The death of the former German Economy Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, was announced on Wednesday morning by his family.
According to the announcement of the family, the 81-year-old politician died at his home on Tuesday night. As reported by the German news agency, Schäuble breathed his last "peacefully" at 8 pm on Tuesday
Schäuble was born on September 18, 1942 in Freiburg. He studied law but was drawn to politics early on, joining the CDU party in 1965. Schäuble, who was a member of the Bundestag for 50 years, is survived by his 80-year-old wife Ingeborg, four children and four grandchildren.
As noted by German media, Schäuble marked the history of Germany like no other politician. In 1972 he was elected to parliament for the first time with the CDU while as the Minister of the Interior of the Kohl government he had negotiated the reunification of Germany.
In his party Schäuble was considered one of the conservative politicians but behind the curtains his words always carried special weight. He was the one who had early on called for alliances with other parties such as the Greens, declaring in 207 that "black-green is not what we want but it is an option".
In October 1990 Schäuble was shot by a mentally ill man during a campaign rally and has since been confined to a wheelchair.
The grand seigneur of German politics had retired at the age of 79 from the front line, after 19 years in ministries, two years at the head of the CDU and nine in the role of head of the Parliamentary Group. However, Mr. Schäuble's career was marked by the positions he did not win: that of chancellor and that of federal president. Twice he found Angela Merkel in front of him — to whom he nevertheless remained loyal to the end. "Not pleasant, not easy; faithful," as he put it.
For Greece, of course - and not only -, Wolfgang Schäuble was rather the personification of fiscal discipline and austerity, and very few in the European South were willing to recognize as mitigating the... noble motive he invoked: the salvation of the European Union.
Source: protothema.gr