Bavarian politician Hubert Aiwanger found dead in Berlin hotel

Aiwanger was Bavaria's Economy Minister and the chairman of the right-wing populist Free Voters party. The circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear.

Bavarian politician Hubert Aiwanger was found dead in a hotel in Berlin on Wednesday, the German capital's public prosecutor's office said.

Aiwanger was Bavaria's deputy premier, economy minister and the chairman of the right-wing populist Free Voters party. He was 55 years old. 

What do we know about Hubert Aiwanger's death?

The circumstances surrounding Aiwanger's death are still unclear. Police and prosecutors in the German capital have launched an investigation.

On Wednesday evening, investigators said the goal is to "determine the specific cause of death and the circumstances surrounding it, as well as to rule out any possible foul play."

Aiwanger had been feeling unwell on Wednesday, German tabloid Bild reported.

He was scheduled to deliver a speech at the opening of a party office in Berlin but canceled his appearance for health reasons, German news agency dpa reported.

Aiwanger's body was found on Wednesday evening at the "Neuer Fritz" Hotel on Friedrichstrasse in Berlin-Mitte, according to Bild.

Bavarian state premier, the Christian Social Union's Markus Söder, has said he is "deeply shocked" by the news of his deputy's death.

"The sudden death of Hubert Aiwanger is an absolute tragedy," Söder said in a post on X.

"Our thoughts are now first and foremost with his family and his children. We mourn with them and pray for them."

Who was Hubert Aiwanger?

Born in Lower Bavaria in southern Germany, Aiwanger was elected to the Bavarian State Parliament in 2008 with the Free Voters and became their parliamentary group leader. 

Since 2018, his party has been in a coalition with the center-right CSU, the Bavarian sister party of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Aiwanger served as the state's Minister of Economic Affairs and deputy premier.

Aiwanger was the face of the Free Voters in Bavaria and across Germany, and was known for his combative approach.

But his political success in the state did not ranslate to the national level, as the Free Voters never won enough seats to enter the Bundestag, Germany's federal parliament.

In the weeks before state elections in 2023, Aiwanger became embroiled in a national scandal when the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that he had written an antisemitic leaflet during high school in the 1980s, which included references to Nazi-era atrocities such as Auschwitz.

He is survived by two children. He was not married but lived with Tanja Schweiger, a district administrator for the Free Voters.