German Finance Minister and Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble has passed away.

He helped negotiate the reunification of Germany in 1990 and played a key role in the austerity efforts that dragged Europe out of its debt crisis for more than two decades. Former German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble died on Tuesday evening, December 26 at the age of 81, his family announced to the German press agency DPA on Wednesday. A member of the Bundestag for half a century, Wolfgang Schäuble has been one of the most important figures in German political life over the past thirty years.

Born in Freiburg on September 18, 1942, he first served as a tax official in his home state of Baden-Württemberg in the southwest of the country before being elected to the West German parliament in 1972. He joined the government of West Germany. (FRG) for the first time in 1984, as chief of staff to Chancellor Helmut Kohl for five years, before becoming Minister of the Interior (1989–1991).

The reunited actor is the victim of an attack

In this capacity, Mr. Schäuble was a key negotiator, contributing to the drafting of the agreement that created the legal framework for the merger from October 3, 1990. Nine days after reunification, Wolfgang Schäuble was the victim of an attack while campaigning for the first election of the United Nations in Oppena, southwest Germany. An attacker with a history of mental illness shoots him in the spine, paralyzing him for life. Another bullet hit him in the face, leading to plastic surgery for the latter.

Now a quadriplegic, Mr. Schäuble soon returned to politics. From 1991 to 1998, he was head of the Christian Democratic Union's (CDU) parliamentary group, before becoming leader of the Conservative Party after losing the federal elections to Mr. But he was forced to step down as party leader two years later, and later, Mr.

An advocate of austerity

After another stint in the Ministry of Home Affairs from 2005 to 2009, M.^me Merkel, a right-wing politician, was appointed finance minister in 2009 until 2017. During the Eurozone debt crisis, Wolfgang Schäuble became an uncompromising defender of budgetary austerity.

A longtime supporter of greater European unity, he spent years trying to strengthen integration and establish stricter rules. Germany emphasized austerity and was criticized for its lack of solidarity among member states.

After eight years as Finance Minister, Mr. Schauble cemented his status as a seasoned politician by becoming president of the Bundestag in 2017, until 2021, the last step in a long and distinguished political career that has surpassed many. Discourages setbacks.