Wolfgang Schäuble (German pronunciation: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ ˈʃɔʏblə]; 18 September 1942 – 26 December 2023) was a German lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). His political career has spanned more than fifty years. He was a member of the Bundestag from 1972 until his death in 2023. His fifty-one year career in the Bundestag made him the longest serving member of parliament in the country's history.[1]
Schäuble was born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1942.[2] He was the son of tax finance advisor and politician Karl Schäuble and Gertrud Göhring.[2] Schäuble studied at the University of Freiburg and the University of Hamburg, graduating in 1966 and 1970 respectively.[3] He began a career in law at the district court of Offenburg in 1978.[3]
In 1969, he married Ingeborg Hensle. They had four children.
Schäuble was the Minister of the Interior from 1989 to 1991 during the Helmut Kohl government. He was seen as Kohl's protege.[6] During his time as Minister of the Interior, Schäuble was one of the most popular politicians in Germany.[6] He was regularly mentioned as a possible future Chancellor,[6] however he was criticized by civil rights activists for his strict law and order policies.[7]
On 12 October 1990, at the age of 48 and just after reunification, Schäuble was the target of an assassination attempt by Dieter Kaufmann, who fired three shots at him after an election campaign event in Oppenau.[8] Kaufmann injured a bodyguard, and severely injured Schäuble's spinal cord and face.[8] Schäuble was left paralysed from the attack and used a wheelchair ever since.
During his time as Finance Minister in the Merkel government, he was described as "Germany's second most powerful person" after Merkel.[9] He took a hard line towards Southern European countries during the eurozone crisis[10] such as not supporting the International Monetary Fund stance to give Greece more time to fix their deficit issues.[11] He was a supporter of austerity policies and his 2014 budget allowed Germany to take on no new debt for the first time since 1969.[12][13]
When Federal President Joachim Gauck announced in June 2016 that he would not stand for reelection, Schäuble was seen by German and international media as likely replacement;[14][15] however the job soon went to Frank-Walter Steinmeier instead.[16]
On 27 September 2017 the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag announced Schäuble’s nomination as President of the Bundestag[17] and assumed office on 24 October 2017. In October 2021, Schaüble left office as President of the Bundestag and was replaced by Bärbel Bas. He became the Father of the Bundestag shortly afterwards since he was the longest sitting member of the Bundestag at the time.
Illness and death
In May 2010, on his way to Brussels for an emergency meeting at the European Parliament, he was hospitalized for an allergic reaction to a new antibiotic.[18] At the time, Schäuble thought about resigning, however, Chancellor Angela Merkel declined his offer to step down twice during a period of bad health in 2010.[19]
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