Mourning in Bavaria: Free Voters leader Hubert Aiwanger passes away

The Bild newspaper first reported the death, which was confirmed by the Münchner Merkur. Aiwanger had been Minister of Economic Affairs and Vice-Minister President of the Free State of Bavaria since 2018.

Aiwanger was born in Ergoldsbach, Lower Bavaria, and grew up in Rahstorf near Landshut. After graduating from high school in 1990 and completing his military service, he studied agricultural sciences in Weihenstephan. He completed his studies as a diploma agricultural engineer in 1995 and subsequently worked in the family business. He began his political career locally.

From 2008, Aiwanger was a city councilor in Rottenburg an der Laaber and a member of the Landshut district council. Within the Free Voters, he steadily rose: in 2006 he took over the Bavarian state association, in 2010 the federal chairmanship. He had been a member of the state parliament since 2008 and led the parliamentary group there until October 2018. After the state election in 2018, the Free Voters formed a government with the CSU for the first time, with Aiwanger taking over the ministerial positions for economic affairs and energy, as well as the office of Vice-Minister President. He retained these positions after the 2023 election as well.

The Free Voters celebrated successes under Aiwanger’s leadership in the spring at the local elections, winning numerous district administrator positions from the CSU. However, one significant political goal remained elusive: the entry of his party into the Bundestag. Aiwanger leaves behind two children and lived with district administrator Tanja Schweiger.

According to dpa, Aiwanger was found dead in a Berlin hotel room on Wednesday. He was scheduled to deliver a speech at the opening of the Free Voters’ capital office in the afternoon, but had canceled for health reasons. He was later unreachable and was found lifeless in his room. The cause of death is currently unknown.