speaking school in Sion, and later studied German literature and philosophy, and French literature, obtaining a teaching degree in 1985. He studied at the University of Fribourg.^[3] He has taught at the Lycée-Collège de la Planta since 1987.^[3] He is married to Ghislaine Héritier and has three children.^[3]

From 1997 and 2001, Freysinger was a communal counselor at Savièse for the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland.^[3] He co-founded the Valaisan branch of the Swiss People's Party (SVP), which he headed from 1999 to 2002.^[3] He became a member of the cantonal parliament of Valais from 2001 to 2003, and of the National Council of Switzerland from 2003 until 2015.^[2]

His main proposals include the revocation of article 261 bis; hold naturalisation by popular vote; expulsion of foreigners convicted of crimes; and strict regulation of drugs.^[3] He has been considered "a leading anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic figure on the European scene".^[4]

Freysinger played a crucial role in the 2009 Swiss minaret referendum to ban Islamic mosque minarets, and he participated in a counter-jihad conference in Paris in 2010.^[5][6][7] He has also been on the board of advisors of the counter-jihad organisation Stop Islamization of Nations (SION).^[8][9][10] He sees Islam as essentially a political religion and therefore subject to secular law.^[11]

In March 2013, Freysinger was elected to the State Council of Valais,^[12] the cantonal executive where he led the department of education and Security until 2017 when he lost reelection, becoming the first State Councillor losing reelection in Valais in 80 years^[13]

Also in 2013, apart from becoming vice-president of the SVP,^[14] Freysinger was involved in a scandal concerning him keeping a German Reich war flag in his basement.^[15]

After not seeking reelection to the National Council in 2015 and losing reelection to the Valais State Council in 2017, Freysinger made a quiet exit from the spotlight, writing to a journalist: "I no longer exist".^[16]

Behind the scenes, Freysinger continued in politics, continuing to serve as vice-president of the SVP until 2018 and coordinating his party's campaign in the french-speaking part of Switzerland for the 2019 federal elections.^[17]

In 2021, an interview with Freysinger was blocked from Facebook due to it containing conspiracy-theories concerning COVID-19 and vaccines.^[18]

• Brüchige Welten. Kurzgeschichten, Parabeln, Satiren. Rotten, Visp 2004, ISBN 3-907624-60-2
• Outre-pensées. Matze, Sion 2005, ISBN 2-940375-00-3
• Die Schachspirale. Roman. Matze, Sion 2006, ISBN 2-940375-02-X
• Le nez dans le soleil. Monologue. Matze, Sion 2009, ISBN 978-2-940375-07-3
• Under Pseudonym Janus: Canines: antipolar. Xenia éditions, Sion 2010, ISBN 978-2-88892-103-5
• Antifa. Petit manuel antifasciste. Tatamis, Paris 2011, ISBN 978-2-917617-14-4
• Löwenzahn oder Der alte Mann an der Suone. Weltbild, Olten 2012, ISBN 978-3-03812-442-9
• Wabers Schwarm. Weltbild, Olten 2012, ISBN 978-3-03812-470-2
• Bergfried. Brinkhaus, Horw 2017, ISBN 978-3-906900-11-7
• Die dunkle Seite des Lichts. Brinkhaus, Horw 2018, ISBN 978-3-906900-12-4
• Rote Asche. Roman. Brinkhaus, Horw 2018, ISBN 978-3-906900-20-9
• Übung allein macht keinen Meister. Brinkhaus, Horw 2019, ISBN 9783906900209
• Nachtwehen. Ein Briefroman Brinkhaus, Horw 2019, ISBN 978-3-906900-23-0
• Waterman: A Sandy Tale. Wipf and Stock 2022, ISBN 9781666731781
• Svalbard. Roman Brinkhaus, Horw 2023, ISBN 978-3-906900-31-5