He was a minister, parliamentary group leader and President of the Bundestag: Wolfgang Schäuble was one of the most influential politicians of the past decades. Now he will be buried in his home region.
Farewell to the exceptional parliamentarian and architect of German unity: Top politicians and relatives will pay tribute to the deceased CDU politician Wolfgang Schäuble at a memorial service today in Offenburg, Baden. The regional bishop of Baden, Heike Springhart, leads the publicly broadcast service in the Protestant city church.
Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) and the CDU federal chairman Friedrich Merz have been announced as speakers. CDU state leader Manuel Hagel, Mayor Marco Steffens (CDU) and Schäuble’s daughter, ARD program director Christine Strobl will also speak, as the city of Offenburg reported. Schäuble died on Boxing Day at the age of 81 after a long, serious illness.
After the service, a military honor is planned in front of the church. The funeral procession will then move over a distance of around one kilometer to the Waldbach cemetery.
State act of mourning in Berlin
Political Berlin will say goodbye to Schäuble on January 22nd. On this day, the Bundestag will host the state mourning ceremony ordered by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the plenary hall of the Reichstag building. The leaders of the German state – especially Steinmeier – and hundreds of guests from home and abroad are expected. French President Emmanuel Macron also wants to attend the state mourning ceremony. This was confirmed by the French Élysée Palace.
Schäuble shaped the politics of the Federal Republic in numerous high-ranking positions – he signed the unification treaty for the Federal Republic. In his political career, the Baden minister was a CDU leader, parliamentary group leader and President of the German Bundestag. Nobody has been a member of Parliament longer than him. His work has recently been recognized across party lines. Steinmeier called Schäuble a “stroke of luck for German history.”
Schäuble was born on September 18, 1942 in Freiburg. The qualified lawyer was drawn to politics at an early age. In 1965 he joined the CDU. In 1972 he won a mandate for the Bundestag for the first time, where he served for over half a century until his death. Each time he won the direct mandate in his constituency of Offenburg.
Source: Stern
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