Bavarian deputy leader Hubert Aiwanger found dead in Berlin hotel

Hubert Aiwanger, the deputy leader of Bavaria and head of Germany's populist Free Voters party, was found dead in a Berlin hotel on Wednesday, police said. He was 55. Authorities said the cause of his death was not immediately known and announced an investigation into the circumstances.

Police said Aiwanger had been discovered in his room at a hotel in the Berlin-Mitte district. In a statement, police and prosecutors said their inquiry would seek to establish precisely how he died and the circumstances surrounding his death. It would also seek to rule out any responsibility on the part of another person. They released no further details.

Aiwanger, who also served as Bavaria's economy minister, had travelled to the German capital for the opening of an office for his party, according to the Bild daily. The newspaper reported that he felt unwell and did not attend the event. It said police subsequently discovered his body at the hotel.

Bavarian state premier Markus Soeder called the death an “absolute tragedy” and expressed his shock. “We are all deeply shocked. Our thoughts are now first and foremost with his family and his children,” he said. Aiwanger's Free Voters served as the junior coalition partner in Bavaria's regional government, which was led by Soeder's Christian Social Union, or CSU.

Aiwanger had led the Bavarian branch of the Free Voters since 2006. During his leadership, the party entered the state government for the first time in 2018. Despite that regional breakthrough, it never secured enough seats to qualify for representation in Germany's federal parliament.

In 2023, Aiwanger became the subject of national controversy following reports alleging that he had written an antisemitic pamphlet when he was a 17-year-old schoolboy. The pamphlet referred to Auschwitz as an entertainment quarter.

He rejected the allegation that he had authored the pamphlet, while acknowledging that he had carried one or a few copies in his school bag. Aiwanger apologised over the affair but resisted calls to leave office and refused to step down.

German media reported that Aiwanger had two children and lived with his partner. The authorities' announcement left the cause of his death unresolved, with police and prosecutors providing no additional information about their findings.