The head of the AfD in Leipzig was the center of controversy in 2016 when newspapers reported that a car in his motor pool had the license plate: "AH 1818." "AH" are the initials of Adolf Hitler. 1 and 8, the first and eighth letters of the alphabet, are considered a code for Adolf Hitler among neo-Nazi groups.

As the AfD's lead candidate in Rhineland-Palatinate, the 28-year-old Münzenmaier cruised to a seat in the Bundestag. Münzenmaier made headlines in October when he was convicted of being an accessory to assault in a case of football hooliganism. But because that's considered a minor offense, he is able to exercise his mandate.

The 75-year-old former CDU man is the AfD's choice for Bundestag vice-president, but members of the other parties say they won't approve his candidacy. Glaser once opined that Muslims shouldn't enjoy freedom of religion because Islam is a political ideology. Critics reject that view as unconstitutional.

Frohnmaier is the chair of the party's youth organization, Junge Alternative. The 28-year-old wrote in August 2016 on Facebook that "our generation will suffer the most" from Merkel's decision to "flood this country with the shoddy proletariat from Africa and the Orient."

The former soldier from Lower Saxony once told a journalist that he had no problem with "Germany for the Germans," a phrase that is often used by neo-Nazi groups. He has also collectively described the Green Party and The Left party as "constitutional enemy No. 1."

The 77-year-old from Brandenburg was vice president of the Federation of Expellees (BdV) until 2012. He wrote in the newspaper "Ostpreussenblatt" in 2001 that he agreed with the statement that the Holocaust was a "myth" and an "effective instrument to criminalize the Germans and their history."

In January, the Dresden judge railed against the "creation of mixed nationalities" that are "destroying national identity." He has also called for an end to Germany's "culture of guilt" surrounding the country's actions in the Second World War.

The AfD's vice-chair is an MP in the European parliament and is known for her hardline conservative views. In 2016, she replied affirmatively to a Facebook user who had asked her whether armed force should be used to stop women with children from illegally entering Germany. She later apologized for the comment.

One of the AfD's top candidates, Gauland was widely criticized after suggesting that the German government's commissioner for integration, Aydan Özoguz, should be "disposed of" in Turkey because she had said that there was no specifically German culture beyond the German language.

The 38-year-old economist was the AfD's other top candidate. Despite living in Switzerland, Weidel ran for the Baden-Württemberg constituency of Bodensee. She drew criticism for describing Germany's integration commissioner Aydan Özoguz, who has Turkish roots, as a "stain" and a "disgrace." In a contested email attributed to Weidel, she called Angela Merkel's government "pigs" and "puppets."

For a long time Frauke Petry was the face of the AfD, and she's one of the more recognizable figures in the Bundestag. But she's no longer a member of the right-wing populist party. Petry quit shortly after the election after falling out with other leaders. Because she won her voting district outright, she still gets a Bundestag mandate, where she sits as an independent.

Photographer Herlinde Koelbl immortalized the German chancellor in her series "Traces of Power" — in addition to former chancellor Gerhard Schröder and former foreign minister Joschka Fischer. Photographing and interviewing the politicians for the project, Koelbl's long-term study examined how years in office transforms people.

US artist Elizabeth Peyton portrayed the German chancellor for a profile in "Vogue" magazine in 2017. Peyton's stylized depiction of a younger Merkel carried on a theme of presenting strong women characters in her portraits that have also included Michelle Obama, Camille Claudel and Frida Kahlo. Peyton was inspired for this portrait by hundreds of photos of the Chancellor taken across 30 years.

"We see images of her where she can appear to be a quite bland and almost cold person; but what I wanted to get across was her humanitarian stance," said Northern Irish artist Colin Davidson of his Merkel portrait for "Time's" 2015 Person of the Year cover. That year, the chancellor dealt with "two existential crises," wrote "Time" — Europe's debt crisis and a mass influx of refugees.

This drawing by Dutch artist Erik van Lieshout portrays the Chancellor with red lips and a tired, inscrutable gaze. It was actually acquired by the contemporary art collection of the Federal Republic of Germany, which was started in 1970 in Bonn. Van Lieshout said he only needed an hour to finish his portrait and that the "mouth turned out to be very beautiful."

Angela Merkel has not only inspired renowned artists, but hobby painters as well, including George W. Bush. The former US president — who had never lifted a paintbrush in his life — set out to paint a series of 30 world leaders, among them the German Chancellor, for a 2015 show called "The Art of Leadership: A President's Personal Diplomacy."

Art begins on the street: In the tradition of the murales — South American murals with political statements — Italian street art artist Jupiterfab depicted Angela Merkel geting close and personal with the former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on a building wall in Athens.

Political art can also hang in the museum: Here, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, donning a Napoleon hat, sits on the motherly lap of a naked Angela Merkel. The British artist and satirist Kaya Mar prefers to focus on politicians in his motifs; he has also portrayed Theresa May, Donald Trump and the Pope in satirical contexts.

Bulgarian art students decorated the walls of buildings in the village of Staro Zhelezare — initially with portraits of the inhabitants. Later, there were also politicians who seemed to be in dialogue with the locals, like Chancellor Merkel. The walls have meanwhile also been painted with copies of artworks from New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Some sculptures of the chancellor are deliberately provocative: "European Citizenship" by Alexander Nikolic and Michael Kalivoda shows a defecating Merkel; while Peter Lenk's relief "Global Players" shows her and other German politicians naked and engaged in sexual play. Unoffensive in comparison, Georg Korner's installation "Transit" (pictured) includes Merkel among 2,600 figures.

In his series of images "Hipstory," Israeli illustrator Amit Shimoni portrays the powerful and influential as young hipsters. Trump, for instance, wears a Hawaiian shirt, while Obama has dreadlocks. Merkel is among them, with dark lipstick, a nose piercing and a felt black hat.

New wrinkles around her eyes and mouth have been appearing in cartoonists' depictions of her, too. The German chancellor has been caricatured on countless occasions in newspapers worldwide — demonstrating that her influence and power go way beyond the country's borders.