According to initial findings, Aiwanger died through no fault of his own

One day after the sudden death of Free Voters leader Aiwanger, the first investigation results are available. There is therefore no evidence of third-party negligence. The free voters must j

Death of Aiwanger According to investigators, there is no evidence of foul play As of: November 5th, 2026 • 4:25 p.m

One day after the sudden death of Free Voters leader Aiwanger, the first investigation results are available. There is therefore no evidence of third-party negligence. The Free Voters must now reorganize themselves.

One day after the sudden death of Bavaria's Economics Minister and Free Voters leader Hubert Aiwanger, the preliminary results of the autopsy are available. As the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office announced, the 55-year-old died through no fault of his own. There was no evidence of this. However, further forensic medical examinations are still pending. The investigation was ongoing.

Aiwanger was found lifeless in a Berlin hotel room on Wednesday. The 55-year-old was in the city to open the Free Voters' new capital office, but was absent from the event.

Aiwanger's death caused consternation across all party lines. "I'm really shocked and also hurt," said Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder, who has led the coalition of CSU and Free Voters since 2018. Aiwanger's death tears a deep hole in Bavarian politics and in the hearts of many people. Söder announced that he wanted to continue his party's common policy with the Free Voters.

A book of condolence will be available in the Prinz-Carl-Palais in Munich from Friday. Söder ordered mourning flags to be displayed at all government buildings.

Mourning for Free Voters leader Hubert Aiwanger - Achim Wendler, BR tagesschau24, November 5th, 2026 • 6:00 p.m. November 5th, 2026

The surprising death of Free Voters leader Aiwanger has caused consternation across all parties. more

The Free Voters, whose most prominent face was Aiwanger, now need a new state and federal chairman. Aiwanger was re-elected as state leader just a year ago. He actually wanted to be re-confirmed as federal chairman the weekend after next.

A federal party conference planned for November 14th has been postponed. The party and parliamentary group want to discuss how to proceed by the weekend.

State Secretary Tobias Gotthardt will take over the official duties in the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs - this is regulated in the state government's rules of procedure. It is still unclear whether and when the Free Voters will fill or refill their positions. Gotthardt will immediately return to Bavaria from a delegation trip to Singapore, the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced.

Formally, a new minister must be appointed by Söder and the state parliament must agree.

After Aiwanger's unexpected death, the Free Voters have to regroup. more

Aiwanger has been state chairman of the Free Voters since 2006 and also federal chairman since 2010. In 2008 he and his party entered the Bavarian state parliament for the first time and became its parliamentary group leader. Ten years later, in 2018, the CSU and Free Voters forged a coalition. Aiwanger became economics minister and deputy prime minister.

A turning point was the late summer of 2023, when Aiwanger came under massive criticism. The background was an anti-Semitic leaflet that was found on him when he was at school. His brother later said in an interview that he had written the paper. That was shortly before the state elections in Bavaria. At that time, the government coalition with the CSU was on the verge of failure. Aiwanger was threatened with expulsion. Nevertheless, he celebrated a new record result of 15.8 percent for the Free Voters in the election.