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Found dead in the hotel: Free Voters leader Aiwanger is dead
The Bavarian politician Hubert Aiwanger was found dead in his hotel room in Berlin-Mitte. A death investigation has been initiated. more...
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dpa |/epd The Berlin public prosecutor's office confirms that Bavaria's Economics Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) was found dead in a Berlin hotel. He was discovered early in the evening in his room at the Hotel Neuer Fritz near Friedrichstrasse train station.
“The specific discovery situation cannot yet be revealed for tactical reasons,” said a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office. Investigative work is underway in the hotel, such as the search for clues, and if necessary there is also an interview with witnesses. An autopsy will likely be ordered after the body has been removed.
The public prosecutor's office and the murder squad of the Berlin State Criminal Police Office have initiated a death investigation. “The aim of the death investigation is to find out the specific cause of death and how it happened and to rule out possible foul play,” it said in a statement.
As the dpa learned, Aiwanger was supposed to give a speech in the afternoon at the opening of a capital office of the Free Voters, of which he is the federal and state chairman. However, he deregistered and was represented for health reasons. Later he was no longer available and was finally discovered lifeless in his room.
Aiwanger leaves behind his partner, Regensburg district administrator Tanja Schweiger (Free Voters), and their two children.
The death of Deputy Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger is causing consternation in Bavarian politics: It is "an absolute tragedy," wrote Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) on Network
State Parliament President Ilse Aigner (CSU) wrote on X that she was deeply shocked and stunned. Aiwanger was ripped from the middle of his life: “A big loss for Bavaria.” The leader of the Green Party in the state parliament, Katharina Schulze, also expressed her concern in an initial reaction to
State Secretary for Economic Affairs Tobias Gotthardt (Free Voters), who is currently on a delegation trip to Singapore, announced that he would return to Bavaria immediately. “The news of Hubert’s sudden death hits me deeply and is incomprehensible to all of us,” he explained.