Source: AFP
Wolfgang Schäuble, a leading figure in German politics for decades and a symbol of fiscal austerity in the eurozone, was laid to rest on Friday after dying at the age of 81.
He was a minister under Chancellors Helmut Kohl and Angela Merkel and played a key role in German reunification in 1990.
Schäuble died on December 26 after a long battle with the disease.
The funeral service was held in a church in the city of Offenburg, in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.
During the ceremony, regional Prime Minister Winfried Kretzmann called Schäuble a “passionate democrat” and a “convinced European”.
Prominent members of Schäuble’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party attended the service, including CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who in his eulogy described the late politician as a “role model” who “had made history”.
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Former Chancellor Merkel did not attend but was due to take part in a state tribute for Schäuble in Berlin on January 22, her spokeswoman said.
“Unearned” budget guardian
As finance minister for eight years under Merkel, Schäuble built a reputation as a guardian of German fiscal discipline, particularly during the Greek debt crisis.
Source: AFP
Describing himself as “relentless” in managing Germany’s public purse, he showed the same precision towards his euro partners, insisting on strict conditions for any bailout contribution from Berlin.
His tough stance made him unpopular with many Greeks in the wake of the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the ensuing eurozone debt crisis.
Born in Freiburg in 1942, Schäuble was the longest-serving member of the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, where he had sat since 1972.
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It was under former conservative leader Kohl that the pro-European Schäuble forged his career, rising through the ranks to eventually become the chancellor’s chief of staff.
Together they oversaw Germany’s national reunification, before personal tragedy struck — an assassination attempt by a deranged man in 1990 left him severely injured and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
After a mudslinging scandal tarnished Kohl’s reputation in the 1990s, Schäuble spent a period in the political wilderness before returning in the early 2000s.
Although Merkel refused to back him for the role of federal president, he became her interior minister in 2005 and finance minister in 2009.
Schäuble then served as president of the Bundestag from 2017 to 2021 and remained a member of parliament until his death.
He is survived by his wife and their four children.
Source: AFP