the year 2012 surfaced where he posted a photograph of the Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and commented "Comrade Stalin ;-)". On 4 March, Ramelow was again elected as Minister President by the Landtag due to the abstentions of the CDU and FDP. After the vote, he refused to shake the hand of Björn Höcke, leader of the Thuringian AfD. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Ramelow became one of Germany's most prominent critics of lockdowns. Under Ramelow, Thuringia was the first state to lift restrictions following the first wave, and Ramelow resisted lockdown measures requested by Angela Merkel during the second wave in late Autumn and the run-up to Christmas. In January, as Thuringia became Germany's worst affected state, Ramelow announced that he regretted this decision and now supported a hard lockdown. References External links 1956 births Living people People from Osterholz Members of the Bundestag for Thuringia Members of the Landtag of Thuringia Ministers-President of Thuringia Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians Members of the Bundestag 2005–2009 Members of the Bundestag for The Left Presidents of the German Bundesrat