Wolfgang Schäuble

**Wolfgang Schäuble** (; 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.

Schäuble was the Leader of the Christian Democratic Union and Leader of the Opposition from 1998 to 2000. During his career, he had several government roles such as Head of the Chancellery, Minister of the Interior and Minister of Finance in the governments of Helmut Kohl and Angela Merkel. He was the President of the Bundestag from 2017 to 2021.

## Early life

Schäuble was born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1942. He was the son of tax finance advisor and politician Karl Schäuble and Gertrud Göhring. Schäuble studied at the University of Freiburg and the University of Hamburg, graduating in 1966 and 1970 respectively. He began a career in law at the district court of Offenburg in 1978.

In 1969, he married Ingeborg Hensle. They had four children.

## Political career

His political career began in 1969 as a member of the Junge Union. Schäuble was elected to the Bundestag by winning the constituency seat of Offenburg. His ministerial career began in 1984 when he was appointed Minister for Special Affairs and Head of the German Chancellery by Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Schäuble was the Minister of the Interior from 1989 to 1991 during the Helmut Kohl government. He was seen as Kohl's protege. During his time as Minister of the Interior, Schäuble was one of the most popular politicians in Germany. He was regularly mentioned as a possible future Chancellor, however he was criticized by civil rights activists for his strict law and order policies.

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. Kaufmann injured a bodyguard, and severely injured Schäuble's spinal cord and face. Schäuble was left paralysed from the attack and used a wheelchair ever since.

He was the leader of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany from 1998 to 2000 and was the Opposition Leader during this time period.

When Angela Merkel became Chancellor of Germany, he worked under her government. He was the Minister of the Interior from 2005 to 2009, having served the same role in the Helmut Kohl government. He was then the Minister of Finance from 2009 to 2017.

During his time as Finance Minister in the Merkel government, he was described as "Germany's second most powerful person" after Merkel. He took a hard line towards Southern European countries during the eurozone crisis such as not supporting the International Monetary Fund stance to give Greece more time to fix their deficit issues. 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.

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; however the job soon went to Frank-Walter Steinmeier instead.

On 27 September 2017 the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag announced Schäuble’s nomination as President of the Bundestag 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. 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.

Schäuble died of cancer at the age of 81 on 26 December 2023 in Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg.

## Other websites

- Wolfgang Schäuble: "Muslims Should Feel at Home in Germany"

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **embed**: yes
- **office9**: Leader of the CDU/CSU, CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag
- **1namedata10**: Jürgen Rüttgers
Joachim Hörster
Hans-Peter Repnik
- **1blankname9**: First Deputy
- **term start9**: 25 November 1991
- **term end9**: 29 February 2000
- **predecessor10**: Alfred Dregger
- **successor10**: Friedrich Merz
- **office11**: Chief Whip of the CDU/CSU, CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag
- **term start11**: 4 October 1982
- **term end11**: 15 November 1984
- **leader11**: Alfred Dregger
- **predecessor11**: Philipp Jenninger
- **successor11**: Rudolf Seiters
- **office12**: Whip of the CDU/CSU, CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag
- **1namedata12**: Philipp Jenninger
- **alongside12**: Wolfgang Bötsch, Wilhelm Rawe, Dorothee Wilms
- **term start12**: 23 June 1981
- **term end12**: 4 October 1982
- **leader12**: Helmut Kohl
- **predecessor12**: Gerhard Kunz
- **successor12**: Rudolf Seiters
Agnes Hürland-Büning


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Wolfgang Schäuble
- **image**: Wolfgang Schäuble 2004 (cropped).jpg
- **caption**: Schäuble in 2004
- **office**: Father of the House, Father of the Bundestag
- **term start**: 26 October 2021
- **term end**: 26 December 2023
- **predecessor**: Hermann Otto Solms
- **successor**: Peter Ramsauer
- **office1**: President of the Bundestag
- **term start1**: 24 October 2017
- **term end1**: 26 October 2021
- **predecessor1**: Norbert Lammert
- **successor1**: Bärbel Bas
- **office2**: Federal Ministry of Finance (Germany), Minister of Finance
- **chancellor2**: Angela Merkel
- **term start2**: 28 October 2009
- **term end2**: 24 October 2017
- **predecessor2**: Peer Steinbrück
- **successor2**: Peter Altmaier
- **office3**: Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, Minister of the Interior
- **chancellor3**: Angela Merkel
- **term start3**: 22 November 2005
- **term end3**: 27 October 2009
- **predecessor3**: Otto Schily
- **successor3**: Thomas de Maizière
- **chancellor4**: Helmut Kohl
- **term start4**: 21 April 1989
- **term end4**: 26 November 1991
- **predecessor4**: Friedrich Zimmermann
- **successor4**: Rudolf Seiters
- **office5**: Leader of the Christian Democratic Union, Leader of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union
- **1namedata5**: Angela Merkel
- **term start5**: 7 November 1998
- **term end5**: 16 February 2000
- **predecessor5**: Helmut Kohl
- **successor5**: Angela Merkel
- **office6**: Leader of the Opposition (Germany), Leader of the Opposition
- **chancellor6**: Gerhard Schröder
- **term start6**: 27 October 1998
- **term end6**: 29 February 2000
- **predecessor6**: Rudolf Scharping
- **successor6**: Friedrich Merz
- **office7**: Chiefs of the Federal Chancellery, Head of the Chancellery
Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany, Minister for Special Affairs
- **chancellor7**: Helmut Kohl
- **term start7**: 15 November 1984
- **term end7**: 21 April 1989
- **predecessor7**: Waldemar Schreckenberger
- **successor7**: Rudolf Seiters
- **office8**: Member of the German Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag
 for Offenburg (electoral district), Offenburg
- **term start8**: 13 December 1972
- **term end8**: 26 December 2023
- **predecessor8**: Hans Furler
- **successor8**: Stefan Kaufmann (politician), Stefan Kaufmann
- **birth place**: Freiburg im Breisgau, then-Nazi Germany
- **death place**: Offenburg, Germany
- **party**: Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union
- **children**: 4
- **signature**: Wolfgang Schäuble Signature.svg