Hubert Aiwanger, Bavaria’s deputy premier, economy minister and leader of the Free Voters party, was found dead in a Berlin hotel room on Wednesday, German police said, according to Associated Press, The Guardian and Deutsche Welle.
Aiwanger, 55, had been in the capital for the opening of a party office but cancelled after feeling unwell, German media reported. Berlin police and prosecutors opened an investigation to determine the cause of death and rule out third-party culpability; an autopsy was planned.
Bavarian Premier Markus Söder called the death an “absolute tragedy” and said thoughts were with Aiwanger’s family and children. The Free Voters are junior partners in Söder’s Christian Social Union-led state government.
Aiwanger had led the Bavarian Free Voters since 2006 and helped bring the party into the state government in 2018, though it never won seats in the federal parliament.
He faced national controversy in 2023 over an antisemitic pamphlet linked to his teenage years. He denied writing it, apologized, and refused to resign. Police gave no further details on Wednesday’s findings.
Associated Press, The Guardian, Deutsche Welle
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Police said the body was found in a hotel in Berlin-Mitte. German media reported Aiwanger missed a party office opening after feeling unwell and that he had two children. Authorities said the inquiry’s aim was to establish the specific cause and circumstances of death and to rule out third-party culpability.
Aiwanger never won enough support for the Free Voters to enter Germany’s federal Bundestag. Bavaria’s coalition with the CSU made him one of the country’s most visible regional populist leaders.
Sources: Associated Press, The Guardian, Deutsche Welle
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