Wolfgang Schäuble dies at the age of 81

Born in Freiburg in 1942, Schäuble was, among other things, Federal Minister of the Interior and Federal Minister of Finance, head of the CDU parliamentary group and party chairman of the CDU. He had been elected to the Bundestag by direct mandate in every election since 1972. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wrote to Schäuble's widow Ingeborg:"Wolfgang Schäuble was a stroke of luck for German history." He had "achieved historic things for our country".

The Bundestag must now decide when the state ceremony in honor of Schäuble ordered by Steinmeier is to take place. The commemorative event will be organized by parliament.

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said:"Germany is losing a formative Christian Democrat who liked to argue and yet never lost sight of what politics is all about: making the lives of citizens better."

Former Federal Chancellor and political companion of Schäuble, Angela Merkel(CDU), mourned the loss of a politician "who shaped our country in many ways." Schäuble's voice "will be missed in Germany, I will personally miss his advice."

"One of our country's happiest moments is inextricably linked to his name - the overcoming of the division of Germany," wrote Bundestag President Bärbel Bas(SPD) to Schäuble's widow. As Federal Minister of the Interior, Schäuble drafted the Unification Treaty and played a decisive role in guiding the unification process. "Wolfgang Schäuble has thus become the architect of German unification."

CDU Chairman and Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz said in Munich: "Our country has lost an exceptional politician, a statesman who left a deep mark on Germany and Europe over five decades." Schäuble had carried out his political duties "with the greatest, almost admirable discipline". In a message to the CDU/CSU MPs, Merz wrote that in Schäuble he had personally lost his "closest friend and advisor" that he had ever had in politics.

Katharina Dröge and Britta Haßelmann, leaders of the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag, said that Schäuble's work had "shaped this country". They thanked him for "his impressive commitment to our parliamentarianism and our democracy."

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "With Wolfgang Schäuble, we are losing a statesman and passionate European." CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt called Schäuble a "passionate parliamentarian". He had "rendered outstanding services to this country for decades".

French President Emmanuel Macron praised Schäuble as a "friend of France". The former finance minister had "contributed to German reunification, to the creation of the euro and to European unity".

The President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, told the portal "Zeit Online": "He was as strong as a rock and, in his own way, a truly convinced European who served his country with his immense talent and impressive strength."

Schäuble held several ministerial posts under Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Chancellor Merkel (both CDU). He was Head of the Chancellery, Minister of the Interior and most recently Federal Minister of Finance until 2017. Schäuble was President of the Bundestag between 2017 and 2021.

Schäuble, who holds a doctorate in law, was also leader of the CDU parliamentary group from 1991 to 2000 and CDU party leader between 1998 and 2000. Schäuble has been in a wheelchair since an assassination attempt on his life in October 1990. Schäuble is survived by his wife Ingeborg and four children.