Hubert Aiwanger, Bavaria’s deputy premier and leader of the Free Voters, was found dead in a hotel room in Berlin on Wednesday. The 55-year-old had cancelled a planned speech at the opening of the party’s office in the capital because of health problems.
Aiwanger was later unreachable and was found dead early in the evening in his room at the Hotel Neuer Fritz, near Friedrichstraße station. Authorities have not publicly disclosed who found him or the circumstances of the discovery, citing the ongoing investigation.
Police have opened a death investigation, and the homicide squad is involved to rule out the possibility of third-party involvement. A spokesperson for the public prosecutor’s office said an autopsy was expected. Forensic investigators and a forensic medicine team were also called to the hotel.
Aiwanger, Bavaria’s economy minister, had been accompanied in Berlin by officials from the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office, according to an agency spokesperson. The spokesperson did not provide details about how he was found.
His death prompted expressions of shock and grief across political parties and beyond Bavaria. Aiwanger lived with Tanja Schweiger, a district administrator for the Free Voters, and they had two children.
Sources: Handelsblatt.