Germany, former Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble dies | EUROtoday

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Wolfgang Schaeuble, former German Finance Minister, has died at 81. He is remembered for participating within the negotiations that led to the reunification of Germany in 1990 and for being a central determine within the efforts to steer Europe out of the disaster within the late 2000s. Schaeuble’s loss of life occurred final night time at dwelling , the household defined to the German company Dpa.

Schäuble was born in 1942 in Freiburg im Breisgau and was 81 years previous. No German parliamentarian has been a member of the Bundestag for longer since 1972 till his loss of life final night time. In 1990 the Christian Democrat politician suffered a severe assault by a madman who shot him thrice: Schäuble was saved and recovered, however since then he had been residing in a wheelchair.

He grew to become Chancellor Angela Merkel’s finance minister in October 2009, shortly earlier than revelations about Greece’s rising finances deficit triggered the disaster that engulfed the continent, threatening to destabilize the world monetary order.

A longtime advocate of larger European unity, he helped lead a years-long effort that sought deeper integration and stricter guidelines. However, in these years Germany was additionally criticized on a number of events as a supporter of austerity measures. After eight years on the helm of the Finance Ministry, Schaeuble had consolidated his standing as an elder statesman by turning into president of the German parliament.

With the passing of Wolfgang Schäuble “Germany loses a keen thinker, a passionate politician and a combative democrat”. The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, wrote it on