Bavaria's deputy minister-president Hubert Aiwanger has been found dead in a hotel room in Berlin. The Berlin public prosecutor's office confirmed the discovery in the Mitte district. Investigators have opened a death investigation, and a homicide unit has been involved. The aim is to rule out external interference.
The discovery was made early in the evening, after attempts to reach the 55-year-old politician had failed. Aiwanger was scheduled to speak at the opening of a Berlin office of the Free Voters. He cancelled the appointment for health reasons and had a representative take his place. The cause of death is not yet known. According to the information available so far, there are no indications of third-party involvement; the authorities are nevertheless examining all possibilities before reaching any conclusions.
Aiwanger had been a member of the Bavarian State Parliament since 2008 and had served as a minister since 2018. As economics minister and deputy minister-president, he led the coalition with the CSU, which he supported in the Free State. At the same time, he headed the Free Voters at both state and federal level. His party received 15.8 percent in the 2023 state election. That same year, he survived a scandal over a leaflet from his school days, whose content had been sharply criticised and long overshadowed his political career. Aiwanger leaves behind two children.
Minister-President Markus Söder described the death as a tragedy. State Parliament President Ilse Aigner expressed her sorrow at the news. Shock was also reported from the opposition, cutting across political camps and emphasising the loss of a politician who had for years been at the centre of Bavarian state politics.
Up until the previous day, Aiwanger had been active on social media. His last posts criticised the bureaucracy of the European Union and youth protests in several cities. That he publicly took a position just a few hours before his death lends the sudden news additional poignancy. The prosecutor's office has not yet released further details about the circumstances, so it remains unclear exactly when the death occurred.