Hubert Aiwanger, leader of the Free Voters and Bavaria's deputy premier, has died in a Berlin hotel room. Investigators are looking into the circumstances of his death.
Hubert Aiwanger, the leader of the Free Voters party and Bavaria's deputy premier and economy minister, was found dead in a Berlin hotel room on Wednesday, according to reports from Bild and DW.
Investigators in Berlin have launched an investigation to "determine the specific cause of death and the circumstances surrounding it, as well as to rule out any possible foul play," according to DW.
Michael Petzold, a spokesperson for Berlin’s public prosecutor’s office, told Bild, “There is no initial suspicion of any crime. Nothing can be ruled out at this point.” He added, “For investigative reasons, the specific circumstances of the discovery cannot yet be disclosed.”
Aiwanger, 55, was staying at the Hotel Neuer-Fritz in Berlin-Mitte. He had reportedly fallen ill the night before he was found. While his exact cause of death remains unclear, members of the Christian Social Union (CSU) told Bild he had experienced gastrointestinal problems. Sources told Bild that Aiwanger was found with no external injuries.
Aiwanger had been a Bavarian lawmaker since 2008 and served as Deputy Minister-President of Bavaria starting in 2018. His party, the Free Voters, has been in a coalition with the CSU since 2018. In the 2023 Bavarian state elections, the Free Voters finished second with 37 seats, an increase of 10 seats from their 2018 performance.
His political career included a controversy in 2023 regarding allegations of antisemitism. According to DW, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that Aiwanger had published a leaflet mocking the Holocaust while in school during the 1980s. Aiwanger admitted to having copies of the pamphlet in his backpack at the time, describing the contents as “disgusting and inhumane.” He told Welt TV, “It is certainly the case that in adolescence, one thing or another could be interpreted in such and such a way that is in line with the things that 15-year-old me is being accused of,” but stated, “since I reached adulthood, over the past decades, [I am] not an antisemite, not an extremist – but rather, a humanitarian.”
Bavaria’s State Premier and CSU leader Markus Söder described the death as an “absolute tragedy.” Söder stated, “We are all deeply shocked. Our thoughts are now first and foremost with his family and his children. We mourn with them and pray for them.”
Karl Lauterbach, a politician for the SPD, described Aiwanger as “controversial and not easy to deal with.”
Aiwanger was a prominent figure in Bavarian politics and the leader of the Free Voters. His death occurs amid an ongoing investigation by Berlin prosecutors to determine the cause of death and rule out foul play.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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